The Audience Portfolio Strategy: Why One ‘Broad’ Audience Isn’t Enough Anymore

If you’ve been running Meta ads in 2025, you’ve likely heard the same advice repeated everywhere:

“Just run broad.”

Broad targeting can work extremely well, especially for mature accounts with strong signals and high creative variety, but relying exclusively on a single broad audience has become a major cause of performance instability.

Meta’s Andromeda system changed how audience exploration works, and today the most stable, consistent, and scalable accounts are using something different:

An audience portfolio.

A structured mix of multiple audience types that work together.

In this article, we’ll break down why one broad audience isn’t enough anymore - and how a diversified portfolio helps you unlock better ROAS, smoother scaling, and more predictable results.

1. Broad Targeting Is Powerful - But Volatile

Broad targeting works best when:

• the algorithm has strong conversion signals
• you have many diverse creatives
• you operate at healthy daily spend
• your pixel has long-term purchase history

But even with those advantages, broad audiences can exhibit volatility because Meta must explore:

• new pockets of users
• new placements
• new behavior groups
• new conversion patterns

If your only audience is broad, all volatility lands in one place.

A portfolio spreads risk and stabilizes performance.

2. Audiences Fatigue - Even Broad Ones

Most advertisers think audience fatigue only refers to interest clusters or small lookalikes.

But broad audiences fatigue too - just more subtly.

This happens when:

• you scale aggressively
• creatives overexpose
• algorithm exploration narrows
• the system repeats the same “good pocket” too long

Signs of broad fatigue:

• rising CPMs
• declining CTR
• inconsistent day-to-day performance
• flattening ROAS during scaling

Rotating between multiple audiences prevents overexposure and gives Meta room to explore new segments more efficiently.

3. An Audience Portfolio Gives Meta More ‘Starting Points’

When you run only one broad audience, Meta has to explore fresh segments within the same pool every time.

When you provide a portfolio of multiple audience groups, you’re essentially giving Meta:

several different exploration frontiers

instead of just one.

This helps because:

• different audiences peak at different times
• some audiences work better with certain creatives
• certain audiences respond better seasonally
• top performers rotate week to week
• Meta finds efficient pockets faster when given more options

Meta’s automation performs better when it has more structured choices.

4. The Most Effective Audience Portfolio in 2025

The strongest performers today tend to include a balanced mix of:

1. Broad

Strong for scale, exploration, and mature accounts.

2. Interest Clusters

Still relevant - especially for niche products, higher AOV offers, or early-stage accounts.

3. Lookalikes (when account signals are strong)

Good for refining delivery paths, especially 1%–5% ranges.

4. Historical Winners

Audiences that have worked in the past often rebound when rested.

5. Seasonal or Campaign-Specific Audiences

Useful during key periods (holidays, campaigns, specific promotions).

This doesn’t mean you need 15 audiences - even 3–6 well-structured audiences give you meaningful diversification.

5. A Portfolio Helps You Identify Patterns More Clearly

One of the major advantages of using multiple audiences is that patterns become easier to spot:

• Which audiences fatigue faster
• Which audiences scale smoothly
• Which ones rebound after rest
• Which ones pair better with specific creatives
• Which ones maintain ROAS during volatility
• Which ones perform best at different spend levels

When you only run one broad audience, it’s almost impossible to see these insights - all data blends into a single delivery stream.

A portfolio gives clarity.

6. Why Meta’s Andromeda System Favors Portfolios

Andromeda increased:

• creative dependence
• delivery exploration
• audience segment testing
• volatility during scaling
• the importance of fresh signals

Meta’s automation is powerful, but it performs best when advertisers supply variation - in both creatives and audiences.

By offering a portfolio, you reduce the burden on Meta to extract diversity from a single pool.

7. What This Looks Like in Practice

A simple, effective portfolio might include:

• 1 Broad
• 1–2 Interest Clusters
• 1 Lookalike group
• 1 Historical Winner
• 1 New Test Audience

That’s it.

You don’t need 20 ad sets - just a strategic balance.

Bringing It All Together

“Just run broad” is good advice - until it isn’t.

Broad targeting is a powerful foundation, but in 2025 it’s not enough to guarantee stability, strong ROAS, or smooth scaling. A diversified audience portfolio gives Meta more room to explore efficiently, reduces volatility, and helps you understand what truly drives performance over time.

The best advertisers today aren’t choosing between broad and targeted audiences - they’re combining both strategically.

Optional Note on Tools

Some advertisers use analysis tools, such as CrystalGate, to identify:

• which audiences are truly “winners”
• which ones fatigue fastest
• which ones rebound after rest
• which audiences scale smoothly
• which groups consistently beat ROAS targets

Whether you track this manually or with software, the goal is the same:
build a clear picture of your audience landscape and let Meta explore it intelligently.

‍