Every ad is shown to a group of people that you, or the default settings, chose. Get that group right and an ordinary ad can do well. Get it wrong and even a beautiful ad is money thrown away. You do not need to be an expert to choose well; you need to answer a few honest questions about your customers.
Describe the customers you already have
The best guide to who will buy next is who has bought already. Think about your last ten or twenty customers and look for what they have in common.
- Where do they live? Which cities or areas can you really deliver to or serve?
- Roughly how old are they?
- Are they mostly women, mostly men, or both?
- What were they doing or planning when they came to you: a wedding, a new baby, a new home, a new job?
Only advertise where you can deliver
Location is the simplest setting and the one most often left too wide. If you only deliver within one city, an ad shown across the whole country is mostly wasted. If you ship nationwide, say so in the ad and include the delivery cost, so people far away do not message only to change their minds.
Narrow enough to matter, wide enough to find people
There is a balance. An audience of everyone is too loose. An audience squeezed down to a tiny handful of people gives Facebook too little room to find the ones who will respond.
A good starting point is your real delivery area, an age range that matches your customers, and one or two interests that truly relate to what you sell. Then let the ad run for several days and see who responds.
Let the results correct you
Your first guess is only a guess. After the ad has run for a while, look at who actually clicked, messaged or bought. You will often be surprised: the people responding may be older, or in a different area, than you expected. Move your money towards the groups that respond and away from those that do not.
Write the ad for that one person
Once you know who you are speaking to, the words get easier. An ad that says exactly who it is for, and what problem it solves for them, will be ignored by the wrong people and noticed by the right ones. That is what you want.