How do I target the right audience with Facebook ads?

Votel recommends treating your ad creative as your targeting. A good Facebook campaign comes down to four things: a good offer, the right audience, good creative and a funnel that works.

You no longer need to tell Facebook who your ideal client is by picking interests. Facebook finds the audience for you by learning from how people react to your ad: how long they spend reading it, and whether they swipe past quickly or stay on it. Those signals tell Facebook what type of person likes your content.

So design an ad that only your target audience will like and stop scrolling for. A funny viral video, for example, may get lots of engagement from the wrong people and teach Facebook to find the wrong audience. Calling out your audience in the ad can be enough, for example "Attention, HVAC business owners". Someone who is not an HVAC owner scrolls past faster, and someone who is hesitates, which is the signal you want to give Facebook.

The cost of reaching an audience depends on the niche. Marketing agencies are a very expensive audience because everybody targets them, while roofers, plumbers or insurance agents each cost a different, usually lower, amount.