How to Think About Audience Selection for Paid Social

Audience selection is one of the most discussed parts of paid social advertising.

But there is no single audience strategy that works for every business.

Start with the customer

Before choosing an audience setting, understand:

• who buys
• what problem they have
• what signals indicate intent
• how long the buying process takes

Platform settings should follow customer understanding, not replace it.

Broad audiences

Broad targeting can give the platform more room to find potential customers.

This can be useful when the platform has enough signals and the creative clearly communicates who the offer is for.

Interest-based audiences

Interest targeting can still be useful in some situations, especially when a business has limited first-party data.

However, interests should not be treated as perfect representations of actual intent.

Custom audiences

First-party interactions can provide useful signals.

Examples include:

• website visitors
• customer lists
• content engagers
• previous leads

Use these audiences carefully and follow applicable privacy requirements.

Retargeting

Retargeting focuses on people who have already interacted with the business.

The message can therefore be different from cold acquisition.

Conclusion

Audience targeting is only one part of paid social performance. The offer, creative, landing page, tracking, and customer journey can matter just as much.