The more time you spend online, more specifically on Facebook, the more it gets to know you and your likes, dislikes, habits, etc. It’s like a friendship that’s growing over time. And as Facebook gets to know you better, it takes what it learns about you and uses it to its advantage. (I didn’t say it was a good friendship.)

Recently, Facebook has upped its game and the game of targeted marketing. In order for businesses to reach their targeted audiences now, they have “pay to play”. Luckily, their money should be well spent in Facebookland because they can get so granular with demographic and behavioral details you could conceivably create an ad campaign targeted specifically to a single person. While that is not a common practice in marketing, it demonstrates how detailed Facebook’s targeted reach can be.

In this article from Ad Week, marketing pro Brian Switchkow showed just how effective these targeted ads can be by creating a targeted campaign just for his roommate.  Although his roommate ended up becoming so paranoid that he stopped talking on the phone, he took notice of the ads. While the ads didn’t prompt the roommate to act, they still had an impact.

It would be rare to find a targeted campaign that was made for just one person (the article demonstrates why that type of campaign may not be the best idea), but being able to target a smaller, more specific audience allows companies to effectively reach their target audience in an efficient manner, by saving both time and money.

So as your friendship grows with Facebook, ask yourself this question: Is it creepy or endearing that Facebook knows me so well?

-by Brooke Haley