Prospecting and Retargeting Campaigns

What you’ll learn

• How prospecting campaigns target new users to create demand.
• How retargeting campaigns re-engage past visitors to drive conversions using Advantage+ or manual targeting.
• Targeting strategies for both prospecting and retargeting to maximize ROI on a limited budget.
• Best practices for structuring campaigns, including an advanced manual strategy for testing.

Introduction

There are two primary types of campaigns you can run:

1. Prospecting: You're trying to reach entirely new audiences.
2. Retargeting: You're trying to re-engage your existing audience.

This lesson will teach you the nuances of each and our recommendations.

We’ll use a fitness gear e-commerce startup as an example, detailing how to target new users, retarget engaged audiences, and optimize campaigns using Advantage+ AI (suitable even for beginners like me with limited Meta experience) or manual strategies for control.

By the end, you’ll know how to structure campaigns to create demand and close conversions efficiently.

Prospecting campaigns: Targeting new users

Prospecting campaigns focus on reaching new users unfamiliar with your brand, creating demand and building awareness.

For example for a fitness gear startup, this means targeting potential customers who have never been to our website before who might be interested in fitness products.

Key variables to consider

When structuring prospecting campaigns, consider:

• Market: Broad products suit wider targeting; niche markets (e.g., yoga gear) need focus.
• Budget: Larger budgets ($5,000+/month) allow experimentation; smaller budgets ($500–$1,500/month) require focused testing.

Prospecting targeting strategies

Prospecting uses manual targeting (to test hypotheses) and Advantage+ AI (for automation).

Here are ways to refine your prospecting and we recommend using the Advantage+ targeting options:

• Lookalike audiences:
  • Best for: Companies with quality data (e.g., 1,000+ fitness gear buyers).
  • Setup: Create a 1% lookalike from high-value customers (e.g., $100+ LTV), scaling to 2%–3% if profitable, excluding previous audiences.
  • Challenges: Needs significant data (1,000+ users recommended; minimum 100). iOS privacy updates have reduced effectiveness, with CPMs 2–3x higher than broad targeting.
  • Best practice: Update lists monthly (or tap into the Facebook API), testing alongside other strategies.
• Broad interest targeting:
  • Best for: C
  • Setup: Target a wide audience (e.g., U.S., 18–65), letting AI refine via creatives testing hypotheses (e.g., ad set 1: “Sustainable Gear”; ad set 2: “Workout Comfort”).
  • Advantages: Low CPMs, leverages AI to find intent.
  • Best practice: Use 2–3 ad sets with 3–5 creatives each, testing value props.
• Narrow interest targeting:
  • Best for: Niche products (e.g., yoga gear) or $500–$1,500/month budgets.
  • Setup: Use specific filters (e.g., “Yoga” interest, 18–45, women), testing audiences with the same creatives.
  • Best practice: Avoid hyper-targeting, testing broad targeting as a baseline.

Recommendation for prospecting: Given you have a limited testing budget, you'll want to refine to the people most likely to purchase your product. So create one ad sets that target a 1% lookalikes and another that targets niche behaviours/interests/demographics that accurately describe your ideal customers. Use the Advantage+ options.

And of course, the advanced strategy of Advantage+ and Manual from the Meta Ads Targeting lesson still applies :).

Retargeting campaigns: Re-engaging past visitors

Retargeting campaigns target users who’ve interacted with your brand (e.g., visited your fitness gear site), aiming to drive them back to convert.

These are more cost-effective than prospecting, as users already know your product or brand.

Key considerations

• Website traffic: Works best with 1,000+ monthly visitors for a viable audience.
• Budget allocation: Start with 80% prospecting and 20% retargeting, adjusting to 70/30 if retargeting CPA is significantly lower after 30 days.
• Ad creatives: Use more targeted and salesy messaging (e.g., “Get X% off”) distinct from prospecting ads.

Retargeting targeting strategies

Retargeting uses custom audiences with Advantage+ or manual precision:

• Custom audiences with Advantage+:
  • Setup: Upload pixel-tracked audiences (e.g., 30-day website visitors, add-to-cart users) in an Advantage+ Sales campaign. Meta’s AI refines targeting, tests creatives, and optimizes placements (Feed, Stories, Reels).
  • Execution: Set a goal (e.g., Target Cost $50), allocate $200–$500/month (20% of budget), and allow a 7–14 day learning phase (50+ conversions).
  • Benefits: Automates delivery to similar high-intent users, reducing manual effort. Ideal for beginners with limited Meta experience.
  • Best practice: Exclude recent converters to avoid overspending, ensuring 100+ visitor data for accuracy.
• Manual custom audiences:
  • Setup: Create ad sets targeting specific actions (e.g., “Add to Cart” in last 7 days, “Viewed Product” in 30 days) using Meta Pixel data.
  • Execution: Use Lowest Cost bidding, testing 2–3 ad variations per ad set (e.g., discounts vs. new features).
  • Best practice: Start with a 30-day window (minimum 100 users), expanding with lookalikes (1% from converters) after 30 days.

Retargeting ad tactics

• New value props: Highlight complementary benefits that your value prop didn't get into.
• Product-specific ads: Target by category viewed (e.g., yoga gear for yoga mat viewers).
• Incentives: Offer discounts or perks (e.g., “15% Off Your Fitness Gear Today!”).
• Best practice: Create 2–3 ad variations per retargeting ad set, testing incentives or new angles.

Recommendation for retargeting: Adding Advantage+ will actually make your remarketing campaign a little bit like a prospecting campaign, as it will go outside of your remarketing list. We recommend starting with a pure manual retargeting campaign so you can actually test it as remarketing.

Final notes

Prospecting and retargeting campaigns on Meta Ads drive growth—prospecting creates demand, while retargeting converts engaged users who simply failed to convert the first time.

Start with refined Advantage+ targeting for prospecting. Use custom audiences for retargeting.