Last week Facebook announced a new form of targeting options called “partner categories.” The use of “partner categories” allows an advertiser to target audiences based on offline data collected from third parties Acxiom, Datalogix and Epsilon.

The example below is from the Acxiom data category defining “high-end retail buyers.”

Using the data of offline activity from these third parties can only help make ads that much more relevant to your audiences.

In the past, if I were targeting someone for a site that sells expensive clothing, I likely would use interest targeting around brands of clothing sold on that site, like “Gucci,” “Versace” and “Dolce & Gabbana.” Now, with the data provided by those third parties, I can include targeting options—“upscale department store card,” “above average online buyer,” “fashionistas,” “high-end retail buyers”—for people whom I would deem wealthy enough to purchase the products I was selling.… Read the rest