Advertisers used to lean hard on precise targeting—age, ZIP code, income brackets, you name it—but now, a lot of that’s off-limits.
So what’s everyone doing instead?
First, custom audiences have become way more important. Since you can’t zero in on cold audiences like before, advertisers are focusing more on people who’ve already interacted—website visitors, email subscribers, past customers. Retargeting is where it’s at now.
Also, Meta used to offer something called “Special Ad Audiences” (basically watered-down lookalikes), but they’ve started phasing those out too. So now, a lot of people are going broader and letting Meta’s algorithm do the heavy lifting—especially with tools like Advantage+ Audiences.
And since targeting is more limited, creative matters more than ever. Your ad copy, visuals, and hook need to speak to the user fast—because you can’t always control exactly who sees it.
Another trend? More advertisers are using Conversion API and offline events to feed Meta better data. That helps the algorithm optimize performance even when targeting options are limited.
Bottom line: These limitations are forcing everyone to shift from precise audience targeting to smarter strategies—better data, stronger creative, and more reliance on Meta’s machine learning. It’s not all bad, just different.