Facebook Lookalike Audience

Like cloning your best customers - but in a totally ethical way.
A Facebook Lookalike Audience is a powerful ad targeting tool that helps businesses find new potential customerswho are similar to their existing audience. By analyzing data from a source audience - such as website visitors, email subscribers, or past customers - Facebook identifies people with matching behaviors, interests, and demographics, making it easier to expand reach while maintaining high relevance and engagement.
Why are Lookalike Audiences a game-changer?
Lookalike Audiences allow businesses to scale their campaigns efficiently by reaching people who are likely to engage or convert - without wasting budget on random users.
- Find high-quality leads β Facebook matches new users based on real customer data.
- Increase ad effectiveness β Reach people who are more likely to engage, click, or buy.
- Save time on targeting β No need to manually refine audience interests.
- Works across all ad types β Use with Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger ads.
π Fun fact: Lookalike Audiences outperform broad targeting by ensuring ads reach the right people, not just more people.
How do Facebook Lookalike Audiences work?
Lookalike Audiences start with a "source audience" - a group of people whose data Facebook uses to find similar users. The process looks like this:
- Choose a source audience β This can be a Custom Audience from website visitors, email lists, or social media followers.
- Select a country or region β Facebook finds similar users in your selected location.
- Set the similarity range β Choose from 1% (most similar) to 10% (broader match) of the total population in that country.
- Launch your ad campaign β Your ads are now shown to people with similar interests and behaviors.
π Pro Tip: A smaller percentage (1-3%) results in a highly similar audience, while a larger percentage (5-10%) expands the reach but lowers precision.
Whatβs the best source for a Lookalike Audience?
The stronger the source audience, the better the Lookalike Audience. The best options include:
- Website visitors β Based on Facebook Pixel data.
- Customer lists β People who have already purchased from you.
- Engaged social media users β Those who interact with your Facebook or Instagram content.
- Email subscribers β People who signed up for your newsletter.
- Video viewers β Those who watched a certain percentage of your videos.
π Extra Tip: The ideal source audience size is between 1,000 and 50,000 people - bigger isnβt always better!
Whatβs the difference between a Custom Audience and a Lookalike Audience?
- Custom Audience = Retargets existing customers or engaged users.
- Lookalike Audience = Finds new people similar to your best customers.
Think of it this way: Custom Audiences re-engage old visitors, while Lookalike Audiences expand your reach.
Can you create multiple Lookalike Audiences?
Yes, sure, you can create multiple Lookalike Audiences from different sources, such as:
- Lookalike from website visitors (for lead generation).
- Lookalike from past buyers (for ecommerce sales).
- Lookalike from engaged Instagram users (for brand awareness).
Testing multiple Lookalike Audiences helps identify the best-performing segment.