---
name: stage-4-targeting-custom-audiences-lookalikes-remarketing
description: "Help the right people see content that fits their needs."
category: Strategy & Measurement
stage: —
definitive_article: /social-amplification
status: complete
---

# Stage 4: Targeting (custom audiences, lookalikes, remarketing)

Help the right people see content that fits their needs. This guide helps you plan who should see each piece of work. Start with the real offer, service area and the data you are allowed to use.

**The path:** Customer facts → Audience hypotheses → Supported controls → Checked map

**Start when:** Goals and available content are clear, and the engine needs its targeting plan or an authorized audience setup.

## Inputs

- [The accepted goal and customer brief](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=stage-2-goals-mission-90-day-goals-cpa-roas-budget#task-stage-2-goals-mission-90-day-goals-cpa-roas-budget) and [available source content](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=stage-3-content-endorsements-why-video-3x3-grid-library#task-stage-3-content-endorsements-why-video-3x3-grid-library).
- Verified tracking where required, actual platform access and the relevant source lists with permission for advertising use.
- [Goals, Content, Targeting: the result, proof and people for this work](https://blitzmetrics.com/gct-business-strategy/) and current provider documentation for the chosen account and objective.

## Steps

1. Define the intended customer, problem, location, exclusions and campaign objective. Keep targeting last in the Goals, Content, Targeting sequence; do not choose a convenient list and invent a strategy around it.
2. Inventory permissible audience sources. Existing customer lists, site visitors, video viewers and interests are possible inputs, not mandatory data to upload. Record source, recency, rights and whether it is actually available.
3. Choose bounded audience hypotheses matched to the content and funnel job. Do not label every customer hot or every website visitor ready to buy; the source behavior and intended action determine the use.
4. Read the current account controls and official help before setup. [Meta Blueprint’s audience course](https://www.facebookblueprint.com/student/path/253166-advantage-plus-audiences) covers audience selection, detailed, custom and lookalike audiences. The account must establish which settings are firm controls and which are suggestions or expanded delivery; do not assume an old interest stack or 1% lookalike rule is universally available.
5. Prepare the exact source definition, retention window, inclusion/exclusion logic, country/service area and name for each audience. Check minimum eligibility and supported options in the actual interface. A too-small or unavailable pool stays a gap.
6. Create or edit only the audiences covered by existing authority using the supported interface. Verify saved definitions and status. An accepted file or saved audience is not proof of matching quality, actual reach or a launched ad.
7. Save the map with audience IDs, definitions, content fit and unresolved constraints. Hand it to amplification for a separate launch review, retaining no unnecessary personal data in public documentation.

## Definition of done (QA checklist)

Quality assurance (QA) means checking the result against its agreed requirements; see the [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/).

- [ ] Every audience has a permissible source, relevant hypothesis and current supported definition.
- [ ] Saved controls and limitations are checked; unavailable options remain visible.
- [ ] The map distinguishes plans, configured audiences, eligible delivery and actual reach.

## Example(s)

**Fictional teaching example. This is not a client result or proof of a completed run.**

A fictional shop can use its permitted customer list, but the current account reports too few matched people for the planned test. The map records that limit and a separate prospecting idea for review. It does not claim a live lookalike or switch to a broader audience without an approved plan.

## Handoff and Content Factory context

[Stage bounded paid tests](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=stage-5-amplification-boost-posts-remarketing-ads#task-stage-5-amplification-boost-posts-remarketing-ads) receives the verified map and limits.

This work supports the [Content Factory: Produce, Process, Post and Promote](https://blitzmetrics.com/content-factory/) across its relevant stages. It uses the actual inputs and next owner above; a strategy or measurement guide does not manufacture transcripts, clips or other unrelated stage outputs.

## Start with an agent

Give the AI worker this recipe, the real Inputs, the desired result and the actions already authorized. Ask for the saved output, source evidence, passed and failed checks, and the next owner. A skill is a set of instructions. Loading it does not prove access, install a scheduled job or complete the work. Use the [current installation guide](https://localservicespotlight.com/install/) only if reusable setup is needed; a ZIP contains instructions and is not an access grant.

Use the actual supported app and verified source access. A model name is not a promise of browser control, memory or unattended work. For recurring work, inspect the real job’s trigger, owner, timezone and observed firing; this recipe creates no schedule. Before any media playback, mute the player and set volume to zero. A silent review does not prove sound was heard.

## Record the real execution

Open the run record when work begins. Keep one execution ID, the exact starting recipe revision, input sources and actual state. Write a [meta article, the record of one real execution](https://blitzmetrics.com/meta-article-prompt/) with results, checks, failures and next owner. Link it to this task in the [Task Library](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/). Writing is required; public release follows existing authority.

Reuse the same execution ID for internal reviews, meta writing, revisions and retries. A blocked run stays open with its dependency and owner, without an invented finish time. Keep historical public examples as dated evidence; article counts alone are not verified execution frequency. Use supported findings to propose and verify a recipe improvement.


<!-- factory-layer:start -->

## Factory chain (do not treat this as isolated)

- **Phase:** —
- **Importance:** 5/5 `●●●●●` — frequency 4, revenue 5, gating 5 (runs every factory cycle or weekly; ads/revenue path; unblocks a chain (access/plumbing))
- **Suggested previous station:** —
- **Suggested next station:** —
These stations are generated neighbors, not verified prerequisites or handoffs. Follow the task’s actual Inputs and Handoff sections.
- **Handoff:** Save this task’s actual output, source, date and checks where the receiving owner can read them. Follow the Inputs and Handoff sections for its next step.

## Model routing (same factory, any engine)

- **This task's lane:** `any` — Any capable chat model (Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini). SOP following, drafts, checklists.
- **Single-engine path:** Use the capable AI app you already have. Check its required tools and access before starting. Pass the actual result and proof to the next task.
- **Optional multi-engine:** A tested local model may draft; a stronger model may review facts and voice. Use supported tools for approved actions. Pick models from observed quality and cost; a model name does not prove it can run this task.
- **Never** store the working state in one vendor's memory. Files in the Content Library are the bridge.

<!-- factory-layer:end -->
## Definitive article & links

- [Maintained source guide](https://blitzmetrics.com/social-amplification/)
- [This task in the Task Library](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=stage-4-targeting-custom-audiences-lookalikes-remarketing#task-stage-4-targeting-custom-audiences-lookalikes-remarketing)
- [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/)
- [Definitive article and task recipe standard](https://blitzmetrics.com/definitive-article-guide/)
- [How recipes and run records work together](https://localservicespotlight.com/meta-articles/)

## Review and evidence still needed

The inherited contributor status is `complete`. It is preserved, not promoted by this rewrite. That label alone does not verify document readiness, account access, an actual execution or a client outcome.

A current authorized account must verify audience controls, source permissions, eligibility and saved setup. The detailed Meta help page required login during source review; no unsupported UI behavior is certified. The fictional example teaches the method and does not fill a real-run evidence gap. The opening and full method need a named semantic reviewer; the task-specific path is source guidance, with visible desktop/mobile presentation still to check.