Audience Targeting

There is no additional cost for using this targeting for your Facebook ads. Here’s how it works:

If a brand has a customer database, they can upload the phone numbers, Facebook user IDs, or email addresses to the Facebook ad platform.

The platform will then match the encrypted data against Facebook's active users, and build a Custom Audience in your account with everyone that matches your list.

Brands can then display targeted ad messages to these users.

Once a Custom Audience is established based on your existing database, you can choose to create a Lookalike Audience that targets new people based on similar interests, demographic data or location.

Ideally, a Custom Audience should include at least 500 people. The larger the list, the better off you’ll be as this gives the system more information on which to base an accurate Lookalike Audience.

You can also overlay Facebook targeting to refine your audience and reach an even more precise group.

What about data security? Facebook protects your customer data through a process known as hashing. As explained in the Facebook FAQ: “When an advertiser imports their hashed audience list into power editor, we compare it with our hashes to find all the matching user IDs. If an advertiser imports a hashed email address that we don't have, it won't match anything. Facebook won't know the original email address, so Facebook never receives your customer list.”

The early adopters who’ve applied their CRM data to Facebook social advertising report improved cost-per-acquisition. You can read more about these successes at Inside Facebook or contact our team to learn how we’re helping our clients get the most value from the enhanced targeting.