How Local Businesses Can Use Custom and Lookalike Audiences to Keep Their Calendar Full

In digital marketing, a Custom Audience is a group of people who have already interacted with your business in some way. This could include past clients, website visitors, people who engaged with your social media posts, or anyone who submitted an inquiry or request.

The power of Custom Audiences is that you’re marketing to warm leads, people who already know your brand or have shown interest. These audiences convert far better than broad, generic targeting. If your ads aren’t generating enough high-quality clients, it’s often because your audience is too broad. Custom and Lookalike Audiences allow you to focus on past customers, engaged leads, and new prospects who resemble your best clients.

The first step is setting up proper tracking and data collection. Connect your ad account to your website and lead capture forms, and track key actions such as inquiries submitted, bookings made, or deposits paid. Without accurate tracking, you won’t know which audiences perform best.

Next, build your first Custom Audience. These are people who have already expressed interest in your services. Examples include past clients, visitors to high-intent pages on your site, social media followers who watched your videos, or leads who requested a quote but never booked. Targeting these audiences first ensures faster conversions because they already recognize your business.

Once your Custom Audiences are working, create Lookalike Audiences. These allow you to reach brand-new prospects who resemble your best clients. By selecting your top-performing Custom Audience and applying location and similarity settings, you can scale your reach without sacrificing quality.

After your audiences are set up, run ads to warm leads first, then scale with Lookalikes. Track metrics like cost per lead, conversion rate, and booking requests, and refresh your ad creative regularly with testimonials, case studies, or time-sensitive offers. Over time, this creates a repeatable system that keeps your calendar full.

Custom and Lookalike Audiences save ad spend, increase conversions, and turn past and potential clients into consistent bookings. When combined with AI-powered automation, your business can follow up instantly, stay top of mind, and reactivate clients automatically, even when your team is busy or offline.