One of the keys of successful Facebook ads campaigns is targeting the right audience. Each company has a specific customer profile: new moms, senior citizens, busy professionals, etc. But what if the key characteristic of a qualified lead is the ability to purchase expensive, premium products?
Targeting High Earners: a Difficult Task
Recently, Facebook has made several changes to its targeting algorithm. These changes came in response to accusations of discrimination made by various civil rights groups. The most recent change, in this respect, is that Facebook ads for housing, credit and employment targeted to US citizens cannot target users by age, gender and ZIP code.
Other changes refer to restrictions to targeting specific countries when creating lookalike audiences. All in all, the Facebook Team is very careful about the way marketers and business owners use the audience selection criteria for excluding users based on sensitive characteristics. And, let us be honest, income is a highly sensitive characteristic.
Can You Create Facebook Ads that Comply with Rules and Meet Your Requirements?
The good news is that you have a various selection criteria that you can safely use to target high net worth Facebook users without breaking the rules. Even if you cannot specifically target people by their precise geographical location or by their age (when it is most likely to hold a high level and well paid job), there are ways to reach the right audience.
It is all about getting creative in combining various demographic and behavioural filters for Facebook ads audiences in order to achieve your goal. Here are some of our suggestions:
1. Target Premium Device Users
Although getting the latest iPhone is a fad, in reality, the people who consistently use the latest flagship of the brand are people who can easily afford it. They are those who will replace last year’s model with the new one as soon as it hits the market.
In a previous article, we showed you how to target specific mobile devices with Facebook ads. However, you should use this selection criterion together with others, such as profession, interests, and other premium brands they follow.
2. Target Frequent International Travellers
People who travel a lot abroad do it mostly for business. They own successful companies or are decision maker in large corporations. Thus, they fall within your target of high earners.
To make this selection, go to Behaviours->Travel and select both options:
- Frequent travellers
- Frequent international travellers.
This will cover all sorts of travel, both for business and for vacation. It is a good idea to select people who travel locally, because they are the rising high earners: regional managers, area managers, people who are likely to become the next senior manager in their field of activity.
3. Target Professions and Job Titles
This is a tricky selection criterion for your Facebook ads, and should be used with care. A lot of people are not paying great attention to their Facebook bio section. They faithfully update their profile on LinkedIn, where they are likely to receive job offers or business proposals. But they do not show the same diligence on Facebook.
This is why you may miss a lot of high net worth users who do not have an accurate profile in terms of work experience and job title.
4. Make the Most of Geographical Targeting
Even though you may not use the ZIP code in Facebook ads to target users who live in wealthy neighbourhoods, you can still make a few closely targeted selections. Instead of a ZIP code, you can target a county or a borough.
Also, you can target people who work in “A” class office buildings. These buildings offer expensive office space to top corporations. Combined with other selection criteria, you can weed out junior employees and remain with the top executives in the target audience.
5. Target Interest Likely to Appeal to Affluent People
Wealthy and successful people have specific, refined interests. They read Forbes magazine, belong to an exclusive club, are interested in golf, exotic private resorts, premium brands, etc.
You can add a selection of these interests to your audience filters, with a small caveat to bear in mind. When it comes to premium brands, like Ferrari, Louis Vuitton or Channel, a lot of people follow them even if they do not afford any of their products. Thus, you must find a balance between interest in top brands and other types of interests that truly define high earners. Otherwise, your Facebook ads will reach people who will never purchase the products or services you advertise.