Of all the things I’ve learned in my time working here at 9 Clouds, I continue to be amazed by the power of targeting.

It’s our (not-so-secret) weapon. It’s how we ensure that we aren’t wasting our — and our clients’ — dollars. When I create a Facebook ad for a client, I can confidently know it will appear to whom I want, where I want, when I want:

Hey, you — you 20- to 30-year-old “trendy” mom with a bachelor’s degree who enjoys hiking and camping in the mountains and who just added another little one to your family — yes, quite specifically you! I want you to see this ad for a new SUV with great highway gas mileage, off-road capabilities, and extra room in the backseat.

While it’s been so important (and fun) for me to learn how to show certain people certain ads, I’ve become more aware of what I myself see online and why I’m seeing it.

As a digital marketer, I want people to see my ads only if they’re relevant to them. As a human who also gets marketed to, I want to see only the ads that are relevant to me.

I bet you feel the same way. So, here’s what you need to do to update your ad preferences on Facebook.

“Why Am I Seeing This Ad?”

Have you ever asked yourself that question? Facebook thought so.

The next time you scroll through your news feed and see an ad, click on the three dots in the top-right corner, and select “Why am I seeing this?”

Facebook will then thoughtfully provide an explanation of why it thought you’d want to see that ad.

In my case of being shown this Artsy Couture ad:

One reason you’re seeing this ad is that Artsy Couture wants to reach people who have visited their website or used one of their apps. This is based on customer information provided by Artsy Couture.

Boom — Artsy Couture’s marketing team nailed it. I was on its website last week when I purchased a photo canvas — a classic case of a retargeting ad.

I’m okay with seeing this ad, and I understand why Artsy Couture showed it to me. But what if I didn’t want to see this ad?

See Who Facebook Thinks You Are (And Correct If It’s Wrong)

From here, Facebook gives you the option to manage your ad preferences. It can be a little creepy to see what Facebook knows you like — and funny to see what it’s wrong about.

You can comb through your interests and the advertisers you’ve interacted with to decide whether or not Facebook can use certain pieces of your information — such as your age, education level, or relationship status — to advertise to you.

Further down, you’ll see even more options, such as partner data and social action preferences.

Finally, Facebook sympathetically offers the option to hide certain types of advertising, like alcohol, parenting, and pets. If you’re braving through recovery from addiction or have recently lost a child or a pet, it may sting to see these types of ads. You can hide these topics from your news feed for six months, one year, or permanently. ❤

No More Ads in Your News Feed, Ever Again!

Just kidding.

Before you get too excited and remove all of your interests and turn off all of your preferences, thinking that you’ll never have to see another ad again, slow down.

You’re still going to see the same number of ads, so we recommend that you let Facebook retain the information that actually is relevant to you.

Ads are here to stay. Let us marketers be helpful to you by letting Facebook know what you’re interested in. Otherwise, you’ll be hit with random advertising content that you really don’t care about at all.

Target the Right People with Your Ads

If you haven’t figured it out yet, we think targeting is a big deal in the world of digital marketing. In fact, the success of your Facebook ad campaigns depends upon relevant targeting.

We want you to use Facebook to its full potential when you run your campaigns. That’s why we wrote a book on it! Purchase your copy of our Facebook advertising field guide today.