Facebook rolls out 'bandwidth targeting' for advertisers

Social networking giant Facebook has rolled out a new "bandwidth targeting" feature globally for advertisers to help them reach people based on the type of network.

Social networking giant Facebook has rolled out a new 'bandwidth targeting' feature globally for advertisers to help them reach people based on the type of network.

The move is especially relevant in emerging countries like India, where limited data plans and feature phones are common.

'Targeting by mobile network type helps advertisers choose creative that will run smoothly on any given device and connection speed.

'That is why we are launching a new feature that enables advertisers to reach people based on the network connection -- 2G, 3G or 4G -- they most often use when accessing Facebook,' the social media giant said in a blogpost.

The US-based firm, which has over 1.32 billion users globally, already offers advertisers to reach people based on the type of device they use (smartphones, feature phones and tablets) as well as device model and operating system.

In June this year, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg had said 30 million small and medium businesses (SMBs) globally are using Facebook to connect to customers and expand their presence and reach.

India, which is Facebook's second largest market in terms of user-base, has nine lakh SMBs leveraging its platform.

'People want fast, efficient experiences on their phones. Our hope is that mobile network targeting can improve the experience people have with Facebook ads by helping advertisers deliver the right experience while respecting people's device bandwidth and data costs,' Facebook Product Marketing Manager Brendan Sullivan said.

Advertisers like Vodafone in India are already testing these new targeting capabilities with good early results.

'We are excited about the new mobile targeting option on Facebook which allows us sharper targeting to a relevant audience,' Vodafone India Senior Vice President (Brand Communication, Insights and Online) Ronita Mitra said.