Key takeawaysFacebook ads targeting allows you to reach highly specific audiences using demographics, interests, behaviors, and your own first-party data through Core, Custom, Lookalike, and Advantage+ audiences.Advantage+ audience targeting relies on Meta’s AI to automatically identify high-converting audiences, often cutting cost per conversion by double-digit percentages compared with relying only on manual targeting.Recent privacy updates have limited some manual targeting options, which makes first-party data such as customer lists and Pixel events more critical than ever for accurate, effective targeting.Combining multiple targeting filters and running ongoing retargeting campaigns consistently beats broad, single-criteria targeting for conversion-driven campaigns. What is Facebook ad targeting? Facebook ad targeting is the feature set inside Meta Ads Manager that lets advertisers control exactly who is eligible to see their ads. Rather than broadcasting your ad to everyone, you define audiences based on traits like age, geography, interests, previous engagement with your brand, or resemblance to your highest-value customers. There are four primary methods: Core audiences (detailed targeting): Manually choose demographics, interests, and behaviors. Custom audiences: Re-engage people who already know your brand using your own data sources. Lookalike audiences: Reach new users who share characteristics with your existing customers. Advantage+ audiences: Allow Meta’s AI to automatically determine the most effective audience for your objective. Smarter targeting leads to higher relevance scores, lower advertising costs, and better ROI, which matters even more as average ad prices climbed 9% in 2025. The remainder of this guide breaks down each audience type and the tactics enterprise teams can use to maximize the impact of their ad budgets. Bonus: Use our free Facebook Ads budget calculator to determine exactly how much you…