#23 Custom Audiences

?Understanding Custom Audiences in Meta Ads: A Comprehensive Guide

In digital advertising, reaching the right audience is one of the most important factors for running a successful campaign. Meta (formerly Facebook) offers a powerful tool called Custom Audiences that allows advertisers to target specific groups of people based on their interactions with your business. Unlike Core Audiences, which target users based on demographics, interests, and behaviors, Custom Audiences allow advertisers to retarget individuals who have already interacted with their brand, such as website visitors, app users, or people on your email list.

This article will explore the concept of Custom Audiences, explain how they work, and show you how to use them effectively to enhance your Meta advertising campaigns.

?What Are Custom Audiences?

Custom Audiences are a targeting option within Meta Ads Manager that allows advertisers to reach people who have already interacted with their business in some way. This can include website visitors, app users, customers from your CRM or email list, and people who have engaged with your content on Meta’s platforms (Facebook and Instagram).

The key advantage of Custom Audiences is that it allows businesses to retarget warm audiences—people who are already familiar with your brand—making them more likely to convert. Retargeting is a highly effective strategy because it focuses on people who have already shown interest in your product or service, whether by visiting your website, interacting with your social media posts, or making a purchase.

?Types of Custom Audiences

Meta provides several ways to create Custom Audiences based on various data sources. Each type allows you to focus on a specific group of people who have engaged with your brand in different ways.

?1. Website Custom Audiences

Website Custom Audiences allow you to retarget people who have visited your website. To create this type of audience, you must first install the Meta Pixel on your website. The Meta Pixel is a piece of code that tracks user activity on your website and sends that data back to Meta.?

Once the pixel is installed, Meta can track visitors to your site and allow you to create audiences based on specific behaviors, such as:

- All website visitors: Retarget people who have visited any page of your website.

- Specific page visitors: Target people who have visited a particular page, such as a product page or a blog post.

- Time spent on site: Create an audience based on how much time users spent on your website. For example, you can target people who have spent more than 5 minutes browsing your site.

Website Custom Audiences are highly effective for retargeting users who have shown interest in your brand but haven’t yet made a purchase. By delivering ads to these warm leads, you can guide them further down the conversion funnel.

?2. Customer List Custom Audiences

Customer List Custom Audiences allow you to upload your existing customer data, such as email addresses or phone numbers, and create an audience of people who are already in your database. This is an ideal option for businesses that have built a list of leads, customers, or newsletter subscribers.

To create a Customer List Custom Audience, you can upload a CSV or TXT file containing your customer information, such as:

- Email addresses

- Phone numbers

- First and last names

- ZIP codes

Meta will then match this data with its user database to find the people in your list who are also on Facebook and Instagram. This allows you to serve ads specifically to people on your email list or to target existing customers with special promotions or offers.

Customer List Custom Audiences are perfect for remarketing campaigns, upselling products to existing customers, or promoting exclusive offers to your loyal audience.

?3. App Activity Custom Audiences

If your business has a mobile app, you can create Custom Audiences based on users' interactions with your app. By integrating your app with Meta’s SDK (Software Development Kit), Meta can track app usage and user activity.

You can create audiences based on specific app behaviors, such as:

- People who installed your app: Retarget users who have downloaded your app but haven’t taken any further actions.

- People who have completed in-app actions: Target users who have completed specific actions, such as making a purchase, adding an item to their cart, or reaching a certain level in a game.

App Activity Custom Audiences allow you to re-engage app users and encourage them to return to your app, complete a purchase, or try a new feature.

?4. Engagement Custom Audiences

Engagement Custom Audiences allow you to target people who have interacted with your content on Meta platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. These interactions can include likes, comments, shares, video views, and more.

You can create Engagement Custom Audiences based on the following criteria:

- People who engaged with your Facebook page: Target users who have liked, commented on, or shared your Facebook posts.

- People who watched your videos: Create audiences based on how much of your video users have watched. For example, you can target users who watched at least 75% of a video.

- People who engaged with your Instagram account: Target people who have interacted with your Instagram posts, stories, or ads.

- People who engaged with a lead form: Retarget users who opened or submitted a lead generation form on Facebook.

Engagement Custom Audiences are excellent for keeping your brand top-of-mind and nurturing people who have shown interest in your content but haven’t yet converted.

?Why Use Custom Audiences?

Custom Audiences provide several advantages over more general targeting options. By focusing on people who have already interacted with your brand, you can run more effective campaigns that lead to higher conversion rates and better return on ad spend (ROAS). Here are some key benefits:

?1. Retarget Warm Audiences

One of the biggest advantages of Custom Audiences is that they allow you to retarget warm audiences—people who are already familiar with your brand. These individuals have shown interest in your products or services by visiting your website, engaging with your content, or interacting with your app. As a result, they are more likely to convert than cold audiences who have never heard of your business.

For example, if someone visited your product page but didn’t complete a purchase, you can use Custom Audiences to show them ads reminding them of the product or offering a discount to encourage them to return and complete the purchase.

?2. Increase Conversion Rates

Because Custom Audiences target people who have already engaged with your brand, these audiences typically yield higher conversion rates than Core Audiences or Lookalike Audiences. Users who are already familiar with your products or services are more likely to take action, whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading an app.

By delivering highly relevant ads to users who are already interested in your brand, you can increase your chances of converting them into paying customers.

?3. Segment Audiences for Personalization

Custom Audiences allow you to segment your audience based on their behaviors and interactions with your business. This means you can deliver more personalized ads that speak directly to the user’s experience with your brand.

For instance, you can create different Custom Audiences for users who visited your homepage, users who viewed specific product pages, and users who added items to their cart but didn’t complete the checkout process. By segmenting these groups, you can create personalized ads that address their specific needs or interests.

Personalized ads are more likely to capture the attention of users and drive action, leading to better campaign performance.

?4. Build Lookalike Audiences

Custom Audiences also serve as the foundation for building Lookalike Audiences. Lookalike Audiences allow you to find new users who are similar to your existing customers or leads. Meta analyzes the behaviors, demographics, and interests of your Custom Audience and uses that data to identify similar users who are likely to engage with your brand.

By combining Custom Audiences with Lookalike Audiences, you can expand your reach and find new potential customers who are likely to have similar buying behaviors as your current audience.

?How to Create a Custom Audience in Meta Ads Manager

Creating a Custom Audience in Meta Ads Manager is a straightforward process. Follow these steps:

1. Log into Ads Manager: Go to business.facebook.com and log into your Ads Manager account.

2. Go to Audiences: In the left-hand menu, click on Audiences under the "Assets" section.

3. Create Audience: Click the blue Create Audience button, and then select Custom Audience from the dropdown menu.

4. Select Your Data Source: Choose the type of Custom Audience you want to create (Website Traffic, Customer List, App Activity, or Engagement). Follow the prompts to connect the relevant data source (such as uploading a customer list or selecting website visitors based on Meta Pixel data).

5. Define Your Audience: Set the specific criteria for your Custom Audience. For example, if you're creating a Website Custom Audience, you can select the specific pages people visited or the time frame for their visit.

6. Name and Save Your Audience: Once you’ve defined your audience, give it a descriptive name and save it for future use in your ad campaigns.

?Best Practices for Using Custom Audiences

- Segment Your Audiences: Instead of creating one large Custom Audience, break your audience into smaller, more specific groups based on behaviors (e.g., people who visited product pages vs. people who abandoned their cart). This allows for more personalized and effective ad targeting.

- Use Exclusions: When creating a Custom Audience, you can exclude certain users to avoid oversaturating your audience with ads. For example, if you're running a campaign targeting people who abandoned their cart, exclude users who already completed a purchase

- Test and Optimize: Continuously test different Custom Audiences and ad creatives to see what resonates best with your audience. Regularly monitor your campaign performance and adjust your audience segmentation as needed.

?Conclusion

Custom Audiences are a powerful tool within Meta Ads Manager, allowing businesses to target individuals who have already interacted with their brand. By leveraging data from website visitors, customer lists, app users, and social media engagements, Custom Audiences enable advertisers to retarget warm leads, increase conversion rates, and personalize their marketing efforts. When used effectively, Custom Audiences can significantly improve the performance of your ad campaigns and help you achieve your business goals more efficiently.