Custom Audiences

All of the people who matter to you are on Facebook

Custom Audiences let advertisers target

the exact people they want to reach
using the information they have about
their existing customers and prospects
in a privacy safe way. More than half of
the AdAge 100 uses Custom Audiences Your
to find its customers and prospects Email
on Facebook, along with thousands of List
other businesses.
Matched
targets
Custom Audiences on Facebook
Share a special offer with your most loyal customers. Promote a sale for people who love a particular
brand, but haven’t visited in a while. Send a customized message to people you know attended one of
your events, encouraging them to stay engaged.

Using email addresses, phone numbers,

iOS IDFAs, App User IDs, or Facebook UIDs With Custom Audiences, you can reach the
to make the match, you can create Custom exact people you want to reach on Facebook
Audiences via meaningful targeting segments
in your own customer database.

1. Identify the segments of customers you’d like to talk to within your customer database. They could
be customers, prospects, loyalty club members, users with product preferences—anyone you want
to reach with targeted messages.

2. Find these people on Facebook. Upload the identifying information you have for your segments.
The list will be hashed before being sent to Facebook. The system will match the hashes against
Facebook’s active users, and build a Custom Audiences in your account with everyone that matches
your list.

3. Reach the exact people you want to talk to with Facebook ads. You can also overlay standard
targeting to refine your audience and reach an even more precise group.

Now, in addition to finding the types of people you want to reach on Facebook, you can finely target
segments of specific people based on what you already know about them.

© 2013 Facebook, Inc. All rights reserved. Product specifications subject to change without notice. 1
 Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get started?
You can create a Custom Audience using
Facebook’s Power Editor tool, through a PMD, or
via Facebook’s Ads API. Using Power Editor, click
the “Audiences” tab on the left hand navigation
bar. Once there, click “Create Audience” and then
“Custom Audience” to upload your data file and
securely create a Custom Audience. Once you’ve
done this, your audience will be ready to target
in under one hour. (Note Custom Audiences are
also available in Ads Manager and the Ads Create
Tool, but only enable matching via email address
at this time).
How many audiences can I create?
There’s no limit on the number of audiences you
can maintain in your account. First, determine
a messaging strategy that makes sense for your
specific business objectives. Some audiences you
create might be designed for specific campaigns;
others might be valuable for many objectives.
How can I keep my audiences up to date?
You can add and remove people from your Custom
Audiences at any time. When you make edits,
the system typically updates within a few hours.
Your ads will continue running in the meantime.
Can I share my Custom Audiences with
other parties?
You can work with your Facebook representative
to share the Custom Audiences you create with
other accounts, such as your agency, PMD, or
another ad account within your organization.
What does it cost to use this feature?
There’s currently no charge for making a data
match and building your Custom Audiences
on Facebook. This is the first step in running a
successful, targeted campaign: once you’ve found
the specific people you want to talk to, you can
reach them with the right ads at your standard
rate card or auction prices. We may charge for this
targeting opportunity in the future, and will notify
you in advance of such a change.
© 2013 Facebook, Inc. All rights reserved. Product specifications subject to change without notice.
Can I use Custom Audiences in conjunction
with other Facebook targeting and use all
ad units and placements?
Yes, Custom Audiences is compatible with other
forms of Facebook targeting such as age, gender,
geo, and likes and interests. It can be used to target
any ad unit and any placement, including desktop
and mobile newsfeed. One limitation to note is
that you cannot use 3rd party view tags other than
Atlas on any media targeting a Custom Audience.
Can I see how many people in my audience
like my Page?
When you select a Custom Audience and then
overlay Facebook targeting (ex: demographic,
interest, people who like or don’t like your Page,
etc.), you’ll be able to see the approximate reach
of the combination you’ve chosen. If you want
to see about how many people are already fans,
simply target your Custom Audience and layer on
targeting to fans only.
What are the terms of use for
Custom Audiences?
You can review and accept the data use terms
directly in the Power Editor. When you create ads,
the applicable ad guidelines, pricing and Facebook
SRR terms apply.
What data is shared with Facebook?
You create a list of individuals that you want to
target with ads on Facebook. For each individual, a
unique, non-reversible fingerprint (hash) is created
based on the identifier(s) provided (e.g., email
address or phone number). Only the hashes are
sent to Facebook to allow us to identify matching
Facebook users to populate your Custom Audience.
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