When we were leading digital marketing consultants, we often get asked questions such as:‘how do I create a Lookalike Audience on Facebook?’

Creating a Lookalike Audience on Facebook is pretty easy and should form part of your regular digital marketing strategy. But, you’re not a digital marketing consultant, we hear you say. No problem. We estimate that it should take no longer than 10 minutes to set up and all without any sweat or tears. But first off, let’s answer another pressing question: Why create a lookalike audience in the first place?

A Facebook Lookalike Audience allows you to find new customers using the data that’s compiled on your existing customers. By using these demographics and details, you can search for other customers with similar qualities and tendencies. The first rule of digital marketing mastery applies: Cast your net wider, and your catch gets bigger.

To create a Facebook Lookalike Audience, you need a Facebook account, a Facebook Ads account and a Pixel (to run on your website and/or conversion set up).

Step 1: Open your Facebook Business Manager

Step 2: Go to ‘All Tools’on the header bar and select ‘Audiences.’

Facebook lookalike audience: helping you as digital marketing consultants

Step 3: Choose which Ad Account you want to work on from the drop-down list

Lookalike audience: asset library

Step 4: Go to ‘Create Audience’ and select ‘Lookalike Audience.’

Go to ‘Create Audience’ and select ‘Lookalike Audience.’ Helping you as digital marketing consultants

Step 5: Choose the audience that you want to use as your ‘Source’. This Source provides Facebook with the demographics and particulars that you want the Lookalike Audience to possess.

Choose the audience that you want to use as your ‘Source’

A quick but useful note on Sources:

  • Your Source needs to be made up of at least 100 people.
  • A group of 1,000 to 50,000 of your best customers is a good size.
  • For Source purposes, people must be from one country only.
  • You are not limited to creating one Lookalike Audience. In fact, you can build up to 500 Lookalike Audiences from just one Source Audience.
  • Your Lookalike Audience will not include your Source Audience (unless your Source Audience is a pixel)
  • Your single ad set can use more than one Lookalike Audiences at a time.

Sources can be made up of 3 options

A: ‘Value-Based’ Source or Lifetime Value (LTV) compiled from your most lucrative customers — select this option if you want to build your Lookalike Audience in this way.

B: Other Sources — this option is when you have already created an audience, or you do not want to target an LTV.

C: Entirely new Customer Audience — you do not need to use your Pixel or mobile app data

Entirely new Customer Audience: facebook lookalike audience
Entirely new Customer Audience: Facebook lookalike audience: helping you as digital marketing consultants

Step 6: Select the country your Lookalike Audience is based

Select the country your Lookalike Audience is based

Step 7: Select your audience size — shown as a percentage of Facebook users for that particular country

Select your audience size

Step 8: Select ‘Create Audience’

Select ‘Create Audience’

Step 9: Step back and watch the magic happen. Actually, it could take between six to 12 hours for your Lookalike Audience to form, so you might want to move. However, once the first audience has been made it will be automatically updated every three to seven days or, for as long as your campaign is running.

Step back and watch the magic happen

Step 10: Monitor your latest Audience updates on the Audience Manager page. Enjoy Lookalike Audience success!

We would be happy to suggest digital marketing consultants who work as our partners. Please contact us if you needed help and support.