Ultimate Facebook Targeting Options Reference

This reference was last updated 1st of April 2018.

 

Are you doing facebook marketing then you have come to the right place.

Facebook is one of the biggest social media platforms in the world. This makes facebook advertising a great starting point when you want to reach new customers.

When you set up your campaigns on Facebook you need to pick who to target with your ads.

Figuring out which of the many facebook ads targeting options to use can be difficult. And most times people only use a small part of the options.

This list will give you an overview of the targeting options.

Bookmark the post and use it as a reference when you make your ads and set up the ad targeting.

I also recommend you take a quick browse down the list and get some ideas.

For example you could target people based on the fact that they are “Close Friends of Men with a Birthday in 0-7 days”. Then you could serve them ads of cool gift ideas for men.

Keep in mind to follow Facebook’s Advertising Policies (https://www.facebook.com/policies/ads).

I made this list because I was looking for ideas on how to make more narrow audiences for my facebook ads targeting.

During my work, I had to constantly navigate the “Detailed Targeting” section of the audience settings to get inspiration.

To get a better overview of the many targeting options, I decided to make this comprehensive reference.

 

You can jump to relevant sections using the links in the table of content.

Demographics

Education

Education Level

Associate degree	College grad	Doctorate degree
High school grad	In college	In grad school
In high school	Master’s degree	Professional degree
Some college	Some grad school	Some high school
Unspecified

Fields of Study

Here you can search the Facebook Graph.

Schools

Here you can search the Facebook Graph.

Undergrad Years

Type in your desired date range.

Generation

Baby boomers (US)

Generation X

Millennials

Home

Household Composition

Family-based Households

Housemate-based Households

Life Events

Anniversary

Anniversary in 31-60 Days	Anniversary within 30 Days	Away from family
Away from hometown

Birthday

Birthday Month

Upcoming birthday

Friends of

Close Friends of Men with a Birthday in 0-7 days	Close Friends of Men with a Birthday in 7-30 days	Close Friends of People with a Birthday in 0-7 days
Close Friends of People with a Birthday in 7-30 days	Close Friends of Women with a Birthday in 0-7 days	Close Friends of Women with a Birthday in 7-30 days
Friends of Newly Engaged	Friends of Newlywed	Friends of Recently Moved

Long distance relationship

New job

Newly engaged (1 year)

Newly engaged (3 months)

Newly engaged (6 months)

Newlywed (1 year)

Newlywed (3 months)

Newlywed (6 months)

Recently moved

Parents

All Parents

(0-12 months) New Parents	(01-02 Years) Parents with Toddlers	(03-05 Years) Parents with Preschoolers
(06-08 Years) Parents with Early School Age Children	(08-12 Years) Parents with Preteens	(13-18 Years) Parents with Teenagers
(18-26 Years) Parents with Adult Children	Expectant parents	Parents (All)

Politics (US)

Likely To Engage in Politics (Conservative)	Likely To Engage in Politics (Liberal)	Likely To Engage in Politics (Moderate)
US Politics (Conservative)	US Politics (Liberal)	US Politics (Moderate)
US Politics (Very Conservative)	US Politics (Very Liberal)

Relationship

Interested In

Men	Men and Women	Unspecified
Women

Relationship Status

Civil Union	Complicated	Divorced
Domestic Partnership	Engaged	In a relationship
Married	Open Relationship	Separated
Single	Unspecified	Widowed

Work

Employers

Here you can search the Facebook Graph.

Industries

Administrative	Architecture and Engineering	Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Media
Business and Financial Operations	Cleaning and Maintenance	Community and Social Services
Computer and Mathematics	Construction and Extraction	Education and Library
Farming, Fishing and Forestry	Food Preparation and Services	Government Employees
Healthcare and Medical	IT and Technical	Installation and Repair
Legal	Life, Physical, and Social Science	Management
Military	Nurses	Personal Care
Production	Protective Service	Sales
Transportation and Moving	Veterans (US)

Job Titles

Here you can search the Facebook Graph.

Interests

Business and industry

Advertising

Agriculture

Architecture

Aviation

Banking

Investment banking

Online banking

Retail banking

Business

Construction

Design

Fashion design

Graphic design

Interior design

Economics

Engineering

Entrepreneurship

Health care

Higher education

Management

Marketing

Nursing

Online

Digital marketing	Display advertising	Email marketing
Online advertising	Search engine optimization	Social media
Social media marketing	Web design	Web development
Web hosting

Personal finance

Credit cards	Insurance	Investment
Mortgage loans

Real estate

Retail

Sales

Science

Small business

Entertainment

Games

Action games	Board games	Browser games
Card games	Casino games	First-person shooter games
Gambling	Massively multiplayer online games	Massively multiplayer online role-playing games
Online games	Online poker	Puzzle video games
Racing games	Role-playing games	Shooter games
Simulation games	Sports games	Strategy games
Video games	Word games

Live events

Ballet	Bars	Concerts
Dancehalls	Music festivals	Nightclubs
Parties	Plays	Theatre

Movies

Action movies	Animated movies	Anime movies
Bollywood movies	Comedy movies	Documentary movies
Drama movies	Fantasy movies	Horror movies
Musical theatre	Science fiction movies	Thriller movies

Music

Blues music	Classical music	Country music
Dance music	Electronic music	Gospel music
Heavy metal music	Hip hop music	Jazz music
Music videos	Pop music	Rhythm and blues music
Rock music	Soul music

Reading

Books	Comics	E-books
Fiction books	Literature	Magazines
Manga	Mystery fiction	Newspapers
Non-fiction books	Romance novels

TV

TV comedies	TV game shows	TV reality shows
TV talkshows

Family and relationships

Dating	Family	Fatherhood
Friendship	Marriage	Motherhood
Parenting	Weddings

Fitness and wellness

Bodybuilding	Dieting	Gyms
Meditation	Nutrition	Physical exercise
Physical fitness	Running	Weight training
Yoga	Zumba

Food and drink

Alcoholic beverages

Beer

Distilled beverage

Wine

Beverages

Coffee	Energy drinks	Juice
Soft drinks	Tea

Cooking

Baking

Recipes

Cuisine

Chinese cuisine	French cuisine	German cuisine
Greek cuisine	Indian cuisine	Italian cuisine
Japanese cuisine	Korean cuisine	Latin American cuisine
Mexican cuisine	Middle Eastern cuisine	Spanish cuisine
Thai cuisine	Vietnamese cuisine

Food

Barbecue	Chocolate	Desserts
Fast food	Organic food	Pizza
Seafood	Veganism	Vegetarianism

Restaurants

Coffeehouses	Diners	Fast casual restaurants
Fast food restaurants

Hobbies and activities

Arts and music

Acting	Crafts	Dance
Drawing	Drums	Fine art
Guitar	Painting	Performing arts
Photography	Sculpture	Singing
Writing

Current events

Home and garden

Do it yourself (DIY)	Furniture	Gardening
Home Appliances	Home improvement

Pets

Birds	Cats	Dogs
Fish	Horses	Pet food
Rabbits	Reptiles

Politics and social issues

Charity and causes	Community issues	Environmentalism
Law	Military	Politics
Religion	Sustainability	Veterans
Volunteering

Travel

Adventure travel	Air travel	Beaches
Car rentals	Cruises	Ecotourism
Hotels	Lakes	Mountains
Nature	Theme parks	Tourism
Vacations

Vehicles

Automobiles	Boats	Electric vehicle
Hybrids	Minivans	Motorcycles
RVs	SUVs	Scooters
Trucks

Shopping and fashion

Beauty

Beauty salons	Cosmetics	Fragrances
Hair products	Spas	Tattoos

Clothing

Children’s clothing	Men’s clothing	Shoes
Women’s clothing

Fashion accessories

Dresses	Handbags	Jewelry
Sunglasses

Shopping

Boutiques	Coupons	Discount stores
Luxury goods	Online shopping	Shopping malls

Toys

Sports and outdoors

Outdoor recreation

Boating	Camping	Fishing
Hiking	Horseback riding	Hunting
Mountain biking	Surfing

Sports

American football	Association football (Soccer)	Auto racing
Baseball	Basketball	College football
Golf	Marathons	Skiing
Snowboarding	Swimming	Tennis
Triathlons	Volleyball

Technology

Computers

Computer memory	Computer monitors	Computer processors
Computer servers	Desktop computers	Free software
Hard drives	Network storage	Software
Tablet computers

Consumer electronics

Audio equipment	Camcorders	Cameras
E-book readers	GPS devices	Game consoles
Mobile phones	Portable media players	Projectors
Smartphones	Televisions

Behaviors

Anniversary

Anniversary in 61-90 Days

Consumer Classification

India

Affinity for High Value Goods – India

(A+B) Affinity for Mid-High Value Goods – India

 

Digital activities

Console Gamers

Operating System Used

Primary OS Windows 10

Canvas Gaming

Average Engagement Plays 0 out of 7 days Plays 1 out of 7 days Plays 2 out of 7 days Plays 3 out of 7 days Plays 4 out of 7 days Plays 5 out of 7 days	Played game in last 14 days	Played game in last 3 days
Played game in last 7 days	Played game yesterday

Event creators

FB Payments (All)

FB Payments (Higher than average spend)

FB Payments (Recent)

Facebook Page Admins

Internet Browser Used

Primary Browser: Chrome	Primary Browser: Edge	Primary Browser: Firefox
Primary Browser: Internet Explorer	Primary Browser: Opera	Primary Browser: Safari

Operating System Used

Primary OS Mac OS X	Primary OS Windows 7	Primary OS Windows 8
Primary OS Windows Vista	Primary OS Windows XP	Sierra OS Mac

Photo uploaders

Primary email domain

AOL Email Addressees	Apple Email Addresses	Gmail Users
Hotmail Email Addresses	MSN.com Email Addresses	Yahoo Email Addresses

Small business owners

Technology early adopters

Technology late adopters

Expats

Close Friends of Expats	Expats (All)	Expats (Argentina)
Expats (Australia)	Expats (Austria)	Expats (Bangladesh)
Expats (Belgium)	Expats (Brazil)	Expats (Cameroon)
Expats (Canada)	Expats (Chile)	Expats (China)
Expats (Colombia)	Expats (Cuba)	Expats (Dominican Republic)
Expats (Egypt)	Expats (El Salvador)	Expats (Estonian)
Expats (Ethiopia)	Expats (Finland)	Expats (France)
Expats (Germany)	Expats (Ghana)	Expats (Greece)
Expats (Guatemala)	Expats (Haiti)	Expats (Honduras)
Expats (Hong Kong)	Expats (Hungary)	Expats (India)
Expats (Indonesia)	Expats (Iran)	Expats (Ireland)
Expats (Israel)	Expats (Italy)	Expats (Japan)
Expats (Kenya)	Expats (Latvia)	Expats (Malaysia)
Expats (Mexico)	Expats (Morocco)	Expats (Nepal)
Expats (Netherlands)	Expats (New Zealand)	Expats (Nigeria)
Expats (Pakistan)	Expats (Pakistani)	Expats (Peru)
Expats (Philippines)	Expats (Poland)	Expats (Portugal)
Expats (Puerto Rico)	Expats (Romania)	Expats (Russia)
Expats (Rwanda)	Expats (Saudi Arabia)	Expats (Senegal)
Expats (Serbia)	Expats (Singapore)	Expats (South Africa)
Expats (South Korea)	Expats (Spain)	Expats (Sri Lanka)
Expats (Switzerland)	Expats (Turkey)	Expats (UAE)
Expats (UK)	Expats (US)	Expats (Uganda)
Expats (United States)	Expats (Venezuela)	Expats (Vietnam)
Expats (Zimbabwe)	Family of Expats

Mobile Device User

All Mobile Devices by Brand

Alcatel

Amazon

Kindle Fire

Apple

iPad 1	iPad 2	iPad 3
iPad 4	iPad Air	iPad Air 2
iPad Mini 1	iPad Mini 2	iPad Mini 3
iPhone 4	iPhone 4S	iPhone 5
iPhone 5C	iPhone 5S	iPhone 6
iPhone 6 Plus	iPhone 6S	iPhone 6S Plus
iPhone 7	iPhone 7 Plus	iPhone SE
iPod Touch

Cherry Mobile

Google

Google Pixel

Nexus 5

HTC

HTC One

Huawei

Karbonn

LG

G3
LG G2
LG V10

Micromax

Motorola

Samsung

Galaxy Grand	Galaxy Grand 2	Galaxy Note 3
Galaxy Note 4	Galaxy Note 5	Galaxy Note 7
Galaxy S 4 Mini	Galaxy S III	Galaxy S III Mini
Galaxy S4	Galaxy S5	Galaxy S6
Galaxy S7	Galaxy S7 Edge	Galaxy Tab 2
Galaxy Tab 3	Galaxy Tab 4	Galaxy Tab Pro
Galaxy Tab S	Galaxy Y

Sony

Xperia M	Xperia Z	Xperia Z Ultra
Xperia Z3

Tecno

Xiaomi

ZTE

All Mobile Devices by Operating System

All Android devices	All iOS devices	Windows Phones
All mobile devices	Feature phones

Network Connection

2G Connection	3G Connection	4G Connection
WiFi Connection

New smartphone and tablet owners

Primary Android Device is Ineligible for 360 Media

Primary android device is eligible for 360 media

Smartphone Owners

Smartphones and tablets

Tablet Owners

Multicultural Affinity

African American (US)	Asian American (US)	Hispanic (US – All)
Hispanic (US – Bilingual)	Hispanic (US – English dominant)	Hispanic (US – Spanish dominant)

Seasonal and Events

Fall Football (US)

Fans of 1 or more Teams

Fans of 3 or more Teams

Travel

All frequent travelers	Business travelers	Commuters
Currently traveling	Frequent International Travelers	Returned from trip 1 week ago
Returned from trip 2 weeks ago	Used travel app (1 month)	Used travel app (2 weeks)

 

I hope you found some inspiration in this list.

As mentioned before in this post keep in mind to follow Facebook’s Advertising Policies (https://www.facebook.com/policies/ads).

For example do not target people and use those same targeting options in your ad copy.

Here is one example of prohibited content:

12. Personal Attributes
Ads must not contain content that asserts or implies personal attributes. This includes direct or indirect assertions or implications about a person’s race, ethnic origin, religion, beliefs, age, sexual orientation or practices, gender identity, disability, medical condition (including physical or mental health), financial status, membership in a trade union, criminal record, or name.

https://www.facebook.com/policies/ads