How to create Customer List Custom Audience

In this article we will be discussing on the steps user needs to take to create Customer List Custom Audience and how to use it during the campaign creation process in Ad Manager.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Where to find the option to create custom audiences?
• What is Customer List Custom Audience?
  • Overview
  • Key Offerings
  • Benefits
• How to create a Customer List Custom Audience?
  • CSV Upload
  • Use Smart Lists
  • Important Notes:

Where to find the option to create custom audiences?

The option to create custom audiences can be found at two places within Ad Manager:

1. In the campaign creation flow, the second step is about 'Budget and Audience', under Audience Controls section we have the Intended Audience section.


Under the Retargeting tab, when you click on the dropdown to 'Create new or select retargeting audience', the first option in the list is to "Create a Custom Audience"

2. Custom Audiences can be created and kept ready to use in a campaign from the Ad Manager Settings > Audiences tab.

What is Customer List Custom Audience?

Overview

The Meta Customer List Custom Audience is a targeting option that allows businesses to upload their own customer data (such as email addresses, phone numbers, or other identifiers) into Ad Manager. Facebook then matches this data with user profiles on the platform to create a custom audience for ad targeting. Here’s a breakdown of what one should know:

Key Offerings

1. Audience Creation: You can create a Custom Audience by uploading a list of customer data (like emails, phone numbers, etc.) that you’ve collected, for example, from your website, CRM system, or newsletter sign-ups.
2. Data Matching: Facebook matches the data you upload with its user profiles to create a list of people who are active on the platform. This allows you to target those specific individuals with ads.
3. Ad Targeting: Once you’ve created your Custom Audience, you can target these users with highly relevant ads. This is useful for re-engaging existing customers, promoting offers, or encouraging repeat business.
4. Privacy and Compliance: Facebook ensures that data is handled securely and according to privacy regulations (like GDPR). Businesses should only upload customer data they have permission to use for advertising.
5. Audience Segmentation: You can segment your audience by various factors, such as recent buyers, high-value customers, or inactive customers, allowing you to run more personalised ad campaigns.
6. Lookalike Audiences: Once you have a Custom Audience, you can create a Lookalike Audience, where Facebook finds users who share similar characteristics to your existing customers. This helps expand your reach to potential new customers who are more likely to be interested in your business.
7. Customer List Format: The customer data needs to be in a specific format (CSV), with proper identifiers such as email addresses, phone numbers, or other relevant information.

Benefits

• Precise targeting of existing customers.
• Increased conversion rates by showing ads to people who already have a relationship with your brand.
• Re-engagement with past customers who might have forgotten about your business.

In summary, a Facebook Customer List Custom Audience is a powerful way to reach existing customers on Facebook, increase ad relevance, and improve the performance of your campaigns.

How to create a Customer List Custom Audience?

Creation of a customer list custom audience is a two step process, both the steps are listed as follows:

1. On clicking the 'Create a Custom Audience' or 'Create new audience > Custom Audience' button, a modal dialog opens up allowing users to select a custom audience source that will be used to create a custom audience depending on the source selected.
   
   
2. Once source is selected as Customer list and user clicks on 'Next', they will be navigated to the second step of custom audience creation to fill in the details.
   
   
   
   
   

There are 2 options under customer list custom audience to choose and select the customers:
1. CSV upload
2. Use smart lists

CSV Upload

Click to upload: User need to upload the list of customers in the CSV format by adhering to the formatting guidelines and/or using the sample file as reference.

The formatting guidelines are the specifics defined by Meta as to how the file should be with all the relevant details to create a custom audience. On click of the 'Formatting Guidelines' button, user is navigated to the Meta guidelines page. https://www.facebook.com/business/help/2082575038703844?id=2469097953376494

A sample file is provided for reference to give an idea as to how the data should be before uploading it for most optimal result. One can download it by clicking on the 'Download Sample' button.

Use Smart Lists

Select the Smart List option and choose one or many existing smart lists from the dropdown.

Only the smart lists which are pre-created from the contacts section of the sub-account will be available to create a custom audience. Refer the help doc to understand how to create a contacts smart list.

The total number of contacts that will be part of the audience set is shown below the 'Select Smart List' dropdown.

Add an audience name and description for easy distinction.

Once all the details are entered, click on 'Create Audience' button to create a customer list custom audience.

Note: Once a custom audience is successfully created, it will be shown as part of the Retargeting Audience dropdown list and part of the audience list under audiences tab. It can be used for creating a campaign once the status of the newly created audience is ready.

Important Notes:

1. If the format of the uploaded file isn't correct or not in accordance to the guidelines, the file upload will fail with an error message.
   
   
2. Only the contacts included in the selected smart lists at the time of audience creation will be considered part of the audience.
3. Before an audience gets created, user needs to accept the customer list custom audience TOS from Meta. A toast message specifying the same will be shown to those users who haven't accepted the terms on click of 'Create Audience'.
   
   TOS link: https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/customaudience