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How to create five key segments to sync with Facebook or Google Ads

Reading Time: 5 minutes

We will look at the following segments you can build in Omnisend in order to create lookalike audiences in Facebook/Instagram and Google’s ad platforms:

  1. placed order but did not buy/pay for it in the last 30 days
  2. bought product from one category, but not from another category
  3. first-time buyers
  4. new subscribers
  5. high-value customers (high spenders)

This is an implementation-level article.

To learn about the strategy and other tactics you can use, read our article on combining email marketing with Google, Facebook and Instagram ads.

Placed order but did not buy/pay for it in the last 30 days

Goal: we want to find shoppers who placed an order but haven’t paid for it yet. This is good for abandoned cart or initiating checkout ads.

creating segments

To begin, we add that the subscription status is “subscribed” so that we can send the email to these shoppers. Since we want to reach shoppers who have placed an order but haven’t paid for it yet, we have to add two rules. 

Firstly, we add a rule saying that users have placed an order in the last desired time period, and secondly follow it with the rule that they have not paid for the order in the same period. 

Bought product from Category X, but not from Category Y

Goal: we want to suggest similar or related products to our audience. You should target audiences that have already bought from you in one category, but haven’t tried a different category. This is ideal for a cross-sell/upsell campaign.

segment of people who bought from a specific product category

For this segment, we need three rules. The first rule is the shopper’s subscription status. We chose it to be subscribed to email, to ensure the shopper wants to receive these types of messages from you. 

The second rule should state the shopper’s buying behavior. Here we choose “bought product,” and we can add the desired time period if we want. 

Note that the period can also be in the shopper’s lifetime, and then the rule would be “have bought the product at least 1 time in total.” To be more precise, we add a subrule “where product category is or contains” and choose the desired category. 

segment of people who have bought the product at least 1 time in total
segment of people who have not bought a product

For the third rule, simply repeat the process. But here, instead of “have bought product,” choose “have not bought a product,” and then choose a different category. 

This will give you the shoppers who bought from one category but not from another. 

First-time buyers

Goal: target one-time buyers. This is perfect for repeat purchase ads. 

segment for repeat purchase ads

If you want to target buyers who bought from you only one time in the last 30 days, you need to add three rules in your segment.

First, ensure you’ll reach your subscribers by adding “subscription status is subscribed” to email.

Then choose the event “placed order” and specify how many times he bought (“exactly 1 time”) and when he did that (“in the last 30 days.”)

segment of people who bought at least one time
group of people who placed an order exactly one time

Then add one more rule—“and paid for order”—to ensure that the order was placed and paid for. We should also specify how many times it was paid for (“exactly 1 time”) and the time period by choosing “in the last 30 days.”

adding the rule "and paid for order"
additional rule in the segment

New subscribers

Goal: lead prospects down the funnel. You want to target audiences that have recently signed up for your newsletters but haven’t bought yet. This is top of the funnel, as the customer hasn’t even added any items to their cart yet.

group of new subscribers

First (as always), ensure you’ll reach your subscribers by adding “subscription status is subscribed” to email.

Then add the event “date of addition” and specify the date the shopper was added to your email list by choosing “in the last 30 days.”

rule to add the date the shopper was added to your email

Third, add the event “opted in” for the same period (“in the last 30 days”) and specify the channel by choosing “email.”

adding the event “opted in” for the same period
rule to select the data customer "opted in"
choosing the channel to be email

High-value users (high spenders)

Goal: identify the customers who have a high AOV. These are valuable customers, and are perfect for repeat purchases for particular product categories. 

rule to select the price customer spent

Set their subscription status to “is subscribed.” Then choose the event “placed order” and its property “total price.” After that, write in the price that is meaningful for your business. 

choosing property "total price"
entering the price

This way, you’ll be able to find those customers who placed an order with a higher price point. 

Now that you’ve created your segments, read the step-by-step instructions to use those segments to create lookalike audiences for Facebook or Google Ads.

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Domantė Gerdauskė
Article by
Domantė Gerdauskė

Domantė is a performance marketer and email marketing enthusiast at Omnisend. When she is not working on campaigns her hands are literally in mud. Pottery for her is a form of meditation and break from numbers.


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These are the Omnisend features that can help you get the results mentioned in the article.

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