Okay, so I was chatting with Finlay the other day, bouncing around ideas for really nailing our Facebook advertising. We were deep-diving into how to actually get new business, not just throw money at the Meta gods and hope for the best. The conversation kept circling back to custom audiences and geolocation, and I’m telling you, it’s a game-changer when you get it right.
It all started with a simple question: “How can we stop wasting budget on people who will never be customers?” Finlay, ever the pragmatist, said, “Granular targeting. We need to get laser-focused.” He was spot on. We’d been doing the basic age and interest targeting, but it was just too broad. Think of it like this, why advertise a promotion for fish and chips at a vegan restaurant in London?
Hyperlocal is the Key: Location, Location, Location
Finlay really hammered home the importance of geolocation. He’s been experimenting with targeting ads within a specific radius of our physical locations, down to even a few streets. Imagine you run a coffee shop. You can literally target people who are within a 5-minute walk right now with a special offer for an afternoon latte. It’s immediate, relevant, and incredibly effective. Here’s how you can do this:
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Define Your Radius: In Facebook Ads Manager, when creating your ad set, use the location targeting feature. You can drop a pin on a map and specify a radius (as small as 1km!). Think about the realistic distance people will travel for your product or service.
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Craft Location-Specific Messages: This is where the magic happens. Don’t just run the same generic ad everywhere. Tailor your messaging to the specific location. Are there local landmarks you can reference? Is there a particular demographic trend in that area? Use that knowledge! Instead of ‘Best Coffee in Town’ it becomes ‘Best Coffee on Kensington High Street!’
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Demographic and Interest Layering: Once you have your location set, you can then layer on demographic and interest targeting. So, you’re not just targeting everyone within 1km; you’re targeting, say, 25-35 year olds interested in coffee and local businesses.
Building Custom Audiences: Going Deeper Than Demographics
Geolocation is fantastic, but the real power comes from combining it with custom audiences. We started talking about how to build highly specific audiences based on existing customer data and Facebook’s own rich data pool. I said something like, “So, how far down the rabbit hole can we go?” Finlay just grinned and said, “Pretty far.”
Here are a few custom audience ideas we came up with:
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Website Visitors: Install the Facebook Pixel on your website and create an audience of people who have visited specific pages. If someone looked at your ‘premium service’ page, you know they’re likely a higher-value prospect.
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Customer List Upload: Upload your existing customer list (email addresses, phone numbers). Facebook will match these to Facebook profiles, allowing you to target your existing customers or create ‘lookalike audiences’. Lookalike audiences are where Facebook finds new people who are similar to your best customers. This is gold dust, I tell you!
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Engagement Audiences: Target people who have interacted with your Facebook or Instagram content. This could be people who have liked your page, watched your videos, or engaged with your posts. They’ve already shown an interest in your brand, so they’re warmer leads.
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Lead Form Audiences: If you use Facebook Lead Ads, you can create audiences of people who have opened or submitted your lead forms. These people are actively seeking information about your products or services, making them highly valuable.
Understanding and Engaging With Your Target
But, of course, all this targeting is useless if your ads are rubbish. Finlay kept stressing that understanding your audience and engaging with them authentically is paramount. Don’t just sell, provide value. Think about what your target audience actually cares about. What are their pain points? What are their aspirations? How can your product or service help them achieve their goals?
We figured out that it means analysing the data from previous campaigns, looking at what resonates and what flops. And it doesn’t need to involve guesswork. Then consider asking your customers directly. Run polls on social media, send out surveys, or even just have conversations with them. The better you understand your audience, the more effective your ads will be.
Ultimately, really connecting to your audience boils down to combining a hyperlocal approach with the power of custom audiences. By using Facebook’s targeting features, we can pinpoint the right people in the right locations and engage them with meaningful messages. It’s about precision, relevance, and building a genuine connection with your target market. Get this right, and you will be driving new business in no time.
