Facebook ads to target zip codes

Facebook began rolling out a new feature Wednesday that will help advertisers — including political campaigns — more effectively target their intended audience.

The feature allows advertisers to display ads and sponsored stories to users within specific zip codes. Previously, advertisers could target users based only on their cities or states.

The feature may be especially helpful to congressional campaigns. Major cities such as New York and Los Angeles contain numerous congressional districts, so by selecting the entire city, a candidate ends up displaying ads to voters outside the candidate's district.

Rural districts contain many small towns, but usually don’t take up the entire state. Allowing campaigns to display their ads to users within specific zip codes helps them more effectively reach the intended voters.

A single ad can target up to 2,500 zip codes. Facebook offers a broader targeting feature for advertisers who wish to reach more than 2,500 zip codes.

Andrew Noyes, a Facebook spokesman, said the company is still perfecting the feature, but it will be available to all advertisers within the next week.

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