Despite changes to Facebook’s advertising policies in the wake of a federal housing discrimination complaint, real estate technology company Adwerx is ensuring its clients they’ll still be able to display targeted advertising to Facebook users who are “likely to move.”
Adwerx CEO Jed Carlson
“’Likely to move’ is one of the most valuable audiences on Facebook for those in the real estate industry,” said Jed Carlson, CEO of Adwerx, in a statement. “As soon as we received the news of the change, we took action to be able to deliver these valuable audiences.”
Facebook’s “likely to move” audience was previously provided to the company by a third-party data provider and when Facebook stopped working with that provider, Adwerx struck a deal with that provider to get access to the same audience.
The data provider gives Adwerx the ability to target ads on Facebook and Instagram, the same way real estate professionals were able to in the past. Advertisers are unable to go to Facebook to get this ad targeting, but it’s included in Adwerx’s listing and zip code products for real estate agents.
Adwerx is a digital advertising platform that allows real estate franchises and brokers to automate the creation of ad campaigns and target certain audiences online and through social media. It boasts of more than 115,000 customers in the United States, Canada and Australia, including major franchises like RE/MAX and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, and top-producing indies like Alain Pinel Realtors.
Facebook announced earlier this year that it would be terminating agreements with third-party providers that delivered key data, including that likely-to-move segment, a crucial demographic for the industry. Prior to the change, Facebook allowed advertisers to access millions of consumers whose behavior on the platform indicated an upcoming move.
A spokesperson for Adwerx told Inman that the company developed a solution that will deliver the exact same audience for its clients, who will notice no difference in their ability to reach the population on Facebook.
The “likely to move,” ad targeting category was a byproduct of Facebook’s re-evaluation of how it allows advertisers to access third-party data, in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
“Likely to move” is one of the ad targeting options found under “partner categories,” online advertising informed by data from third parties, or “partners.” Facebook ads glean information from companies such as Acxiom and Experian to create ads targeted around purchasing habits and predicted future purchases.
The entire categories program is being phased out and is set to expire on Oct. 1. Without those outside companies authorized under the partner category program, Facebook won’t have those same advertising options. Facebook first announced it would shut down partner categories in March.
Update: Story was updated to clarify how Adwerx’s program will work.
