Using Audiences in Ad Managers

Once your audience is synced to ad platforms, you can use it for targeting in your campaigns. This guide shows you how to set up targeting with your ContactLevel audiences in each platform's ad manager.

Prerequisites

Before using audiences in ad managers, ensure you have:

• Synced your audience to ad platforms
• Verified that audiences appear in your ad managers
• Confirmed audience population is complete (may take up to 24 hours)

Meta Ads Manager Setup

Step 1: Navigate to Ad Set Level

1. Open your Meta campaign and navigate to the Ad Set level
2. Scroll down to the Audience section in your ad set settings
3. Locate the targeting options where you'll configure your audience

Step 2: Disable Auto Targeting

1. Turn off Meta's auto targeting by clicking "Further limit the reach of your ads"
2. This ensures you're using precise targeting instead of Meta's broad recommendations

Step 3: Select Custom Audience

1. Click "Custom Audiences" to access your audience options
2. Select your ContactLevel audience from the available custom audiences
3. Confirm the audience selection and review the estimated reach

Important Meta Notes

• Audience population time - The audience may take up to 24 hours to fully populate on Meta's platform, depending on audience size
• Automatic updates - Your audience is synced to your Meta ad account, so when you add people to your audience in ContactLevel and re-sync, the audience inside your active ad campaign will update automatically without needing to change targeting settings
• No manual updates required - Once set up, the targeting will stay current with your ContactLevel audience

LinkedIn Campaign Manager Setup

Step 1: Navigate to Campaign Level

1. Open your LinkedIn campaign and go to the Campaign level settings
2. Scroll down to the Audience section in your campaign configuration
3. Prepare to add advanced targeting options

Step 2: Access Third-Party Audiences

1. Click "Narrow" to access advanced targeting options
2. Navigate to Audience → Third Party → Third Party Contact List
3. Browse available third-party audiences

Step 3: Select ContactLevel Audience

1. Pick your custom audience from the ContactLevel synced audiences
2. Confirm the audience selection and review targeting details
3. Save your campaign settings

LinkedIn Targeting Benefits

• Professional targeting - Leverage LinkedIn's professional network with your custom audience
• Campaign-level setup - Audience targeting applies to all ad sets within the campaign
• Automatic synchronization - Updates from ContactLevel sync automatically to LinkedIn

Google Ads Setup

Step 1: Access Audience Manager

1. Navigate to Audience Manager in your Google Ads account
2. Look for "Custom Audiences" or "Customer Lists"
3. Locate your synced ContactLevel audience

Step 2: Apply to Campaigns

1. Select your campaign or ad group
2. Go to Audiences settings
3. Add your ContactLevel custom audience
4. Choose targeting or observation mode

Best Practices for Ad Manager Usage

Audience Targeting Strategy

• Start with observation mode - Monitor performance before switching to targeting mode
• Combine with other targeting - Layer demographic or interest targeting for precision
• Test audience sizes - Ensure audiences meet platform minimum requirements

Campaign Optimization

• Monitor match rates - Track how well your audience matches platform users
• Adjust bid strategies - Optimize bids based on audience performance
• A/B test creatives - Test different ad creatives with your custom audiences

Performance Monitoring

• Track engagement metrics - Monitor click-through rates and conversions
• Compare to broad targeting - Measure performance against platform targeting
• Optimize based on results - Refine audiences based on campaign performance

Platform-Specific Considerations

Meta Campaigns

• Audience overlap - Check for overlap with other custom audiences
• Lookalike audiences - Create lookalikes based on your ContactLevel audience
• Frequency capping - Monitor ad frequency to avoid audience fatigue

LinkedIn Campaigns

• Professional context - Tailor messaging for professional environment
• B2B focus - Leverage LinkedIn's business-focused user base
• Campaign objectives - Choose objectives that align with B2B goals

Google Ads Campaigns

• Search vs Display - Use audiences differently for search and display campaigns
• Bid adjustments - Apply bid modifiers for your custom audiences
• Remarketing lists - Combine with remarketing for comprehensive targeting

Troubleshooting

Audience Not Appearing

• Wait for processing - Allow 24-48 hours for full audience population
• Check sync status - Verify successful sync in ContactLevel dashboard
• Refresh ad manager - Sometimes audiences need time to appear in interface

Low Match Rates

• Verify data quality - Ensure contact information is accurate and complete
• Check audience size - Larger audiences typically have better match rates
• Review platform requirements - Each platform has specific data requirements

Targeting Issues

• Minimum audience sizes - Ensure audiences meet platform minimums
• Geographic restrictions - Check if audiences are limited by location
• Platform policies - Verify compliance with advertising policies

Next Steps

After setting up audience targeting in your ad managers:

• Set up Contact Level Tracking - Install tracking pixels and UTM parameters for accurate measurement
• Launch test campaigns - Start with small budgets to test audience performance
• Monitor and optimize - Use performance data to refine your targeting strategy

Your ContactLevel audiences are now actively targeting your ideal prospects across multiple advertising platforms, enabling precise and effective campaign delivery.