you can count on facebook

ever wondered how many people in the uk like something? i have. how many other 25 year olds love ultravox? did anyone actually enjoy 'bring it on'? to us marketers the questions are even more pertinent; for example a up-and-coming online fashion retailer may want to know exactly how many females aged 18-25 would consider themselves interested in fashion?

in the past, these questions have been answered by expensive lifestyle surveys and 3rd party data, but now a new opportunity has arisen for the savvy marketer; facebook.

facebook allows advertisers to pick exactly who their ads are targeted at. selling emo t-shirts? select anyone age 18-22 with 'my chemical romance' in their profile. selling travel insurance? select anyone over 18 with 'travel' in their interests. the possibilities are endless and it's a powerful tool for social network marketers, but whats in it for us?

well, when setting up the ads, facebook convieniently tells you how many people will see your ad. you want a count? just click on the 'advertising' link at the bottom of any facebook page and set-up a fake ad. it takes 30 seconds and allows you access to instant counts on the whole facebook base.


just extrapolate this out to the uk population, round down for safety, and you've got your count. whole thing done in a minute. fair enough it's not as accurate as a lifestyle survey, but it certainly gives you a pointer in the right direction.

so, for all of you who did enjoy 'bring it on', you'd better hope the count is high; when the revolution comes, you're first against the wall.