“Your ads don’t need more budget. They need better targeting.”
— Clientele Boosters
1. Why Targeting Matters More Than Creative (Sometimes)
We’ve said it a thousand times:
📉 A great ad with bad targeting = wasted spend
📈 An average ad with sharp targeting = profitable campaign
At Clientele Boosters, we manage ad campaigns across multiple verticals—NDIS, SaaS, events, hospitality, healthcare, property, coaching—and we always start with targeting strategy.
Why? Because who you show the ad to determines how successful it will be—before the first click.
Let’s break down the main types of Facebook ads targeting, how we use them for our clients, and which type works best for which stage of the funnel.
2. The 4 Core Categories of Facebook Ads Targeting
There are four main targeting approaches within Facebook’s ad ecosystem:
- Core (Demographic + Interest) Targeting
- Custom Audiences
- Lookalike Audiences
- Retargeting Audiences
Let’s dive into each one.
🧠 1. Core Targeting (Interests, Behaviours, Demographics)
This is where most businesses start—and usually stop.
It includes:
- Location (City, State, Country, Radius)
- Age, Gender, Language
- Interests (e.g. “business coaching,” “vegan food,” “NDIS”)
- Behaviours (frequent travelers, online shoppers)
- Job Titles or Education Levels (limited in precision)
✅ Best For:
- Cold audience campaigns
- Awareness campaigns
- Testing market segments
- Local targeting (e.g., “NDIS providers in Melbourne”)
💡 Clientele Boosters Tip:
We use Core Targeting in Stage 1 campaigns—especially for local service providers trying to get volume on low ad spend.
We then layer interests + location + language for maximum relevance.
👥 2. Custom Audiences
This is where the game changes.
Custom Audiences let you target:
- People who’ve visited your website
- People who’ve watched your videos
- People who’ve interacted with your Instagram/Facebook content
- People on your email list
- People who initiated checkout but didn’t buy
✅ Best For:
- Warm audience re-engagement
- Driving bookings, downloads, and sales
- Reducing lead cost through familiarity
- Building middle-of-funnel conversion campaigns
💡 Clientele Boosters Tip:
We always build email-based Custom Audiences and page visitors audiences to retarget traffic we’ve paid for through SEO, short form content, or ads.
This turns attention into conversion without paying for it twice.
👯 3. Lookalike Audiences
Lookalikes are where Facebook flexes its algorithm muscle.
You give Facebook a source audience (e.g. your email list or website visitors), and it finds people who “look like” them based on behaviour and data.
You can create Lookalikes from:
- Email lists (clients, leads)
- High-value customers (people who spent over $X)
- Website visitors (e.g. product pages only)
- Instagram engagers
- Facebook video viewers (people who watched 75%+)
✅ Best For:
- Scaling successful campaigns
- Reaching net-new leads that behave like past converters
- Expanding outside of your existing warm list
💡 Clientele Boosters Tip:
We use 1%–3% Lookalikes for initial testing, then scale with 5%+ once we’ve validated an audience segment.
We also run stacked lookalike campaigns for clients with large CRMs (e.g. healthcare or property leads).
🔁 4. Retargeting Audiences (Dynamic + Static)
This is the conversion zone.
Retargeting lets you follow up with people who:
- Viewed your content
- Visited your site but didn’t take action
- Watched your ads
- Engaged on socials
- Booked but didn’t show
You can serve:
- Reminder ads
- Testimonials
- Limited-time offers
- “You left this behind” style messages
✅ Best For:
- Bottom-of-funnel conversions
- Recovering lost traffic
- Increasing LTV with upsells
💡 Clientele Boosters Tip:
For our event clients (like Paraiso NYE or Adekunle Gold x RAK Live), retargeting converted fence-sitters at ridiculously low CPAs.
We also use video retargeting for service businesses to “follow up” without being annoying.
3. Advanced Targeting Moves We Use at Clientele Boosters
Want to go deeper? Here’s how we layer our targeting strategy:
🔀 Interest Stacking
Combine 3–5 niche interests to get hyper-specific (e.g., “Support Coordination + Disability + Small Business Owner”)
🎯 Geo-Targeted Lookalikes
Lookalike audience but only shown in specific metro areas—super effective for local brands scaling regionally.
📹 Video View Sequencing
Target people who watched 25% of one video, then 50% of the next. Perfect for building trust before asking for the sale.
🕒 Time-Based Retargeting
Serve different ads based on time since engagement. Example:
- Day 1–3: Lead magnet
- Day 4–7: Offer-based ad
- Day 8+: Testimonials
4. What Targeting Works Best for Your Business?
Here’s a cheat sheet:
| Business Type | Targeting Type That Converts |
| NDIS / Healthcare | Core + Custom Audience + Retargeting |
| Events / Entertainment | Interest + Retargeting + Lookalikes |
| Hospitality / Local | Geo-targeted Core + Retargeting |
| Property / Wealth | Email Lookalikes + Cold Core + Video Retargeting |
| Coaching / Consulting | Custom + Lookalikes + Funnel-Based Retargeting |
We customise this for every Clientele Boosters client—based on their funnel, location, and sales cycle.
5. Final Word: Don’t Just Launch Ads. Launch with Purpose.
Facebook Ads still work. But not if you’re targeting like it’s 2016.
The smartest brands win because they target better, test smarter, and track everything.
You don’t need a massive budget.
You need a system—and precision targeting that converts.
Let us help you build it.
🚀 Want Us to Build a Profitable Ads System for You?
We help service businesses & brands:
✅ Set up conversion-optimised Facebook ad targeting
✅ Build custom funnels that feed sales daily
✅ Scale with SEO, SFC and Retargeting
📅 Book Your Strategy Call
🌐 Visit ClienteleBoosters.com.au
Clientele Boosters
We help ambitious brands build Mega Communities & lead systems that convert.
Facebook Ads. SEO. Funnels. Short Form Content. Let’s grow.