If your Meta (Facebook & Instagram) ads aren't performing, your first instinct is probably to blame the media buyer.
"They aren't targeting the right people." "We need to try a Lookalike Audience of top 1% spenders." "Maybe we should narrow it down to women aged 25-34 who like yoga and drive SUVs?"
Five years ago, you would have been right. In 2020, success was about finding a "secret pocket" of customers that no one else was targeting.
But in 2025, that strategy is dead. And if you are still obsessed with "hacking" the audience settings, you are actively burning money.
At Scale Labs, we manage millions in ad spend for our own brands and our clients. We've seen the shift firsthand. The reality today is simple but uncomfortable: There is no secret audience. Your creative is the targeting.
The "Interest Cloud" is Gone
Since the iOS14 privacy updates, Meta lost the ability to track users as granularly as they used to. They don't know exactly who "likes yoga" with the same precision they did in 2018.
To survive, Meta rebuilt their entire ad engine around AI.
Instead of relying on who you tell it to target, the algorithm now analyses what you are showing. It scans your video frame-by-frame, reads the text on your image, and listens to the voiceover script.
It looks something like this:
- You upload a video ad for a dog supplement.
- The AI hears the word "Golden Retriever" and sees a dog in the first 3 seconds.
- The AI automatically shows that ad to dog owners, even if you left the targeting completely wide open (Broad).
If you try to restrict the algorithm by layering on narrow interests, you are just putting potential buyers in a cage and forcing the AI to pay a premium to reach them.
The "Broad" Revolution
This is why we (and almost every top-tier growth team globally) have shifted to Broad Targeting.
We strip away the interests. We strip away the lookalikes. We often strip away age and gender limits. We give the algorithm 20 million people and say, "Go find the buyers."
This sounds terrifying to a traditional marketer. "Won't we waste money showing dog supplements to cat owners?"
No. Because the algorithm is smarter than you. It will show the ad to a few thousand people, see who clicks, and then instantly optimise to find more people just like them.
How to Target with Creative (The New Playbook)
If you can't rely on the "Interest" box to find your customers, you have to do it with your content. Your video/image needs to act as a filter.
Here is how we structure "Creative Targeting" at Scale Labs:
1. The "Call-Out" Hook
In the first 3 seconds, you must explicitly identify who the ad is for. This signals the algorithm and the user.
- Bad Hook: "Check out our summer sale!" (Too vague; attracts window shoppers).
- Good Hook: "If you have a Golden Retriever who itches constantly, you need to see this." (Instantly filters for dog owners with a specific problem).
2. Visual Signalling
If you sell luxury watches, your ad needs to look expensive. If you use a chaotic, low-quality UGC video, the algorithm will match you with bargain hunters. If you use a sleek, high-end studio shot, the algorithm will match you with premium buyers. You are signalling the "vibe" of the customer you want.
3. The "Us vs. Them" Comparison
Static image ads are making a massive comeback in 2025. One of our highest-performing formats is a simple comparison chart: "Other Brands" vs. "Us." This works because it does the selling before the click. By the time the user lands on your site, they are already educated. The creative did the heavy lifting, not the landing page.
The Hard Truth About "Fatigue"
When a campaign dies, founders often say, "We exhausted that audience."
Wrong. You didn't run out of people; you ran out of attention.
If you are targeting a "Broad" audience of 10 million people, you haven't reached them all. You just bored them. The algorithm stopped showing your ad because people stopped clicking on it.
The solution isn't to change the audience targeting. The solution is to drop a new creative hook that appeals to a different angle within that same broad audience.
Stop Media Buying, Start Creative Strategising
The days of the "media buying wizard" who tweaks knobs in the ad account are over. The new wizards are the Creative Strategists.
If you are spending more time inside Facebook Ads Manager than you are writing scripts and reviewing video concepts, your priorities are backwards.
Your ad account should be boring. Your creative should be exciting.
At Scale Labs, we don't just run ads; we engineer the creative assets that fuel the algorithm. We know how to script the hooks that find the buyers.
Struggling to lower your CPA? It's probably not your settings; it's your creative. Book a free strategy call, and let's review your ad library.
