It's tax season again. Whether for the thrill of a refund or the agony of an IOU to Uncle Sam, millions of consumers will rely on tax preparation software to file their 2013 taxes. The top two brands they'll turn to? H&R Block and TurboTax. We expect Facebook to play a starring role in this year's battle for tax preparation supremacy. But that begs the question – who should financial marketers be targeting this tax season? To find out, we used our own sophisticated analytics to compare Facebook audiences at both H&R Block and TurboTax. Here are the results.

1. Facebook Audience Comparison
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2. It’s tax season again,
and one thing is certain.
Whether for the thrill of a refund or the agony of a bill,
millions of US consumers will turn to outside help to
prepare and file their 2013 taxes. For financial companies,
that means big advertising budgets in hopes of even bigger
returns (no pun intended).
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3. In this year’s battle for tax
preparation supremacy,
Facebook ads will play
a starring role.
The most successful brands will go beyond standard
demographic targeting – these days, it’s possible to microtarget Facebook audiences based on user behavior, lifestyle,
and other actionable criteria to serve ads that are relevant,
timely, and effective.
But that begs the question – who should financial marketers
be targeting this tax season? We used our own sophisticated
analytics to compare Facebook audiences at the top two tax
preparation brands: H&R Block and TurboTax, made by Intuit.
Here’s what we found.
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4. TurboTax
TurboTax, made by Intuit, sells popular software that helps
consumers prepare and file their income tax returns online. At a
glance, their Facebook audience contains predominately females
in their 30s and 40s, with lower- to middle-class household
incomes.
US REACH
AVG. AGE
MALE
FEMALE
399,580
38.6 (36.2 Male, 39.7 Female)
31.2%
68.8%
AGE/GENDER INDEX
(AVG FB USER = 100)
CITIES INDEX
(AVG FB USER = 100)
Females 35-44
Females 25-34
Females 45-54
Females 55-64
Females 18-24
Louisville, KY
186
Detroit 183
Cleveland 162
Baltimore 155
Jacksonville 150
211
166
136
130
98
INTERESTS/CATEGORIES
INDEX
(AVG FB USER = 100)
INCOME INDEX
(AVG FB USER = 100)
Personal Finance 944
DIY/Crafts 706
Bollywood 577
Stay-at-home moms 335
Collectibles 185
25k-50k 339
50k-75k 193
<25k
40
75k-100k 24
100k-125k 3
>125k
1
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5. H&R Block
In addition to in-person tax preparation services, H&R Block offers
e-filing services that compete directly with TurboTax. Their Facebook
audience is, on average, slightly younger than TurboTax’s and skews
even more strongly female. Again, lower- to middle-class households
are well-represented.
US REACH
AVG. AGE
MALE
FEMALE
345,060
37.1 (35.6 Male, 37.6 Female)
26%
74%
AGE/GENDER INDEX
(AVG FB USER = 100)
CITIES INDEX
(AVG FB USER = 100)
Females 35-44
Females 25-34
Females 45-54
Females 55-64
Females 18-24
Kansas City 425
Indianapolis 218
Cleveland 207
Memphis 198
San Antonio
191
193
180
163
113
77
INTERESTS/CATEGORIES
INDEX
(AVG FB USER = 100)
INCOME INDEX
(AVG FB USER = 100)
Personal Finance 1,201
Real Estate 696
Pets (Cats) 529
Homemaker 330
Expectant parents 315
25k-50k 377
50k-75k 169
<25k
36
75k-100k 17
100k-125k 2
>125k
0
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6. Key Audience Observations
No males index above
100 in either group.
H&R Block’s female
audience skews younger
than TurboTax’s.
TurboTax is geographically
strongest in the Rust Belt,
while H&R Block is stronger
in the South and Midwest.
Both groups cater
strongly to middle-income
consumers with household
incomes between $25k and
$75K per year.
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Both groups are interested in personal finance, which is predictable.
However, we uncovered some additional overlapping interests that
were quite unexpected – it would be worth testing ads targeted to
fans in overlapping interest categories.
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7. Recommendations
Focus advertising budgets on the strongest age, gender,
geographic, and income segments, while reserving some
spend for messaging tests to other audiences.
Determine whether purchase data matches with
Facebook audience data. If it does, good job!
If it doesn’t, try to find out why.
Test Facebook ads targeted to fans in overlapping
interest categories, such as Real Estate
and Personal Finance.
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8. Brand Networks offers powerful
Facebook advertising solutions to
help you show the right ad to the right
audience at the right time.
Contact sales to learn more:
info@brandnetworksinc.com
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