When trying to find new customers using ads, it is essential to have detailed Facebook targeting within your prospecting campaigns while avoiding common pitfalls. These notes will explain how and when to use certain setups in your campaigns when it comes to targeting.
It Starts With The Pixel
The first question I ask a client before working on any setup is, “Do you have the Facebook Pixel properly installed in your site?” Simply put, the Facebook Pixel is the heart and soul of all marketing campaigns. It’s what makes advertising on Facebook so good. Without the pixel, campaigns can’t optimize, you can’t build audiences, and most importantly, you can’t have proper Facebook targeting. If you already have a pixel installed that’s tracking events and visitors, you’re ready to move forward. If not, get on that now. Here’s Facebook’s guide on installation. If you’re on Shopify or any other platform, it is even easier to install as most already have a dedicated setting for you to just put in your pixel ID.
Facebook Targeting with Lookalikes
Hands down, the best performance you’re going to get from Facebook targeting is going to be using lookalikes. With the data they have on consumer interests and actions, you will not find any more solid performer if you’re seeking event actions like purchases or leads. The only caveat is that if you don’t have enough pixel data, you can’t use them.
If you look at the screenshot above, you can see what pixel data looks like. Over a set period of time, you can see the numbers on crucial elements like pageviews, view content, purchases, leads, and more. This is the data you must use to determine whether or not you’re ready to make a lookalike. Without beating around the bush, if you want to make an effective lookalike on any specific event, you MUST have at least 100 of those events in the last 180 days.
That’s the bare minimum and in some cases won’t even be enough. It is said that in order to have a fully optimized campaign, you should get at least 50 events a week of whatever the outcome is that you are seeking. Don’t fret though. That is only to get the top of the top optimization.
There’s still value in using lookalikes for conversion campaigns as long as you meet that minimum 100 all-time event threshold. When creating lookalikes, the 1% will always be the best performer however you should also test increments of 1%-2% and 2%-3% as well. Have you never seen your pixel data or don’t know where to find it? See the screenshot below to see how to access in Facebook Ads Manager.
Facebook Interest-Based Targeting
While lookalikes are king when it comes to targeting, there is a HUGE place for interest-based targeting. If you’re just getting started and you need to prime your pixel data, using Facebook targeting with a focus on interests is the best way to bring in relevant traffic.
When you’re already doing well with lookalikes and are looking to scale and find even more customers, interests are a great way to try new avenues and even improve high-percentage lookalike campaigns. 
When selecting interests for a campaign, it is best to think a level above generality. The goal with interest-based targeting is to try to take an educated guess on who your ideal customer is.
For example, if your product is a line of protein shakes, you wouldn’t want to generally target “fitness and wellness”. That’s too broad. Instead, find actual targets that exist like “protein shake” or find people that like competitors that sell similar products. Stack as many relevant and detailed interests as you can find till you are at least over a million possible users. That’s how you will get the best results.
Targeting Locations
One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen from online advertisers is those that think their store or product is worldwide. I hate to burst your bubble, but it’s not. Stick to the countries you do business with regularly before trying to expand out internationally.
If you’re product or service pertains to a certain local area, it should also go without saying that you should only dial-in for those areas.
The Importance of Exclusions
Whenever you’re running prospecting campaigns, you always want to include exclusions in your ad sets for two main reasons: You don’t want to continue to advertise to someone that has already converted.
You want to avoid audience overlap in campaigns which lead to bidding against yourself. For any campaign that is trying to find new customers or leads, make sure you create and exclude a custom audience of those that have already converted.
If you’re running any lookalikes, make sure you exclude them from any interest-based campaigns with the same objective. You should also exclude lookalikes from other lookalikes if you have a ladder of percentages.
Meaning, if you’re running an ad set of 1% lookalikes and 1%-2% lookalikes, you should exclude the 1% from the less accurate lookalike and follow the same protocol throughout.
It Goes So Much Further Than This
What you can do with Facebook targeting goes so much further than what’s listed in these quick notes. There’s so much more you can do with video views, engagement, and more. The key thing I always stress to people, however, is if you’re not already mega-profitable, don’t stretch your budget too thin trying to achieve everything.
Stick with the basics first with things like interest-based targeting for landing page view and lookalikes for conversions. We offer an amazing service where we will research the 20 Best Facebook Interest Targets for your product or service. Just copy and paste into Facebook Ads Manager! Check it out.