Facebook Ads: What’s a Lookalike Audience & Why Does It Matter

Three graphic figures to demonstrate Facebook Ads Lookalike audience

If you could clone your current customers, would you?

And would those clones be more likely to do business with you since they are a copy of your real clients, looking and behaving the same way?

Facebook has a way you can do it, and it’s called a “Lookalike Audience”.  Let’s figure out how to use this incredibly useful ad tool.

What is a Lookalike Audience?

Facebook ads have to have an audience.

You create the audience you want to see your ad by choosing the demographics and the characteristics they share.

Building an excellent audience is as important as the ad itself.

By creating a Lookalike Audience, Facebook uses common qualities of people who ALREADY like your page.

Facebook clones your existing customers.

Lookalike Audience

Follow these steps to create your Lookalike Audience:

  1. Go to Ads Manager
  2. Go to Audiences
  3. Click Create Audience
  4. Select Lookalike Audience from the drop-down menu
  5. Choose your source, which to start with should be your business Facebook page
  6. Click Create Audience

NOTE – The process can take up to 24 hours to complete.

Lookalike Audience

It’s important to know that when you create a Lookalike Audience, it’s going to be HUGE.

That’s because Facebook selects people from an entire country (or geographic region).

Don’t be intimidated! Your Lookalike Audience is a starting point, and you won’t use it “as is”.

Why Does A Lookalike Audience Matter

An audience of people who have the characteristics of your existing customers is a smart use of Facebook’s resources.

Advertising to this group is also a smart way to spend your money. Facebook did the hard work on this one, now you can wisely craft your ad message to turn these lookalikes into real customers.

Start with the Lookalike Audience as your foundation, then narrow down their characteristics to fit your advertising campaign.

Lookalike Audience

Facebook advertising works if you do it right. Now it’s time to go set up your ads and make Lookalike Audiences work for you.

P.S.  Once you’ve got this down, check out this article by Social Media Examiner for advanced Lookalike Audience options. There are several more Lookalike Audiences to use.

Amy Jones

Amy has been a busy marketing professional in Huntsville for over 20 years. She has an amazingly diverse background in marketing, advertising, special events and public relations from tech manufacturing to shopping center management to non-profit arts. A talented public speaker, Amy can deliver insightful instruction while also getting giggles out of her audience. As an Account Manager with Move Digital Group, Amy loves helping clients tell their story. Naturally creative, she blends creativity and analytics to produce results. During her non-screen time, Amy likes to read fan-fiction, pretend to write her own novel, and spend quality time eating tacos.