Who This Is For / When to Use
This guide is for users creating or optimizing Facebook ad campaigns who need to choose the correct audience type based on their goal: reaching new people, scaling what already works, or re-engaging existing contacts.
Use this article when:
Setting up targeting in a Facebook ad set
Unsure which audience type to choose
Optimizing campaign performance or ROI
What Are Facebook Audiences
Facebook Audiences determine who sees your ads. Each audience type serves a different purpose in the customer journey, from discovery to conversion.
Facebook provides three primary audience options:
Target Interests
Lookalike Audiences
Retargeting (Custom Audiences)
Each option is designed for a specific stage of advertising strategy.
Target Interests Audience
What It Is
Target Interests audiences are used to reach new people who do not already know your business by narrowing targeting based on interests, demographics, behaviors, or location.
When to Use It
Use Target Interests when:
You are launching ads to cold traffic
You want to reach people based on interests or geography
You do not yet have strong conversion data
What You Can Target
Location (country, city, radius)
Age and gender
Interests (e.g., fitness, real estate, marketing)
Behaviors (e.g., online shoppers)
Demographics (e.g., job titles, education)
This is the default option when creating a new ad set in Facebook Ads Manager.
Lookalike Audiences
What It Is
Lookalike Audiences allow you to reach new people who closely resemble your existing customers or leads based on Facebook’s data modeling.
When to Use It
Use Lookalike Audiences when:
You already have a performing audience
You want to scale successful campaigns
You want higher-quality cold traffic than interest targeting
What You Need
To create a Lookalike Audience, you must first have a Custom Audience as a source, such as:
Customer list
Website visitors
Leads
Purchasers
App users
Facebook analyzes the source audience and finds similar users in the selected location.
Retargeting (Custom Audiences)
What It Is
Retargeting audiences are used to reach people who already interacted with your business and are more likely to convert.
When to Use It
Use Retargeting when:
Following up with warm traffic
Running remarketing or reminder campaigns
Driving conversions from people already familiar with your brand
Types of Custom Audiences You Can Retarget
Custom Audiences can include:
Users who visited your website
Users who used your app
Users from your customer or lead list
Users who engaged with your Facebook or Instagram content
Users who interacted with ads, videos, or forms
Retargeting typically delivers the highest ROI due to prior engagement.
Choosing the Right Audience Strategy
Quick Recommendation Guide
Brand awareness or discovery: Target Interests
Scaling winning campaigns: Lookalike Audiences
Driving conversions or follow-ups: Retargeting
Most high-performing ad accounts use all three audience types together as part of a full-funnel strategy.
Common Issues and Fixes
I don’t see Lookalike or Retargeting options
This usually means no Custom Audiences exist yet. Create a Custom Audience first, then return to ad set targeting.
My retargeting audience is too small
Increase the time window (e.g., 30 → 90 days) or include additional engagement sources like video views or page engagement.
Interest targeting isn’t performing well
Try:
Narrowing interests
Removing stacked interests
Testing broader targeting with strong creatives