7.2: Aiming Facebook Ads at the Right Customers Around Your Ontario Shop, Step by Step

For a local shop, the most important Facebook ad setting is location: a circle around your shop with a radius equal to how far customers really travel. Age, language and interests come second. Once the area is right, Facebook is fairly good at finding the people inside it.

In post 7.1 I said the most common money-wasting mistake is targeting too wide. This post walks through targeting step by step, using a nail salon in Mississauga as the example.

One note before we start: Facebook changes its screens often. Button names may differ slightly from what you read here, but the order of the steps stays the same.

Why "Boost Post" alone isn't enough

The Boost Post button sits under every post. Tap it, pick an amount, done. Very convenient.

The trouble is that it offers few choices, and its default audience is usually wider than a local shop needs.

The full set of options lives in Ads Manager. On a computer it's at adsmanager.facebook.com, and there's a Meta Ads Manager app for phones. Ads Manager is the full kitchen. Boost is the microwave: quick, but it cooks fewer dishes.

In Ads Manager, the audience settings are at the Ad Set level.

Step 1: Draw the circle around your shop

This is the step that saves the most money.

1. •Under Location, remove the default (usually "Canada").
2. •Type your shop's address, or drop a pin on the map right where the shop is.
3. •Drag the radius to a sensible distance.

What's sensible? Ask yourself: where do my regulars come from?

These are starting points, not fixed numbers. If you keep a customer list, their postal codes will tell you exactly where they come from.

Tip: if your shop sits on the edge of two cities, or beside the lake, the circle will cover places with no customers. You can drop the pin slightly toward the residential side instead of on the exact address.

Step 2: Age and gender, don't cut too much

• •Age: start at 18 or 21 up to 65+. Narrow it only when you're sure, for example a salon that mainly serves students.
• •Gender: nail salons usually choose women. But remember the men who buy gift cards for a wife or a mother. Restaurants should leave it on all.

A local area is already small. Slice it several more times and very few people are left, which makes the ad hard to deliver and often more expensive.

Step 3: Language, where many Vietnamese shops get it wrong

A common assumption: to reach Vietnamese people, choose the language "Vietnamese". Not quite.

The Languages setting filters by the language someone uses Facebook in, not by background. Many Vietnamese people in Canada, especially younger ones, use Facebook in English. Choosing "Vietnamese" leaves them out.

One more thing: Facebook does not allow targeting by ethnicity. There is no box labelled "Vietnamese people".

So how do you reach Vietnamese customers? With the ad itself. An ad written in Vietnamese, with images familiar to Vietnamese people, makes Vietnamese readers stop while everyone else scrolls on. Facebook notices who responds and finds more people like them.

I usually suggest splitting into two groups:

• •Vietnamese customers: the ad is written in Vietnamese. For language, choose "Vietnamese" to reach the older generation, or leave it empty to include Vietnamese people who use Facebook in English.
• •Neighbourhood customers: the ad is written in English, language left empty, with a tight radius around the shop.

Step 4: Interests, few or none

It used to be common to stack many interests: beauty, nail art, Vietnamese food.

In recent years Meta has removed many of these options and pushed an automatic mode called Advantage+ audience. Put simply: you give a few hints, and Facebook finds people based on who has already tapped and messaged.

For a local shop I suggest:

1. •Keep location tight. This is the part you must decide yourself.
2. •Interests: leave empty, or pick one or two close ones as hints.
3. •Let the image and the words do the filtering.

Eight kilometres around your shop is already a small group. There's no need to slice it further.

Example: a nail salon in Mississauga

Say the salon is near Square One and serves both Vietnamese and neighbourhood customers. You'd create two ad sets:

About budget: this is only an illustration, not a standard. You might give each set around $10 a day for seven days, then see which one brings more messages.

Before publishing, look at the estimated audience size in the right-hand column. If it's very small, widen the radius a little.

After 7 days: check whether you hit the target

Don't set it and forget it. After a week, do three things:

1. •In Ads Manager, open Breakdown and choose Age and Region. See which groups your money is going to.
2. •Read the messages and comments. Are these people nearby or far away?
3. •Ask new customers in the shop: "Which area do you live in?"

If most inquiries come from far away, shrink the radius. If the ad barely delivers, widen it.

Summary

• •Location is the number one setting. Pin your shop and choose a radius based on how far customers travel.
• •Go easy on age and gender cuts, because a local area is already small.
• •Language filters by Facebook's interface language, not by background. To reach Vietnamese customers, let Vietnamese content do the work.
• •Interests: few or none.
• •After seven days, check who is actually responding.

Once the right people see the ad, the next deciding factor is the image and the words. Post 7.3 has five ad examples for nail salons, spas and restaurants.

If you'd like someone to set this up and watch it for you, see Wizy's Google & Facebook Ads service or book a free 15-minute consultation.

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✍️ About the author: Do Ngoc Hoan Founder of Wizy.ca, a marketing agency for Vietnamese businesses in Ontario. I write to make marketing simple for busy shop owners — no confusing jargon. More at dongochoan.com.