Table of Contents
You pay for every impression. But you only profit from the right ones.
Incorrect targeting doesn’t just waste media, it inflates CPAs, distorts learning, and slows growth across the entire funnel.
What “incorrect targeting” actually costs you
1) Media waste
Spend goes to people who were never going to buy. Each off-target impression raises CPM/CPC pressure for the audiences that do work.
2) Opportunity cost
Wrong people fill remarketing pools and training data. Your best segments get crowded out by noise.
3) Downstream drag
Creative tests look “meh” because the audience was wrong. Budget gets reallocated away from winners based on faulty reads.
A South African reality check
Quick comparison table: incorrect vs correct targeting
|
Incorrect targeting
|
Correct targeting
|
|---|---|
|
Broad interest-based audiences
|
High-intent, first-party audiences (e.g., review readers, loyalty redeemers, price-check visitors)
|
|
Single signal (e.g., “likes tech”)
|
Layered signals: category + recent action + promo response
|
|
Channel misfit (right person, wrong context)
|
Channel fit (Meta = discovery/dynamic, Google = demand capture, TikTok = creative discovery)
|
|
Creatives with vague value
|
Value-first creatives: price/benefit in the first second, one clear CTA
|
|
Reporting in aggregate
|
Reporting by audience/creative/SKU/channel so winners get more budget
|
How to improve your targeting
1. Use intent, not vibes.
Activate first-party audiences with proven signals (e.g., HelloPeter tech reviewers or PriceCheck website visitors). On-target reach improves when the audience has real shopping behaviour behind it.
The Flow Audience Marketplace gives you exclusive access to curated first-party audience segments from leading SA brands, ready to activate on Meta, Google and TikTok in a few clicks.
2. Keep data recent.
Our audience data is dynamic and regularly refreshed from partner signals, so segments reflect current shopper behaviour, not last month’s clicks.
3. Make selection simpler.
SmartStack Audiences in our marketplace combine complementary brands and behaviours into pre-built stacks, so you can go laser-focused with fewer clicks and spend.
Flow’s team of experts are ready to help! Chat to us for a 1:1 targeting consult now.
