Facebook advertisers access numerous ways to reach and connect with their target audience. One option is to utilize Facebook Lookalike Audiences.

Lookalike Audiences are a segmentation tool on Facebook useful for finding customers whose interests and demographics are similar to you existing customers or followers. This targeting strategy is easy to implement, which makes it a very powerful marketing tool.

How do Lookalike Audiences work?

Much like Google’s “Similar Audiences” and LinkedIn’s “Matched Audiences,” with Facebook Lookalike Audiences, you can choose which demographics or features you want to target.

Facebook accesses its vast base of customer data to help you find the most qualified users you might not have been able to reach before. As part of your overall Facebook marketing strategy, this process helps to ensure you’re optimizing your reach, reducing your ad spend and improving the cost of acquisition for new leads.

The size and scope of your lookalike audiences will be defined during the creation process. Although it’s tempting to try and reach as many people as possible, remember that smaller, more niche audiences often deliver the best results. Facebook recommends sticking to groups of between 1,000 and 50,000 people.

How to make a Facebook Lookalike Audience

If you already have a customer list, you can use this to target people with similar characteristics, or simply use data from your Facebook Audience Insights Report within Sprout Social.

To build a Facebook Lookalike Audience:

  • Choose a source group for your audience. Select from fans of your page, visitors to your website or external consumer lists.
  • Select the size audience you want. Larger audiences amplify reach but provide less precise matching. Smaller Lookalike Audiences are typically more specific.
  • Determine your target demographics. Decide if there are any specific features you want your audience to have. For instance, you might want to reach users similar to your existing audience that also live in a particular part of the world. Add your parameters using the drop-down menu on Facebook.
  • Create your ad. Remember to focus your ad copy on the kind of customer you’re trying to reach.
  • Track your results. This will help to ensure that you create more effective Facebook Lookalike Audiences going forward.