Sometimes we see changes on the Facebook platform before anything is officially announced, and that's exactly what happened here! Twice, working through mentorship programs with my newest 1:1 clients I have noticed that you are no longer allowed to create custom audiences from customer lists without Business Manager. Why is this significant? Well, there are a lot of businesses not yet using the Business Manager tool… AND the ability to create Custom Audiences from your mailing lists are essential for profitable Facebook Ad strategies.
What are custom audiences?
Custom audiences allow you to create audiences from people who have engaged with your Facebook Page, Instagram account, Customer/mailing list, or website traffic. Within the last year, there have been a lot of issues surrounding the use of customer/mailing lists, and Facebook has identified that they're going to crack down on abuses of this specific type of custom audience. Well, here it is – they are now requiring that you operate under Business Manager if you want to use the customer/mailing list audience.
What is Business Manager?
Business Manager is an organizational tool that allows you to manage pages, ad accounts, people, and other assets all from one central location. It helps larger businesses manage all of their assets, and when you set up Business Manager you are required to register your business with identifying information like address, phone number, and email… this provides an additional layer of accountability for people who are opting to use custom mailing list audiences.
To create a Business Manager account (or just check and see if you already have an account) go to Business.Facebook.com. Learn more about Business Manager at HERE.
***An important note*** as you are setting up your Business Manager, ensure that you are only CLAIMING assets that you own. If you run an agency or are working on assets that belong to another person/business, then you must only REQUEST ACCESS to those assets