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Sometimes, when setting up a Meta audience, you’ll find that your criteria keyword (interest, brand, product, category, behavior, or topic) isn’t available in the Meta list.
This doesn’t mean you can’t reach that audience, it simply means Meta doesn’t have a pre-defined interest label for that specific term. You can still reach the right people by reconstructing the audience through related signals and strategies.
Why some criteria don’t exist?
Meta’s interest taxonomy is not exhaustive or updated in real time. Interests are generated from aggregated user behavior across Meta apps, pages liked, content engaged with, ad interactions, etc.
Some reasons an interest may not appear:
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It’s too niche or new (e.g., a startup brand or emerging trend).
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It’s too broad or generic, not distinctive enough for targeting.
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It’s restricted or merged with broader categories (e.g., “vegan skincare” might roll up under “Veganism” or “Skincare”).
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It’s a brand or term that Meta no longer allows for direct targeting (often for privacy or brand safety reasons).
The strategy? Rebuilding the Audience
When the exact interest isn’t available, you can build a proxy audience using the following approaches.
1. Use Related or Parent Interests
Search for adjacent topics or umbrella categories that capture similar behavior.
Example:
If “Kombucha” doesn’t exist — try: “Fermented foods”, “Gut health”, “Healthy drinks”, “Wellness”, Related brands (e.g., “Health-Ade,” “GT’s Living Foods”)
Tip: Combine several related interests to recreate specificity.
2. Layer Interests and Demographics
Combine related interests with:
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Demographics (age, gender, income, education)
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Behaviors (online shoppers, frequent travelers, business owners)
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Locations (urban vs. rural, specific countries or regions)
This layering increases precision even when individual interests are broad.
3. Use Lookalike Audiences
If you already have a seed list (CRM / customer file, website visitors (via Meta Pixel), engaged followers or video viewers), you can create a Lookalike Audience to find new people who behave like them, even without using interests at all.
This is often the most effective way to replace missing interest targeting.
4. Build Custom Audiences from Activity
Use first-party signals instead of predefined interests:
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People who visited a specific page on your website
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Users who interacted with your Instagram account or Facebook Page
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Engagement-based audiences (likes, comments, shares, video views)
This helps you reach users who have already shown intent or affinity for your topic.