Facebook’s Custom Audiences offers a powerful targeting platform that allows you to upload lists of current customers and email subscribers and match them to Facebook profiles for ad targeting. But wait—if you’ve already got their email address, what more could you want from them? Turns out, a lot. With Facebook Custom Audiences you can create lookalike models for additional ad targeting, as well as retarget known users to drive conversions. Here are just a few ways to use Facebook Custom Audiences to generate opt-in leads and increase conversions.
Facebook Custom Audience Lookalikes
When it comes to lead generation, the power of Facebook Custom Audiences lies not in the matching capabilities of Facebook; it’s in their similarity engine. Think about it: whether they have converted to a customer already or not, if you’ve got their email address, you’ve got a better “in” than Facebook. After all, Facebook’s match rate will never be 100%, and chances are your bounce rate it a lot lower than their unmatch rate. Depending on your industry, customers may have provided you with their work email address, which won’t match to their Facebook account. There’s a time and a place for direct targeting to your Facebook Custom Audience, but more on that in a minute.
So if you’re not targeting Facebook Custom Audiences directly, what can you do? A lot. Once you’ve uploaded your list, Facebook will anonymously match to users and look for patterns in your initial audience. Then their algorithm will automatically search for similar users who display the same tendencies. You won’t get transparency into exactly who or what was matched for, but you can set how wide or narrow you want Facebook to search for this lookalike audience. When you’re ready to run a Facebook Lead Ad or an awareness campaign to warm up for lead generation, simply narrow this initial lookalike audience with key criteria, such as geography or major interest groups. That way if you’re only offering services in a specific city, but your lookalike extends beyond that area, you can refine the target for a more efficient campaign.
Retargeting Your Facebook Custom Audiences
Now that your current customer list and leads database are uploaded to Facebook, you can also augment your lead nurturing and conversion efforts by adding social sales ads to the mix. It’s easy to create a coordinated email marketing and Facebook advertising campaign that ensures your prospects see your message in multiple places, and that your current customers have ample upsell opportunities.
Researching Facebook Custom Audiences Overlap
Another hidden and underutilized feature with Facebook Custom Audiences is the ability to analyze your current customers (those that matched to Facebook profiles, that is) against key segments you’ve identified in Audience Manager. How does it work? Simple, really. Say you have a supposition that the majority of your customers are fans of a certain sports team. Simply created a Saved Audience around the relevant interests for that team, and compare to your Custom Audience of customers. Little to no overlap? Time to keep testing or invest in more research. Huge crossover between the two groups? Might be time to work on a partnership!
The power of Facebook Custom Audiences for lead generation is undeniable. Looking to harness that power for yourself? We can help.