How to Add a Customer List in Meta Ads

A customer list is a roster of users that includes not only individuals or businesses who have used services, but also those who have filled out forms, signed up for newsletters, participated in market research, or expressed interest in a company’s product or service. Such a list may contain only users’ email addresses and phone numbers. It’s worth considering adding a “value” column in the table, which will signal algorithms at what price range to display products to a particular person. The value could be the total amount spent or the price of a single product (if the user bought both expensive and cheap products simultaneously, it’s worth averaging).

Every user on Facebook has a unique ID, allowing the platform to determine whether a user shops frequently or infrequently, and to establish the average value of a user’s shopping cart.

Before adding the list (in .csv or .txt format) to the Ads Manager, make sure that the data has been correctly entered according to the appropriate identifiers. This is necessary for Meta to process encrypted data and find appropriate matches (specific users).

Available primary identifiers

Source: A custom graphic based on data from the website: business help centre

Available additional identifiers

Source: A custom graphic based on data from the website: business help centre

It is recommended that the customer list contains data for at least 1000 users. If it is smaller, we do not run campaigns exclusively on the customer list, but rather add it to campaigns targeting other audience groups.

With such lists, we can more effectively reach people who have already interacted with our company, and there is a significant likelihood that they will use our services again.

1. Open Excel or Google Sheets and create a list with your customers’ data.
2. Go to the Meta Ads Ads Manager – select the Audiences tab.

Source: Meta Ads panel

3. Select Create Audience > Custom Audience.

Source: Meta Ads panel

4. As the data source, select Customer List. Click Next.

Source: Meta Ads panel

5. If you haven’t created the customer list yet, you can download a template file with data at this point. Click Next.

Source: Meta Ads panel

Here’s how a sample correctly filled data file for customers looks like:

Source: Meta Ads panel

6. Add the file with the customer list.

Source: Meta Ads panel

7. After adding the file, check Yes/No – depending on whether you added a customer value column – and enter the name of the audience group you are creating (you can also add a description). Click Next.

Source: Meta Ads panel

8. In the next step, you will see how the data you provided has been imported – you can check if it’s correct. If so, click Import and Create.

Source: Meta Ads panel

9. The list has been added, matching your customers to people on Facebook may take a few minutes. Click Done.

Source: Meta Ads panel

The Meta Ads platform also allows for the creation of Lookalike Audiences based on customer lists using advanced tools. This enables advertisers to effectively reach new potential customers who exhibit similar characteristics and behaviours to existing customer bases. If the number of customers is below 1000 in the base group, for example, 600, there is a lower chance of creating a Lookalike audience, around 1/2 percent. In such cases, a wider percentage range should be considered, such as 5% or more. However, when the number of customers exceeds 1000, more precise percentage ranges can be used, such as 1%, 2%, or 3%.