Facebook Audience Targeting
Understanding Facebook Targeting
Core Audiences
Build audiences based on demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Demographics
- Age and gender
- Location (country, state, city, radius)
- Language
- Education level
- Job title and industry
- Income level
- Relationship status
- Life events
Interests
- Hobbies and activities
- Pages liked
- Apps used
- Purchase behaviors
- Device usage
Behaviors
- Purchase history
- Device usage
- Travel patterns
- Anniversary dates
- Political affiliation (where available)
Custom Audiences
Target people who already know your business.
Customer List
- Upload email addresses, phone numbers
- Match rates typically 30-70%
- Use hashed data for privacy
Website Traffic
- Retarget website visitors
- Create audiences based on specific pages
- Set retention windows (1-180 days)
App Activity
- Target app users
- Based on specific actions
- Segment by engagement level
Engagement
- Video viewers
- Lead form openers
- Instagram business profile visitors
- Facebook page engagers
Lookalike Audiences
Find new people similar to your best customers.
Creation Process:
- Select source audience (minimum 100 people)
- Choose country/region
- Select similarity percentage (1-10%)
- 1% = Most similar (smallest audience)
- 10% = Broader similarity (largest audience)
Best Sources:
- High-value customers
- Newsletter subscribers
- Repeat purchasers
- Top website visitors
Targeting Strategy
Broad to Narrow Approach
- Start with broader audiences (2-10 million)
- Let Facebook's algorithm optimize
- Narrow based on performance data
Audience Overlap
- Check Audience Overlap tool
- Avoid competing against yourself
- Exclude custom audiences when needed
Budget Considerations
- Minimum audience: 1,000 people
- Recommended: 100,000+ for better optimization
- Daily budget should align with audience size
Advanced Targeting
Detailed Targeting Expansion
- Allow Facebook to expand beyond your selections
- Often improves performance
- Best for conversion objectives
Placement Optimization
- Automatic placements recommended
- Includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Audience Network
- Manual selection for specific strategies
Connection Targeting
- Target people connected to your Page
- Exclude people who already like your Page
- Friends of connections
Best Practices
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Test Multiple Audiences
- Create 3-5 audience variations
- Test different interest combinations
- Compare custom vs. lookalike performance
-
Use Exclusions
- Exclude recent purchasers from prospecting
- Remove engaged users from cold audiences
- Prevent audience cannibalization
-
Regular Updates
- Refresh custom audiences weekly
- Update customer lists monthly
- Review audience insights quarterly
-
Seasonal Adjustments
- Adapt interests for holidays
- Consider seasonal behaviors
- Adjust geographic targeting
Performance Metrics
Key Indicators
- Relevance Score: Historical metric (now retired)
- Quality Ranking: How your ad quality compares
- Engagement Rate Ranking: Expected engagement level
- Conversion Rate Ranking: Expected conversion rate
Optimization Tips
- CTR > 1% indicates good targeting
- Monitor frequency to avoid ad fatigue
- Track cost per result by audience
- Use Breakdown feature for insights