5: Creating & Targeting Lookalike Audiences

Lookalike performance varies widely based on the quality of the source audience – so testing multiple Lookalikes is key to finding an effective one. Generally, I’m going to use a custom audience set to the maximum time allowed to have as many people in the source audience as possible. More people in the source audience, assuming they’re a solid match for your target reader, helps Facebook find deeper similarities (i.e., that they like urban fantasy) instead of surface level things (i.e., that a lot of them like dogs). Better data helps Facebook form a better Lookalike – garbage in, garbage out, as the old saying goes.

I’d recommend your source custom audiences to be 2,000 – 3,000 people, minimum.

Here are the Lookalikes I recommend creating:

1. 1% Page Engagement (365d) (this includes people who clicked on your ads)
2. 1% Web (180d) (if large enough)
3. 1% Mailing List (All)
4. 1% Mailing List (Organic) (if large enough)

If you run video ads, you can sometimes create decent Lookalikes from 95% Video Views. I wouldn’t run video ads specifically for this purpose, however.