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When setting up a Meta (Facebook & Instagram) ad campaign, one of the most important decisions you'll make is who sees your ads. For years, the golden rule was careful audience building: combining interests, behaviours, and demographics to find your ideal customer.
But the game has changed.
With iOS updates and changing privacy laws restricting data tracking, Meta's algorithm has become smarter. Now, the debate between Broad Targeting and Interest Targeting is more heated than ever.
So, which strategy should you use to maximise your ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)? This comprehensive guide outlines the pros, cons, and data-backed recommendations to help you choose.
Understanding the Fundamental Concepts
First, let's define our terms clearly.
What is Interest Targeting?
Interest targeting is the traditional, practical approach. You specify exactly who you want to reach by choosing particular interests, behaviours, and demographics.
- Examples: People who like "Home Chef," are interested in "Sustainable Fashion," have a "High Household Income," or are in the "Market for a New Car."
- The Analogy: You're a chef giving your sous-chef (Meta's algorithm) a detailed recipe to follow.
What is Broad Targeting?
Broad targeting is the simplest approach. You set only the basic parameters—like age, gender, and location—and then let Meta's algorithm handle the rest. You don't add any interest, behaviour, or detailed demographic layers.
- Examples: Women aged 25-45 living in the United States. That's it.
- The Analogy: You're explaining to your sous-chef (the algorithm) what dish you want to prepare and giving them access to the entire pantry, trusting their expertise to select the best ingredients.
The Great Debate: Pros and Cons
The Case for Interest Targeting
Pros:
- Perceived Control: It feels reassuring to define your audience based on your customer avatar. You can target fans of specific competitors or niche hobbies.
- Great for Top-of-Funnel Awareness: If you're launching a product for a specific community (e.g., vinyl record collectors), interest targeting can effectively reach that group.
- Useful for Cold Audiences: It offers a logical starting point for campaigns targeting people who already demonstrate intent signals.
Cons:
- Inefficient Scale: Interest audiences can become saturated. Once you've exhausted your core interest group, costs (CPM) often increase.
- "Red Ferrari" Problem: You target "Luxury Car" enthusiasts, but the algorithm shows your ad to someone who watched a single viral video of a red Ferrari—they lack purchase intent.
- Limited by Data Gaps: As third-party data becomes scarcer, interest categories are less accurate than they used to be.
The Case for Broad Targeting
Pros:
- Harness Meta's AI Power: Meta's algorithm processes trillions of data points to find converters in ways humans can't.
- Unlocks Greater Scale: Casting a wider net enables the algorithm to discover hidden pools of converters, often at a lower cost.
- Future-Proof: Broad targeting is designed for a privacy-focused world. It depends on first-party data and conversion signals from your pixel/CAPI, which are more dependable.
- Simplifies Campaign Management: No more constant audience research and building. You set it and let the algorithm optimise.
Cons:
- Requires Trust: You need to let go of control and trust the algorithm, which can be uncomfortable.
- Requires Clear Conversion Signals: For effective performance, your Meta Pixel or Conversions API (CAPI) must be properly implemented and tracking valuable events (e.g., Purchase, Lead).
- Can Have a Higher Learning Cost: The algorithm requires a budget and time (a "learning phase") to test and identify the right people.
The Verdict: Which One Should You Use in 2024?
For conversion campaigns (Purchases, Leads, Sign-ups), broad targeting is usually the best approach.
Meta has consistently stated that targeting broader audiences often results in a lower cost per outcome. Their algorithm's sophistication means it's more effective at finding buyers than you are at guessing who they are.
However, interest targeting still remains relevant.
Strategic Recommendations: When to Use Each One
Use BROAD Targeting When...
- Your primary goal is Conversions (Purchases, Leads).
- You have a well-optimised sales funnel and a reliable pixel/CAPI.
- You have a sufficient budget ($50-$100+/day) to get through the learning phase.
- You are selling a product or service with broad appeal (e.g., clothing, home goods, or B2B software).
Use INTEREST Targeting When...
- You are managing Brand Awareness or Reach campaigns for a highly niche product.
- You are in the initial testing phase and need to confirm which core interests align with your offer.
- You are creating Lookalike Audience seed audiences and require a high-quality, specific source.
- You are targeting a highly specific, hard-to-find demographic that broad targeting might overlook (e.g., "Left-handed golfers").
The Hybrid Approach: The Best of Both Worlds
Can't decide? Try a hybrid strategy:
- Start Broad for Conversions: Make your primary campaign a broad targeting conversion campaign. This is your workhorse for driving ROI.
- Use Interests for Testing & Awareness: Run a smaller, separate campaign using interest stacks to generate initial awareness and collect data. You can then use the custom audiences from this campaign (e.g., Video Viewers, Page Engagers) to create a strong retargeting pool for your broader campaign.
Actionable Tips for Success
If Going Broad:
- Don't fear the vast net. A broad audience of 1-5 million people is often the sweet spot.
- Use your ad creative as your targeting. Since you aren't telling Meta who to target, your video, copy, and offer must speak directly to your ideal customer.
- Analyse your "Post-Purchase" Audience. After running a broad campaign, review your Meta Analytics to see who actually bought. You might uncover new demographic or geographic trends to guide future campaigns.
If Using Interests:
- Go beyond individual interests. Build targeted audience segments by combining 3-5 related interests.
- Use the "Suggestions" feature. When you add an interest, Meta will suggest related ones, helping you discover new targeting opportunities.
- Regularly review your interests. Interests can become outdated. Periodically assess performance and cut back on underperforming segments.
Conclusion: Trust the Machine
The age of hyper-specific, manual audience control is ending. While interest targeting remains a useful tool, the future of effective Meta advertising depends on broad targeting.
By combining a well-structured funnel, strong conversion tracking, and high-quality ad creative, you enable Meta's powerful AI to do what it does best: find customers more affordably and quickly than you could manually.
Ready to give it a go?
Duplicate one of your existing interest-based conversion campaigns, set the audience to broad (keeping only location, age, and gender), and run them side by side for two weeks.
The results might surprise you.