How to Create a Custom Audience in Meta Ads Manager

Every custom audience starts from the same button in Audiences; what changes is the source you pick and the screens that follow. The two sources most advertisers start with are a list of their own customers and people who already engaged with their Facebook Page or Instagram account. Website visitors are a third source, covered in its own entry.

Who is allowed to create one?

For a customer list, Meta says you must own the ad account connected to a business portfolio, or have admin or advertiser permissions on it. If your account is new or recently linked, Meta says it may take a few weeks before you can create or share a customer list audience. The list must not be named after, include or be based on prohibited information such as health, financial or social security data.

How do you upload a customer list?

1. Open Audiences in Ads Manager.
2. Select Create audience, then Custom audience (or Create a custom audience if it’s your first).
3. Select Customer list, then Next.
4. Follow the instructions to format your list, then select Next.
5. Choose whether the audience is for inclusions and exclusions, or only exclusions.
6. Upload a file or paste comma-separated values, then name the audience.
7. Accept the custom audience terms and select Next.
8. Review the identifier mapping, fixing anything marked with an exclamation point.
9. Select Import and create.

Meta hashes the information in your list before matching, which turns identifiers into code that can’t be reversed. Choosing only exclusions can’t be undone, and that audience can’t be used as a lookalike source.

How do you build an engagement audience?

1. Open Audiences, select Create audience, then Custom audience.
2. Select Facebook Page or Instagram account, then Next.
3. Choose the Page or Instagram account to use as the source.
4. Choose the events, such as everyone who engaged with your Page.
5. Set the audience retention, which must be 365 days or less.
6. Optionally add up to 4 more criteria to include or exclude people.
7. Add a name and description, then select Create audience.

An Instagram audience needs a professional account; Meta says personal accounts can’t be used.

Which engagement sources can you use?

Meta lists these engagement custom audience types: video, lead form, instant experience, shopping, Instagram account, events and Facebook Page.

FAQ

How do I know when the audience is ready?

You return to the Audiences page after creating it. When the audience has finished populating, its status shows Ready, and you can then select it in an ad set. For customer lists, Meta also notifies you when the audience is ready.

Do I need to refresh an engagement audience?

No. Meta says the audience refreshes constantly: people who engage within your retention window are added and people who fall outside it drop out. You only need to edit it to change the time period or the type of engagement.

What does the match score on a customer list mean?

It’s a score out of ten showing how well your last upload matched profiles on Meta platforms, calculated as matched rows divided by uploaded rows. Meta says adding more emails, phone numbers and device IDs can improve it.