Custom Facebook audiences: attract customers, leads and sales!

In this article we look at how to create custom audiences on Facebook to use in your Social Media and Marketing Strategy.

Is it true that social is important for growing our business?

Social yes…. Social no? How to implement a strategy?

A few months ago, I published an article entitled:

Multiplication of a content to increase content marketing

The objective of the article was to explain how to amplify our companies’ communication by using the same content in different ways.

The starting point in that case was the creation of video content.

In the article I also addressed the aspect of social sharing. The analysis was numerical and not strategic.

Today I want to show how we can implement our social media strategy, starting with some content we have already made.

The goal of this particular strategy that integrates content marketing and social media marketing is always the same:

Publish useful information for users to improve their perception of our company.

Marketing strategy is an extremely complex world.
It is crucial not to confuse it with advertising, which is a form, an expression of it.

Marketing is strategy, planning, positioning.

Now back to the main topic of this article.

Let’s start by saying what is custom audience on Facebook?

Custom audiences on Facebook is an ad targeting tool that allows advertisers to reach specific groups of users who have already interacted with their brand or business.

Here are the main points to know:

Definition and operation

Custom audiences allow you to create target groups for ads by selecting them based on specific behaviors or interactions you have had with the company, both on Facebook and outside the platform.

These groups can be created using various data sources, such as:

Lists of customer contacts (emails, phone numbers, etc.).
Website or app traffic data
Interactions with content on Facebook or Instagram
Offline activity data

Custom audience types

There are several types of custom audiences that you can create:

Based on customer lists
Based on website activity (via Facebook Pixel)
Based on interactions with the app
Based on interactions with content on Facebook/Instagram
Based on offline activities

Key benefits

The use of personalized audiences offers several advantages:

More precise and relevant targeting
Ability to reach people who already know the brand
Reduced cost per acquisition (lower CPA up to 70% in some cases)
Increased chances of conversion and sale
Ability to exclude specific segments to optimize campaigns

We are constantly looking for new useful tools to develop and support our Clients’ communication activities whether it is traditional Communication 1.0 or Web & Social 2.0 communication.

This article is devoted precisely to this second aspect and suggests some features of using Facebook’s Custom Audience for your contacts.

Custom audiences can be built on Facebook, through which potential and current Customers can be reached with Facebook advertising campaigns.

Creation and use

To create a custom audience on Facebook, it is necessary:

Have an account Business Manager
Access the “Public” section in the advertising tools
Select the type of custom audience to be created
Upload data or configure the source (e.g., website pixel)
Define the specific criteria for the audience
Once created, custom audiences can be used for ad targeting or as a basis for creating “similar audiences” to further expand the reach of Facebook ADS campaigns.

It is very useful in case you want to re-engage regular customers who have gotten in touch with your company on Facebook.

Why use a custom Facebook audience

One can, in fact, use personalized audiences to invite users to return to a store, visit a website, download an application, or simply use Facebook to send offers to thank them for their loyalty.

To begin, simply upload a list of contact information for Customers, such as a phone number or email.

You can also directly use data from a website or application.

Sometimes the audience to target is people who have visited your communication channels (site and social) and with whom you already have a connection.

You can use custom audiences to connect with your existing Facebook contacts.

Alternatively, you can run re marketing ( a feature that allows you to create Facebook ads that target users who have visited your Web site), for people based on actions they perform in your mobile app or on your Web site.

Securely upload this information and create engaging ads targeted to these groups of people.
These could be subsets of current customers, prospects, loyalty club members, or anyone you want to reach with targeted messages.

When you upload a client list, this data is protected.
In fact, all information is hashed so that no one can read or decrypt it, including Facebook.

You can create custom audiences using email addresses, phone numbers, Facebook user IDs, or mobile advertiser IDs in the following ways:

Your custom audience must contain at least 1,000 people to ensure significant coverage for your ads.

Keep in mind that if you create a custom audience for the first time, you will need to use Ad Management.

What are the elements we need to take into consideration to implement a winning strategy?

Create a custom audience in Ad Management

If you upload a file, create one in .csv format from Excel containing the e-mail addresses of the list of customers with whom you wish to create the custom audience. The document should have only one column of data without a header.
Access Listing Management.
Select Audience on the left and click on Create Audience
Choose whether to upload custom audience from MailChimp or from a data file
Follow the required steps to upload your custom audience

Creating a custom audience in the ad creation tool

Keep in mind that if you create a custom audience in your advertising account for the first time, you will need to use Ad Management. To find out how to create your custom audience for the first time, follow the instructions in the To create a custom audience in Ad Management section above.

If you upload a file, create one in .csv format from Excel containing the list of customers with whom you wish to create the custom audience. The document should have only one column of data without a header.
Access the listing creation tool and create your own listing
Access the Create Your Audience section and select Create New Audience
Choose whether to upload custom audience from MailChimp or from a data file
Follow the required steps to upload your custom audience

Facebook custom public in Power Editor

If you upload a file, create one in .csv format from Excel containing the e-mail addresses, phone numbers, Facebook user IDs, or application user IDs of the customer list with which you wish to create the custom audience. The document should have only one column of data without a header.
Log in to Power Editor and click Download in the upper right corner to download your most recent data from the advertising system for the accounts you specify.
Select Public in the navigation menu on the left.
Go to the Create Audience drop-down menu and select Custom Audience.
Enter Public Name and Description, upload the .csv file, select the type of information you uploaded, then Create.

The operation of uploading the custom audience to Facebook may take about 30 minutes. You will receive a notification when the operation is complete.

As I always say: it is essential to be present where our possible customers are.
It used to be the malls, markets and squares.
Today the real business, the most important game to grow our companies is on the web.

Social media can amplify our communication and make us reach out to new potential customers.

Facebook custom audience FAQ

What exactly is a custom audience on Facebook?

A Facebook custom audience is a group of users created based on specific data provided by the advertiser or collected by Facebook. These users have already interacted with the brand or company in some way, such as by visiting the website, interacting with the Facebook page, or being part of a customer list.

How do you create a personalized audience?

To create a custom Facebook audience, log into Ad Management or Business Manager, go to “Audience,” then “Create Audience,” and select “Custom Audience.” You can then choose the source of data, such as customer lists, website traffic, Facebook page interactions, and more.

What is the minimum number of users for a custom audience?

The minimum number of users to create a custom audience on Facebook is 100, and these users must belong to the same country.

Do custom audiences update automatically?

Yes, custom audiences automatically update according to the rules you specify. For example, if you set a rule to include website visitors from the last 30 days, the audience will automatically update to include new visitors who meet this criterion.

Are there privacy considerations for the use of personalized audiences?

Yes! You must follow Facebook’s policies, which include:
Indicate the source of audience information
Make sure you have permission to use and share people’s data
It is important to read and follow Facebook’s terms of use for personalized audiences and comply with privacy regulations such as GDPR.

Happy Social Media to all

Facebook personalized audience: boost customers, leads and sales