What Exactly Is Meta's Audience Network? A Beginner's Guide

Meta allows you to advertise well beyond it's owned platforms like Facebook and Instagram. This can be particularly powerful if you know where your audience is online. Here's a quick breakdown of Meta's Audience Network

What Exactly Is Meta's Audience Network? A Beginner's Guide

If you're new to performance marketing, finding the right tools to boost your campaigns is essential. One significant asset that you must know about is the Meta Audience Network.

This powerful network enables you to extend the reach of your Facebook and Instagram ads far beyond just these two platforms, tapping into a vast network of third-party apps and websites.

This introduction to the Meta Audience Network will guide you through its benefits, setup, and best practices to kickstart your journey in digital advertising.

What is Meta Audience Network?

The Meta Audience Network extends the reach of Facebook and Instagram ads across a network of third-party apps and websites.

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This means your ads aren't limited to just Meta-owned platforms but can appear in various external apps and websites, helping you tap into a wider audience.

Benefits for Performance Marketers

Extended Reach:

Your ads can appear in popular apps and sites across different categories like news, entertainment, utilities, and games, reaching users where they are most engaged.

Rich Targeting Options:

Utilize Facebook’s advanced targeting tools to reach specific demographics, interests, and behaviors, ensuring your ads are seen by your ideal audience.

Variety of Ad Formats:

From image and video ads to carousel and interstitial ads, choose the format that best suits your campaign goals and user preferences.

Monetization Opportunities:

For app developers, particularly in the gaming sector, the network offers monetization strategies by integrating ads seamlessly into your apps, enhancing user experience while generating revenue.

Platforms in the Meta Audience Network

The network encompasses a wide range of platforms, ensuring that your ads are displayed in a contextually relevant environment. This includes:

A list of some of the platforms that are a part of Meta's audience network
  • News Platforms: Like BuzzFeed and Toyo Keizai Online.
  • Entertainment Platforms: Including Sega and Manga Bang.
  • Game Platforms: Such as Mobage and GameWith.
  • Utility Apps: Including well-known platforms like Tabelog and Weblio.

Getting Started with Meta Audience Network

To start using the Meta Audience Network, follow these steps:

Create Your Ad:

Use Facebook’s Ad Manager to create your ad. Select the objective that fits your campaign, such as traffic, conversions, or app installs.

Select Audience Network in Placement:

When setting up your ad, choose Audience Network as one of your placements. This allows your ad to be shown outside of Facebook and Instagram.

Define Your Budget and Schedule:

Set how much you want to spend and the duration of your ad campaign.

Launch and Optimize:

Once your ad is live, use Facebook’s analytics tools to track performance and optimize based on results.


For performance marketers just starting out, the Meta Audience Network offers a versatile and effective avenue to expand reach and enhance engagement.

By leveraging the rich data and extensive reach of the network, you can ensure that your marketing budget is spent efficiently, targeting users most likely to respond to your ads.

Dive in, experiment with different ad formats and placements, and watch as your marketing efforts yield substantial results.

Explore Further

For more details on setting up and optimizing your ads on the Meta Audience Network, visit Meta's Business Help Center. This resource is invaluable for getting step-by-step guidance and best practices directly from the source.