Facebook Ads for Retail: What Are Dynamic Ads for Broad Audiences?

When Facebook launched dynamic ads in 2015, it gave retail marketers a powerful way to retarget ads to past website and app visitors. That power was limited, however. The initial rollout of dynamic ads limited marketers to just that—a pre-arranged audience to retarget.

Facebook developed Dynamic Ads for Broad Audiences (DABA) in 2017. These dynamic ads expanded advertisers’ reach across Facebook, Instagram, and the Audience Network. It targets people interested in a specific product or similar product. Dynamic Ads for Broad Audiences are unique because of the audience they serve—people who’ve yet to visit a retailer’s website or app.

Dynamic Ads for Broad Audiences are unique because of the audience they serve—people who’ve yet to visit a retailer’s website or app.

DABA is an effective way to reach top-of-funnel shoppers. It considers user interest, behavior, and demographic data when serving ads. This lets retail marketers reach new customers searching similar products who otherwise may not have discovered their brand.

Learn more about the value of DABA and when to use it below.

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What Are Dynamic Ads for Broad Audiences?

DABA is an extension of Facebook dynamic ads that focuses on customer acquisition rather than retargeting. Dynamic ads allow retailers to place their ads strategically so they display in front of select audiences.

Retail marketers need a catalog and Facebook pixel to set up DABA. These dynamic ads take interest, demographic, and behavior into consideration when targeting a user. Interests are actions such as liked pages and clicked ads. Demographics refer to age and location. Behavior is past search activity on other websites.

For example, a footwear retailer promotes its top-selling sneakers, the fictional Marathon BSR 10, on Facebook. It uses dynamic ads to serve product ads to past site visitors but wants the Marathon BSR 10 to appear in front of a larger audience.

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Using DABA, the sneaker ads will display in front of users that shopped the BSR 10 or similar sneakers on sites other than the retailer’s own. This puts the retailer’s brand—and its top-selling sneakers—in front of a new audience that now considers it in their shopping decision.

Why Are Dynamic Ads for Broad Audiences Important?

While retail marketers can target audiences through demographics, interests, and behaviors, DABA leverages Facebook’s rich consumer data to match ads with the right users. These dynamic ads create a pathway to new customers that weren’t accessible before. The result is a win-win for marketers: Facebook does the behind-the-scenes work and marketers receive insights to grow customer acquisition.

DABA displays to broad audiences that have taken action to engage with the products retail marketers are advertising.

Remember, Dynamic Ads for Broad Audiences run on user behavior. DABA displays to broad audiences that have taken action to engage with the products retail marketers are advertising. Increased reach allows ads to connect with the right users across Facebook, Instagram, and the Audience Network. Instead of retargeting to previous site or app visitors, DABA casts a wider net and uses intent signals to serve ads to a larger audience.

DABA can also inform lower-funnel marketing efforts. Broad audience ads appear to new prospects that can flow through the sales funnel with the right targeting tactics in place. Measure who engages with a DABA campaign—who clicked, who visited a site, and what products they viewed—and retarget them with dynamic ads that push them down the acquisition funnel.

Sharpen Your Broad Audience Strategy

Sure, DABA has potential to drive acquisition to a retailer’s business, but there is such a thing as extending reach too far. After all, reaching 10 million Facebook users is only effective if they have a remote interest in that brand or product.

Make sure your audience is the right match for your ads. Instead of targeting entire countries, hone in on select regions or cities where you think your ads will resonate the most. Set a specific distance to cover around these areas (i.e. 10 miles) to refine reach. This will show exactly where DABA is performing best.

Additionally, set an age range that your product ads best serve. If advertising young men’s apparel, you’ll want to set the age range accordingly. Don’t target these ads to adult men 50 and up; the chances of them clicking these ads are slim. The minimum age requirement to target ads on Facebook is 13. Conversely, the highest age range is 65+.

Retailers should hone their target audience to tap into the huge swath of data they wouldn’t otherwise have access to. The powerful combination of targeting and data is key in driving new customer acquisition on Facebook.