Facebook making ads easier for emerging markets with bandwidth targeting

Facebook is kicking things up a gear with its ad targeting capabilities. The social network announced today that is rolling out bandwidth targeting globally. This means advertisers will be able to reach people based on the type of network connection they usually use when accessing the internet: 2G, 3G or 4G.

According to the social network this is particularly useful for developing countries, where network speeds vary and infrastructure is constantly changing.

“This fragmented environment makes it difficult for businesses to reach people with valuable experiences on their mobile devices. People want fast, seamless experiences on their phones. This new type of targeting further customizes people’s Facebook experience while respecting device bandwidth and data costs,” said the social network in a statement.

What is quite interesting with this play from Facebook is that brands can target the right content to the right people. If an ad is displaying for some on slower connection they will see a still image rather than a video for the same campaign.

This is something Facebook thinks will solve key problems for brands pushing campaigns on its platform. The hope is that brands will be able to deliver creatives tailored to devices and access speed. In turn building the best experience with people, especially in markets where limited data plans and feature phones are common.

This builds on the news Facebook shared in July around a commitment to building customized experiences for people in high-growth countries. India’s “click to missed call” was an example of building a product for cultural behavior.

“Now, we’re working on how we can make the experience of the marketer reaching a person to be the best experience, no matter what kind of device a person is using, from any access speed. This is key across the globe, but especially in countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and India, where devices and bandwidth connections are often lowest common denominator, said Facebook.

The social network’s reasoning is that if brands are able to understand the details of how people are connecting that knowledge will help craft more compelling localized campaigns.