Who cares about Meta Ads Targeting
Introduction: The Targeting Obsession
Facebook advertisers have been obsessed with targeting ever since I started running ads on the platform in 2013. Back then, targeting was everything. You could absolutely take a poor-performing campaign and make it successful simply by changing who you targeted—without touching creative or budget.
But Meta has changed the game. As machine learning and automation have improved, targeting has shifted from being the centerpiece of campaign strategy to being more of a supporting role.
So here’s the big question: do we still need Facebook Ads targeting in 2025?
The History of Facebook Ads Targeting
Targeting Was Once Everything
In the early years, Facebook Ads success often depended on how cleverly you could stack interests and demographics. Marketers spent hours testing combinations: interests, behaviors, job titles, and layered demographics.
The difference between success and failure could be as simple as switching from “fitness enthusiasts” to “CrossFit fans.”
The Rise of Broad Targeting
As Meta’s algorithm improved, advertisers started experimenting with broader targeting—even completely open targeting (no restrictions at all). Many were surprised to see results improve.
Why? Because Meta’s machine learning had access to far more signals than any advertiser could possibly track. Letting the system work freely often produced better results than trying to outsmart it.
Targetingless Campaigns: The Advantage+ Era
Then came Advantage+ campaigns. These were designed to remove targeting decisions from advertisers entirely. First with Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns, then extended to Advantage+ Sales and Advantage+ Lead Campaigns, Meta essentially said:
“Don’t worry about targeting. Just give us your creative and budget—we’ll find the right people.”
This was a huge shift in how advertisers approached Facebook Ads.
What Is Meta Advantage+?
Advantage+ is Meta’s catch-all branding for automation and recommendations. It appears in multiple parts of Ads Manager:
Advantage+ Campaigns: A simplified structure combining campaign and ad set settings.
Advantage+ Placements: Automatic placements across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network.
Advantage+ Budget: Campaign-level budget optimization (formerly known as CBO).
Advantage+ Audiences: Meta’s AI-driven audience targeting system.
In short, Advantage+ is Meta’s way of embedding “best practices” directly into Ads Manager—removing decisions and reducing manual setup.
Advantage+ vs. Manual Campaigns
When you compare Advantage+ campaigns with traditional manual setups, the differences are clear.
Structure: Advantage+ merges campaign and ad set. Manual campaigns let you create multiple ad sets for testing.
Budgeting: Advantage+ defaults to campaign-level budgeting. Manual campaigns allow both campaign and ad set budgets.
Targeting: Advantage+ treats demographic inputs as “suggestions,” not hard constraints. Manual campaigns enforce whatever you select.
Creative Focus: Advantage+ encourages dynamic catalog ads and multi-ad variety. Manual campaigns leave more flexibility.
Learning Phase: Advantage+ campaigns are more data hungry, often taking longer to optimize.
For beginners, Advantage+ is a huge win. For advanced advertisers, it’s a trade-off between ease of use and control.
Do We Still Need Facebook Ads Targeting?
The big question: do advertisers even need to bother with targeting anymore?
For most businesses, the answer is: probably not.
Meta’s AI has surpassed human advertisers when it comes to finding customers. Adding detailed targeting often hurtsperformance by constraining delivery.
But before you throw targeting out the window entirely, let’s look at the caveats.
When Targeting Still Matters in 2025
Location
Local businesses must set geographic boundaries. Meta can’t know you only serve a 10-mile radius unless you tell it.
Legal Requirements
Age restrictions, financial regulations, or industry-specific compliance rules must be manually applied.
Exclusions
Excluding existing customers or certain groups is still important—especially for cost control.
Warm Audiences
Custom audiences (email lists, offline data) still matter. Meta doesn’t automatically know who’s on your email list or customers acquired outside the platform. Upload these audiences to guide delivery.
Controls vs. Suggest an Audience
Inside Ads Manager, targeting falls into two buckets:
Controls: Hard boundaries (location, age, exclusions). Meta won’t override these.
Suggest an Audience: Soft boundaries (demographics, interests). Meta can use them—or ignore them.
For new ad accounts, adding suggestions can help Meta learn faster. For mature accounts with lots of conversion data, Meta usually ignores them anyway.
Why Creative Matters More Than Targeting
This is the biggest shift of all: creative has replaced targeting as the main performance lever.
Meta’s algorithms can analyze your ad copy, images, and videos the same way AI tools like ChatGPT analyze text. The system can determine who resonates with your creative and deliver ads accordingly.
That means your success depends on:
Crafting compelling offers.
Testing multiple variations of copy and visuals.
Developing strong brand positioning.
Leveraging influencer and creator partnerships.
If you want to win in 2025, invest more time in creative strategy than in fiddling with targeting checkboxes.
Value Rules: The Future of Targeting
Targeting is no longer about excluding people. Instead, it’s about guiding Meta toward the audiences that matter most.
Value Rules allow advertisers to tell Meta which customers are worth more. For example:
Customers in certain cities might have higher lifetime value.
Younger audiences might be strategically important for brand growth.
Certain demographics might align better with your long-term brand vision.
This is targeting redefined. Instead of fencing people out, you give Meta weightings to optimize delivery toward your most valuable segments.
Why Advertising Gets Easier Over Time
New advertisers often feel frustrated with Meta Ads. Results seem slow, expensive, and unpredictable. But here’s the truth:
New ad accounts = limited data.
Mature ad accounts = rich conversion history.
The longer you advertise, the smarter Meta becomes. Campaigns that have run for years consistently outperform brand-new campaigns—even with similar creative and budget—because Meta has learned who your best customers are.
Think of your business like a child. At six months, it needs constant attention. At five years, it’s more independent. At fifteen, it thrives on its own. Your ad account matures the same way.
Stick with it. Results get better over time.
The Importance of Attribution Tools
Even if targeting is less important, tracking still matters.
Meta under-reports revenue, especially for recurring billing models or long customer journeys. Tools like Hyros fill in the gaps, showing you the true return on ad spend.
For example, one of our campaigns generated £96,000—but Meta only reported £38,000 of it. Without third-party attribution, we might have shut down a profitable campaign.
If you want to make smarter decisions, don’t rely solely on Ads Manager data.
Practical Recommendations
Always set location and age restrictions.
Upload customer lists and email databases—Meta doesn’t have this data.
For new ad accounts, add suggestions to guide early learning.
For mature ad accounts, focus on creative, not targeting.
Test dynamic catalog ads—they often outperform static campaigns.
Use Value Rules to signal which customers are worth more.
Invest in attribution software like Hyros for accurate reporting.
Conclusion: Targeting Isn’t Dead—It’s Just Different
So, do you still need Facebook Ads targeting in 2025?
For most businesses, the answer is no—at least not in the way we used to think of targeting. Detailed interest stacking is outdated. Meta’s algorithms are simply better at finding your audience.
But targeting isn’t gone. It’s evolving. Use Controls for hard boundaries, upload your custom audiences, and leverage Value Rules to shape delivery.
Above all, focus on creative strategy. Because in the Advantage+ era, your offer and your story matter more than any checkbox in Ads Manager.
