How to Target the Right Audience with Meta Ads in Financial Services

At Lillian Purge, we specialise in SEO for Financial Advisors. This page covers how to target the right audience with Meta Ads in financial services.

At Lillian Purge, we specialise in SEO for financial advisors, helping firms in the financial services sector attract qualified clients through data-driven digital marketing. Meta Ads, which include Facebook and Instagram advertising, can be a powerful way for financial advisors to connect with their ideal audience. However, to achieve real results, you need to know exactly how to target the right people while maintaining compliance and professionalism.

Why Audience Targeting Matters in Financial Services

The financial industry relies heavily on trust, expertise, and relevance. Reaching the wrong audience not only wastes your budget but can also damage credibility. A successful Meta Ads strategy goes beyond demographics—it focuses on reaching individuals with the right intent, interests, and financial needs.

Financial products and services, such as pension planning, wealth management, or investment advice, appeal to very specific segments. Knowing who your ideal client is—and crafting ads that speak directly to their goals—is what separates effective campaigns from underperforming ones.

Understanding Meta Ads Targeting Options

Meta’s advertising platform provides one of the most advanced audience targeting systems available. It uses a combination of demographic data, user behaviour, and engagement history to show your ads to the people most likely to respond.

The main targeting categories for financial services are:

• Demographics: Age, location, gender, relationship status, and education level.

• Interests: Users who engage with financial news, investment platforms, or business content.

• Behaviours: People who have recently searched for or interacted with financial topics, such as “retirement planning” or “tax advice.”

• Custom Audiences: Lists created from your existing client database, email subscribers, or website visitors.

• Lookalike Audiences: New prospects who share characteristics with your current clients.

When used correctly, these tools can help financial advisors focus advertising spend on high-quality prospects.

Step 1: Define Your Ideal Client Profile

Before you start building an ad campaign, define exactly who you want to reach. Financial services cover a wide range of audiences, from young professionals seeking mortgage advice to retirees managing pension income.

Ask yourself:

• What is their age range?

• Where are they located?

• What are their financial goals and challenges?

• What services do they most need right now?

The clearer your audience definition, the easier it becomes to tailor your ad messaging and creative.

Step 2: Use Location Targeting for Local Reach

Most financial advisors serve clients in specific regions or towns, making local targeting essential. Meta Ads allows you to choose precise geographic locations, from an entire city to a 10-mile radius around your office.

For example, a financial advisor in Bedford could set an audience for users aged 35–65 within 15 miles of the town centre, ensuring ads are only shown to potential clients who can realistically use their services.

Location targeting also supports regional campaigns, such as promoting seminars or consultations in nearby areas.

Step 3: Leverage Custom and Lookalike Audiences

One of the most effective targeting methods in financial services is using custom audiences. By uploading existing client or email lists, you can re-engage people already familiar with your brand—ideal for upselling or cross-promoting new services.

Lookalike audiences take this a step further by allowing Meta to find users who share similar traits with your best-performing clients. This helps you expand reach without losing relevance. For example, if your existing clients are business owners aged 40–55, Meta can find similar users who may also require investment or pension advice.

Step 4: Target by Interests and Behaviour

Interest-based targeting lets you reach users who have shown engagement with financial topics. You can select categories like “investing,” “financial planning,” “business finance,” or “retirement savings.”

Behavioural targeting goes deeper by focusing on how users interact with financial content online. For instance, Meta can identify users who recently clicked on mortgage calculators, visited financial blogs, or engaged with wealth management posts.

By combining interests and behaviours, you can reach users who not only have an interest in financial topics but are also actively seeking help.

Step 5: Segment Audiences for Each Service

Instead of targeting one large audience for all services, create smaller, more specific segments. For example:

• Retirement planning for people aged 50–65

• Investment advice for professionals aged 35–55

• Mortgage guidance for first-time buyers aged 25–40

• Inheritance or estate planning for homeowners aged 45–70

Each segment should have its own tailored ad copy, imagery, and landing page. This level of personalisation improves engagement rates and reduces wasted ad spend.

Step 6: Optimise with Data and A/B Testing

The best-performing Meta campaigns rely on data, not assumptions. Always test multiple variations of your ads to identify what resonates most with your audience.

A/B testing allows you to compare:

• Different headlines or calls-to-action

• Varying images or video creatives

• Audience segments (for example, homeowners vs business owners)

Once you find combinations that deliver the best performance, allocate more budget to those ads. Over time, your cost per lead will decrease while conversion quality improves.

Step 7: Stay Compliant with Financial Advertising Rules

Advertising financial services requires care and compliance. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) expects all promotions to be fair, clear, and not misleading.

Avoid exaggerated claims like “guaranteed returns” or “risk-free investing.” Instead, focus on education, transparency, and trust. Meta Ads that include disclaimers or highlight your regulated status can help build credibility and ensure compliance.

Step 8: Use Retargeting to Re-Engage Interested Prospects

Retargeting allows you to show ads to people who have already interacted with your website or social content but didn’t enquire. These audiences are more likely to convert because they already recognise your brand.

For example, you could retarget users who visited your “Pension Planning” page with an ad offering a free retirement consultation. Retargeting keeps your brand visible during the decision-making process.

Step 9: Align Meta Ads with Your SEO Strategy

While Meta Ads drive immediate visibility, SEO delivers long-term authority. Aligning both ensures you reach audiences across multiple touchpoints. Use insights from Meta campaigns—such as popular topics or engagement data—to guide your SEO content strategy.

If many users engage with your ad about “Tax-Efficient Investments,” you could publish a detailed blog or guide around the same topic. This creates synergy between your paid and organic efforts.

Expert Tips for Targeting the Right Audience

1. Start with smaller budgets and test multiple audience types.

2. Use video content to build trust and explain complex financial topics.

3. Keep messaging focused on client needs, not just your services.

4. Monitor cost per lead and conversion rate regularly.

5. Exclude irrelevant demographics to improve precision.

Why Targeting Matters More Than Ever

The success of any Meta Ads campaign in financial services depends on reaching the right people. Broad targeting wastes money and reduces trust, while precise audience segmentation delivers measurable ROI.

By combining clear audience definition, smart data usage, and compliance-conscious messaging, financial advisors can use Meta Ads to generate qualified leads and long-term clients.

At Lillian Purge, we help financial advisors build effective Meta Ads and SEO campaigns that target the right people, strengthen authority, and deliver real business growth.

If you’re ready to refine your audience strategy and attract more of the right clients, get in touch today.

Get further insight with Common Meta Ad mistakes financial advisors should avoid and Instagram Ads for financial advisors: reaching the right audience and our Financial Advisors Hub.