The Power Of Custom Audiences

Have you ever created a Facebook ad with the perfect targeting? You did your research, you found the perfect target audience, and you were able to line it up perfectly with Facebook's targeting options. You just know you're going to nail it and get great results. You click "publish" and wait for the results.

A few days go by and the results aren't promising. That's okay, it's early. You let the ads run a little longer. The results are still poor. You begin to question...was it poor creative, was it the copy? Should I have more videos ready? But you know you prepared for all of this. You tested different copy, images, and you're A/B testing everything! Nothing is working. The audience just isn't responding.

Sometimes the problem with audience targeting on Facebook (LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc...) is audience targeting itself. While the different social networks and ad providers try to do their best, it isn't an exact science. You're still taking a stab in the dark, relying on unknown data, and praying for good results. Of course there are many variables that go into a successful ad campaign, but the audience is KEY!

What if there was a way to control audience data, to be able to target and create audiences you know have converted and have already shown interest in your product? Well if you're not using custom audiences already, then you need to start...yesterday! While there are several different variations on custom audiences, I will highlight a few, with a main focus on Facebook, showing some results and how they provide better results than general demographic targeting.

First, Email List Targeting. This is the oldest and most common form of custom audience targeting. You can upload an email list to both Facebook and LinkedIn, and even Snapchat has email list targeting! One of the first things a new business should do is to start build an email list. Having a list of customers and those interested in your business is not only vital for email marketing, it's now becoming vital for paid social ads! Make sure your list is high quality and not only a bought or rented list. It's fine to augment, but make sure you collect emails from real customers! Your list should be at least 1,000 matched emails to see results, but the more the better!

Second, Website Retargeting. Often referred to as the "low-hanging fruit" of advertising, this is an easy way to achieve a win. You should always have a budget going toward retargeting website visitors. These are people who have visited your site and are interested in your product! You can create more targeted audiences if your site gets enough traffic, such as a certain page visited or an add to cart audience.

Third, Lookalike Audiences. This is where I've seen the greatest success on Facebook. If you're not utilizing them for your ads, you're missing out on some valuable and engaged traffic. A lookalike audience can be created through a number of data sources on Facebook. You can upload an email list, use website traffic, or use Facebook fans. Facebook recommends between 1,000 to 50,000 contacts to build your audience off of.

While Facebook hasn't revealed exactly how they construct a lookalike audience, they have said "A Lookalike Audience is a way to reach new people who are likely to be interested in your business because they're similar to your best existing customers." Facebook takes existing data from your current customers and tries to find people that are likely interested in your business. You no longer have to guess and hope you are choosing the right demographic info about your customers. Facebook will do it for you!

So, how are the results? I wouldn't be talking about custom audiences and lookalike audiences without seeing just how impactful they can be with my own eyes.

Client #1: After struggling for months to lower our cost per lead, we got our hands on a customer email list. With the list combined with a Facebook lookalike audience, we saw the CPL drop ten times! That's right, within a week, our results skyrocketed and we were getting leads for 1/10th the cost prior! Not only were leads coming in cheaper, they were coming in at a much higher rate!

Client #2: This client had a huge email list that we were able to build a lookalike audience from. (And target the existing customers with the email list!) The average cost per click (CPC) ranges, but I've usually found it in the $1-2 range, with some exceptions for industry. Over several months we've achieved a $0.04 CPC with this client once we created our lookalike audience. That's 4 cents per click! Unheard of results that have sustained over several months.

Client #3: Facebook lead form ads are a great way to get leads without leaving Facebook. But the cost can differ greatly by industry, especially if you sell a high-priced product. Through lookalike audiences, we were able to get leads for just over $1 for a very high-priced product. This wasn't just a few leads, but thousands of leads for this cost. The audience loved it and couldn't wait to learn more.

These are just a few examples of how custom audiences have worked. Keep in mind there are many variables to any social ad, and audiences are just one. But I've been able to see huge jumps in performance by just creating a new audience. Have you seen success with these tactics? What questions do you have about custom audiences? Let me know in the comments!