# Lookalike Audiences

Lookalike audiences help you find new users who resemble your best existing audiences. With Freshpaint, you send a privacy‑safe source audience to your ad platform, then create or enable the platform’s modeling/expansion feature.This guide walks through how to:

* Create a lookalike‑ready source audience in Freshpaint
* Sync it to your ad platforms
* Build and activate the modeled audience in your platform
* Follow compliance best practices

#### 1. Create a source audience in Freshpaint

You need a strong “seed” audience to model from. Use either an Imported Audience (from your CRM/EHR) or a Segment (based on behavior on your site).

**1.1 Imported Audience**

* Go to Audiences → Imported Audiences.
* Click Import audience and upload your list (.csv with a single column labeled 'email').
* Name your audience and add an internal description (stays inside Freshpaint).
  * Note the Ad Platform Alias for your audience
* Click Create Audience and select your destination platform.

✅ You’ll see “Sent” once the audience syncs.

**1.2 Segment**

* Go to Audiences → Segments.
* Click Create Segment and define your criteria (e.g., Visited Appointment Page AND Completed Lead Form within the last 30 days).
* Review and name your segment.
  * Note the Ad Platform Alias for your audience
* Click Create Audience, choose your ad platform, and confirm delivery.

#### 2. Sync your source audience to ad platforms

* From either the Audiences Overview page, Imported Audiences page, or Segments page, click on the audience you've created.
* From the audience details page, click Send Audience.
  * Note the Ad Platform Alias for your audience

#### 3. Build the modeled audience in your ad platform

Terminology varies by platform (e.g., Lookalike, Similar, Modeled Audience, Audience Expansion, Optimized Targeting). The setup generally follows one of two paths:

* Create from a source list:
  * In your platform’s audience manager, choose Create → Lookalike/Similar/Modeled Audience.
  * Select the Freshpaint source audience you synced.
  * Choose geography and similarity/size (e.g., tight → broad match).
  * Create/save the modeled audience.
* Enable reach expansion with a source list applied:
  * Apply your Freshpaint source audience to a campaign or ad group.
  * Enable the platform’s expansion setting (e.g., Audience Expansion/Optimized Targeting) to reach people similar to your source.

✅ Platforms may take 24–48 hours to process new or updated audiences.

Example use case:

* Find more people like your verified portal signups or “Request an Appointment” converters by modeling from that source audience.

#### 4. Activate in campaigns

* Attach the modeled audience (or ensure expansion is enabled) in your campaign/ad set.
* Layer exclusions: also sync an “Already Converted” audience and exclude it in your platform targeting to reduce wasted spend.

#### Compliance & safety checklist

* ✅ Include only users who have consented to marketing.
* ✅ Use identifiers approved for marketing within your organization.
* ✅ Maintain sufficient audience size (1,000+ recommended) to protect privacy.
* ✅ Keep ad accounts in good standing with each platform’s policies.

#### Reminder: Look for anonymized names in your ad platforms

* Freshpaint sends an anonymized, platform‑safe name. This is what you’ll see in your ad platform.
* Your internal Freshpaint name won’t appear downstream. Search/select the anonymized name when attaching audiences.

#### Best practices

* Start narrow: choose the tightest similarity option first; broaden only after performance proves out.
* Refresh regularly: re‑sync your source audience monthly to keep the model current.
* Monitor reach and quality: ensure audiences are large enough to serve and are hitting your goals.
* Keep exclusions fresh: update “Already Converted” lists to avoid unnecessary spend.

#### What’s next?

* Apply to campaigns → Use your modeled/expanded audience in active ad sets.
* Layer with exclusions → Exclude users who already converted or are ineligible.
* Review performance → Track CTR, conversions, and CPL to optimize targeting.

Need help? If you’re unsure how to structure your audience or verify compliance, contact <support@freshpaint.io>.