You may have noticed that Facebook have recently updated their targeting options – and this could have impacted your ads.

Since January, Facebook have been removing targeting options relating to anything they deem as political or sensitive, such as references to health, race, religion, or sexual orientation. ‘Lung cancer awareness’, ‘LGBT Culture’, and ‘Jewish holidays’ are among many examples that are being removed.

While Facebook state that this was “not a simple choice”, the real impact will be felt by the advertisers who use the platform – removing these targeting options removes opportunities for many different sectors to reach their target markets. Although the recommendation is to show ads to users who have previously shown interest in a brand (via their site or page), this heavily restricts advertising for these ‘sensitive’ topics, as there is no longer a way to reach prospecting customers – only those who are already aware of the business.