Buddy Media has rolled Facebook’s improved targeting into its social media suite. These features are among several Facebook has recently launched specifically to help marketers on the social network, including Timeline for Brands and new advertising capabilities (e.g. action measurement, premium ads, mobile platform targeting and optimized cost per impression), which Buddy Media integrated into its BuyBuddy product last week. Previously, Facebook allowed marketers to target by location and language. In recent weeks they have extended that targeting to include age; gender; relationship status; college name, major and year; high-school status; workplace; and workplace.

As Buddy Media describes in its blog, Facebook targeting has moved beyond the "spray and pray" publishing of the same content to an entire fan base; "Marketers should come up with engaging content to post, and then create multiple versions of that post to reach different audiences," for example, for males or females, younger females, married or single men and so forth.

The company likens it to e-mail marketing, wherein you might have a list of 50 million names, but target that list to better the chances of people opening and engaging with the e-mail.

Facebook recently renamed its Preferred Developer Consultant program the Preferred Marketing Developer Program, with a badge system to recognize developers who have helped marketers scale and market on Facebook.

The new targeting functionality will be available to Buddy Media customers Tuesday, August 7. Buddy Media was acquired by Salesforce.com in late May.