The Non-Marketer's Guide to Ad Targeting: How to Find People Who Actually Want Your Product
The Non-Marketer's Guide to Ad Targeting: How to Find People Who Actually Want Your Product
Imagine walking into a stadium with 50,000 people and shouting about your handmade candles. Maybe a few people would be interested, but most would ignore you. You'd waste your voice (and your dignity) trying to reach everyone when only a small percentage actually care about candles.
Now imagine you could magically filter that stadium down to just the 500 people who love home decor, recently bought candles online, and live in your city. Suddenly, your message has a much better chance of landing, right?
That's exactly what ad targeting does.
The problem most beginners face: They try to show their ads to "everyone" because they're afraid of missing potential customers. But here's the truth—when you try to reach everyone, you end up reaching no one effectively.
This guide will show you how to find the people who actually want what you're selling, without needing a marketing degree or a crystal ball.
Why Targeting Is the Make-or-Break Factor
Before we dive into the how, let's talk about why targeting matters so much.
Let's say you sell organic dog treats. You have two options:
Option A: Show your ad to everyone
- You reach 10,000 people
- 5,000 don't have dogs
- 2,000 have dogs but feed them cheap kibble and don't care about organic
- 2,000 have dogs but already have a favorite treat brand
- 1,000 have dogs and are interested in organic treats
Result: You paid to reach 10,000 people but only 1,000 were ever going to be interested. You wasted 90% of your budget.
Option B: Target specifically
- You reach 1,200 people
- 1,000 are dog owners interested in organic products
- 200 are pet-adjacent (maybe they're shopping for a friend)
Result: You paid to reach 1,200 people and nearly all of them could potentially buy. Your budget went 10x further.
Good targeting isn't about reaching fewer people—it's about reaching the right people.
The Three Main Types of Targeting (Explained Simply)
Facebook gives you three main ways to find your ideal customers. Think of them as three different nets for catching fish:
1. Demographic Targeting: Who They Are
This is the basic stuff about a person:
- Age: Are they 18-24 or 45-65?
- Gender: Male, female, or all genders?
- Location: Where do they live?
- Language: What language do they speak?
- Education: Did they go to college?
- Job title: What do they do for work?
- Life events: Did they recently get engaged? Have a new baby?
When to use it: When your product naturally fits certain demographics. For example, if you sell maternity clothes, targeting women aged 22-40 makes sense.
Real talk: Demographics alone aren't usually enough. A 35-year-old woman in Chicago could be anyone—from a lawyer who loves luxury goods to a teacher who shops at thrift stores. You need more precision.
2. Interest-Based Targeting: What They Like
This shows your ad to people based on what they engage with on Facebook and Instagram:
- Pages they've liked
- Posts they've interacted with
- Topics they follow
- Activities they're interested in
When to use it: When you want to reach people who've shown interest in topics related to your product.
Example interests you can target:
- "Organic food" (for healthy product sellers)
- "Yoga" (for wellness businesses)
- "Small business" (if you sell to entrepreneurs)
- "Home improvement" (for home-related products)
- "Fashion" + "Sustainability" (for eco-friendly clothing)
Real talk: Facebook has thousands of interest categories, from broad ("Fitness") to super specific ("CrossFit"). Start broad, then narrow down as you learn what works.
3. Behavioral Targeting: What They Do
This targets people based on their actual behaviors and purchase patterns:
- Shopping behavior: Do they buy things online frequently?
- Device usage: Do they primarily use mobile or desktop?
- Travel patterns: Do they travel frequently for business?
- Purchase history: Have they bought similar products recently?
- Engagement patterns: How active are they on Facebook?
When to use it: When you want to reach people who've proven they take certain actions, like online shopping.
Real talk: Behavioral targeting is powerful because actions speak louder than interests. Someone who "likes" fitness pages might never buy fitness products, but someone who recently purchased athletic wear is more likely to buy again.
How to Combine Targeting Types (The Real Magic)
Here's where it gets interesting: You can layer these targeting types together to create highly specific audiences.
Let's look at some real examples:
Example 1: The Handmade Candle Shop
Too broad (bad):
Women, ages 18-65, United States
Result: You're targeting 100+ million people who have nothing in common
Better:
Women, ages 25-55, United States, interested in "Home Decor" OR "Interior Design"
Result: You've narrowed it to a few million people who like home products
Best:
Women, ages 25-55, lives within 50 miles of your city, interested in "Home Decor" AND "Handmade Products" AND "Luxury Goods," online shopping behavior
Result: You're reaching local women who love home decor, appreciate handmade items, have money to spend, and shop online
Why it works: Each layer removes people who aren't your customer, while keeping everyone who might be.
Example 2: The Online Fitness Coach
Too broad (bad):
Everyone, ages 18-65, United States, interested in "Fitness"
Result: Too many people, and "fitness" is so vague it includes gym rats AND people who liked one workout video 5 years ago
Better:
Women, ages 28-45, United States, interested in "Weight Loss" OR "Home Fitness"
Result: More specific, but still pretty broad
Best:
Women, ages 28-45, United States, interested in "Home Fitness" AND "Busy Lifestyle," job titles including "Working Mom," recently purchased online courses
Result: You're reaching women who want to work out at home, are busy, and have bought digital products before—your exact customer
Example 3: The Local Bakery
Too broad (bad):
Everyone, ages 18-80, United States
Result: Why are you advertising to people in California when your bakery is in Boston?
Better:
Everyone, ages 21-65, within 15 miles of your bakery
Result: At least they can actually visit, but still very broad
Best:
Everyone, ages 25-65, within 10 miles of your bakery, interested in "Baking" OR "Desserts" OR "Wedding Planning," excluding anyone who liked your competitor's page
Result: Local people who care about baked goods and might need your services
Non-Marketer's Tip: Start with broader targeting than you think you need (a few hundred thousand people), then narrow down based on your results. Going too narrow too fast can limit your ad's effectiveness.
The "Too Narrow vs. Too Broad" Sweet Spot
One of the biggest questions beginners ask: "How many people should I target?"
Here's the rule of thumb:
Too Narrow (Under 50,000 people):
- Your ad costs more because there aren't enough people to optimize for
- You'll exhaust your audience quickly (they'll see your ad 10 times and get annoyed)
- Facebook's algorithm doesn't have enough flexibility to find the best prospects
Too Broad (Over 5 million people):
- You're paying to reach people who'll never care about your product
- Your budget gets spread too thin
- Your message becomes generic to appeal to everyone
The Sweet Spot (100,000 - 1 million people):
- Large enough for Facebook to optimize
- Specific enough to reach likely buyers
- Cost-effective balance
Real Talk: These are guidelines, not rules. A local business might target 50,000 people in their city and do great. An online store might target 2 million people and see success. Test and learn what works for you.
Custom Audiences: Targeting People Who Already Know You
Here's one of the most powerful targeting strategies, and it's criminally underused by beginners: targeting people who've already interacted with your business.
These are called "Custom Audiences," and they include:
Website visitors
People who've been to your website in the past 30-180 days. They've already shown interest—now remind them you exist.
Email subscribers
Upload your email list and show ads to people who've already given you their email. These people already trust you.
Social media engagers
People who've liked, commented, or shared your Facebook/Instagram posts. They're already fans.
Video viewers
People who watched 50% or more of your videos. They spent time with your content—they're interested.
Why these work so well: These people aren't strangers. They've already raised their hand and shown interest. Converting them is much easier (and cheaper) than finding brand new customers.
How to use them:
Show website visitors an ad for the product they looked at. Offer email subscribers an exclusive discount. Remind video viewers about your new product launch.
The Truth About Finding Your People
Here's what most people won't tell you: finding your perfect audience is a process, not a one-time task.
Your first targeting attempt will be educated guessing. That's okay—everyone starts there. The businesses that succeed are the ones who:
- Start with a reasonable hypothesis about who their customer is
- Test that hypothesis with real ads and real budget
- Look at the data honestly (not what they wish it said)
- Make adjustments based on what the data shows
- Repeat until they find the winning formula
You're not looking for perfection on day one. You're looking for clues that lead you in the right direction.
And here's the really good news: Once you find your people, it gets easier. You'll create Lookalike Audiences, build Custom Audiences, and develop a deep understanding of who responds to your message. That knowledge becomes one of your business's most valuable assets.
Real Talk: Good targeting is the difference between ads that feel like a waste of money and ads that feel like a money-printing machine. It's worth investing the time to get it right. And if you'd rather have AI handle the targeting while you focus on your business? Tools like Markita can analyze your product, identify your ideal audience, and optimize your targeting automatically—so you get the benefits of expert targeting without needing to become an expert yourself.
