Using first-party data in Meta Ads
Now that you have full control over which events are created for specific site interactions, you can also decide which events are sent to Meta Ads. This gives you complete freedom to run campaigns and retargeting campaigns based on highly specific site interactions.
It is recommended to base your campaigns as much as possible on standard events following the GA4 protocol. The Meta algorithm understands events like “Lead” and the level of effort required for a visitor to leave their contact details. However, for a custom event like ‘newsletter_subscription,’ the algorithm cannot interpret its meaning, even if it is explicitly stated in the event name. Retargeting campaigns, on the other hand, can be effectively run using custom events, as explained further below.
Targeting Options
As Meta gradually restricts targeting options, your collected data becomes even more crucial for guiding the Meta algorithm. Using self-collected data, you can still create audiences for (re)targeting campaigns. Additionally, there are other targeting options that can leverage your collected data effectively.
Retargeting Audience
Retargeting involves showing ads to individuals who have previously interacted with your campaigns or website. For Meta Ads, you can create an audience based on events triggered by visitors on your site. For instance, if you want to run a retargeting campaign targeting visitors who initiated the checkout process but did not complete the purchase, you can create an audience of users who triggered the ‘InitiateCheckout’ event but not the ‘Purchase’ event.
In your Meta Ads manager, navigate to “Audiences.” Here, you can create a new “Custom Audience.”
Choose “Website” as the source. Next, select the appropriate pixel and configure the events you want to retarget. For example, if you wish to target visitors who triggered a Lead event but not a Purchase event, the setup would look like this:
Lookalike Audience
A Lookalike Audience helps you reach new people likely to be interested in your business because they resemble your existing customers. This type of audience is based on a custom audience, using demographic data, interests, and behavior to find individuals with similar characteristics.
When creating a Lookalike Audience, you can set a percentage: a smaller percentage provides a stronger resemblance to your source audience, while a larger percentage offers broader reach. Typically, a source audience of 1,000–5,000 people works well, and using an audience of your best customers often yields better results.
Key points to note:
• You need a source audience of at least 100 people from a single country.
• You can create up to 500 Lookalike Audiences per source audience and use multiple audiences in a single ad set.
• People in the source audience are excluded from the Lookalike Audience, but you can use “Lookalike Audience Expansion” for broader reach.
In your Meta Ads manager, navigate to “Audiences.” Here, you can create a new “Lookalike Audience.”
From there, you can select a conversion event as the source, choose the audience location, and set the audience size.
Advantage+ Audiences
With Meta Advantage+ audiences, Meta’s AI automatically identifies the best audience for your campaign. Meta’s AI continuously learns from data like previous conversions, pixel data, and ad interactions to display ads to the most suitable individuals. According to Meta, this provides better results compared to other audience options. Alongside data Meta collects from its platforms, the success of finding the right audience also depends on the data Meta receives about your site visitors and their actions on your domain.
Advantage+ audiences work well for most campaign types except for remarketing. For sales or traffic objectives, Advantage+ campaigns are recommended. It’s also advisable to use A/B testing to help the Meta algorithm compare the performance of different audiences.
When setting up a new campaign, you can choose the audience you want to target at the Ad Set level. Here, you have the option to select an Advantage+ audience.
It is recommended to base your campaigns as much as possible on standard events following the GA4 protocol. The Meta algorithm understands events like “Lead” and the level of effort required for a visitor to leave their contact details. However, for a custom event like ‘newsletter_subscription,’ the algorithm cannot interpret its meaning, even if it is explicitly stated in the event name. Retargeting campaigns, on the other hand, can be effectively run using custom events, as explained further below.
Targeting Options
As Meta gradually restricts targeting options, your collected data becomes even more crucial for guiding the Meta algorithm. Using self-collected data, you can still create audiences for (re)targeting campaigns. Additionally, there are other targeting options that can leverage your collected data effectively.
Retargeting Audience
Retargeting involves showing ads to individuals who have previously interacted with your campaigns or website. For Meta Ads, you can create an audience based on events triggered by visitors on your site. For instance, if you want to run a retargeting campaign targeting visitors who initiated the checkout process but did not complete the purchase, you can create an audience of users who triggered the ‘InitiateCheckout’ event but not the ‘Purchase’ event.
In your Meta Ads manager, navigate to “Audiences.” Here, you can create a new “Custom Audience.”
Choose “Website” as the source. Next, select the appropriate pixel and configure the events you want to retarget. For example, if you wish to target visitors who triggered a Lead event but not a Purchase event, the setup would look like this:
Lookalike Audience
A Lookalike Audience helps you reach new people likely to be interested in your business because they resemble your existing customers. This type of audience is based on a custom audience, using demographic data, interests, and behavior to find individuals with similar characteristics.
When creating a Lookalike Audience, you can set a percentage: a smaller percentage provides a stronger resemblance to your source audience, while a larger percentage offers broader reach. Typically, a source audience of 1,000–5,000 people works well, and using an audience of your best customers often yields better results.
Key points to note:
• You need a source audience of at least 100 people from a single country.
• You can create up to 500 Lookalike Audiences per source audience and use multiple audiences in a single ad set.
• People in the source audience are excluded from the Lookalike Audience, but you can use “Lookalike Audience Expansion” for broader reach.
In your Meta Ads manager, navigate to “Audiences.” Here, you can create a new “Lookalike Audience.”
From there, you can select a conversion event as the source, choose the audience location, and set the audience size.
Advantage+ Audiences
With Meta Advantage+ audiences, Meta’s AI automatically identifies the best audience for your campaign. Meta’s AI continuously learns from data like previous conversions, pixel data, and ad interactions to display ads to the most suitable individuals. According to Meta, this provides better results compared to other audience options. Alongside data Meta collects from its platforms, the success of finding the right audience also depends on the data Meta receives about your site visitors and their actions on your domain.
Advantage+ audiences work well for most campaign types except for remarketing. For sales or traffic objectives, Advantage+ campaigns are recommended. It’s also advisable to use A/B testing to help the Meta algorithm compare the performance of different audiences.
When setting up a new campaign, you can choose the audience you want to target at the Ad Set level. Here, you have the option to select an Advantage+ audience.
Updated on: 22/11/2024
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