> Quick answer: Instagram lookalike audiences are created in Meta Ads Manager. Start with a custom audience source, pick a country, set a similarity percentage (1–10%), and Meta finds new people who match your source's demographics, interests, and behaviors.
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What Is a Lookalike Audience on Instagram?
Per Meta's Business Help Center, a lookalike audience uses demographics, interests, and behaviors from a source audience to find new people who share similar qualities. You're not retargeting people you know. You're targeting people who look like them.
How Meta finds similar audiences
Meta's system analyzes your source audience's traits. It then scans its user base for matching profiles. The result is a fresh pool of potential customers who haven't interacted with your brand yet.
Why lookalikes are powerful for scaling
Interest and behavioral targeting reaches users based on what they do. Lookalikes reach users based on who they are. That combination makes lookalikes one of the most efficient tools for expanding reach without losing relevance.
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Types of Source Audiences You Can Use
Your source must be an existing custom audience. Here are the four most common types.
Website pixel data
Install the Meta Pixel on your site. Build a custom audience from visitors, purchasers, or add-to-cart events. Use that audience as your lookalike source.
Email list uploads
Upload a CSV of customer emails. Meta matches them to user accounts. That matched list becomes your source.
Engagement data (page visitors, video viewers, lead form fills)
People who engaged with your Facebook Page, watched a video, or filled out a lead form qualify as source audiences. Engagement-based sources often produce strong lookalike results.
App event audiences
If you run a mobile app with the Meta SDK installed, you can build sources from specific app events like purchases or registrations.
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Source Audience Requirements
Minimum size (100 people, 1,000–5,000 recommended)
Meta requires a minimum of 100 people in your source audience. For best results, Meta recommends 1,000 to 5,000 people from the same country. A larger, higher-quality source produces a sharper lookalike.
Quality and recency
Fresh data outperforms stale data. Prioritize sources built from recent activity. A recent pixel audience built from purchasers will outperform a years-old email list. Refresh your source data regularly to keep lookalikes performing.
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Step-by-Step. Create a Lookalike Audience in Ads Manager
Instagram lookalike audiences are created and managed through Meta Ads Manager, not the Instagram app itself.
Navigate to Audiences
Open Ads Manager. Click the main menu icon. Select "Audiences" under the Assets section.
Select Create Audience > Lookalike Audience
Click the "Create Audience" button. Select "Lookalike Audience" from the dropdown menu.
Choose your source audience
Select an existing custom audience as your source. If you don't have one yet, build a custom audience first, then return to this step.
Select country/location(s)
Per Meta's documentation, the country you choose determines where your lookalike audience members are based. You can target multiple countries inside a single lookalike.
Choose similarity percentage (1–10%)
Enter a percentage between 1 and 10. Lower percentages produce smaller, more precise audiences. Higher percentages produce larger, broader pools. More on this below.
Name and save
Give your audience a descriptive name. Include the source and percentage for easy reference. For example. "Purchasers LAL 1% US." Click "Create Audience." Meta will process the audience before it is ready to use.
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Understanding Similarity Percentage
1–2%. Closest match to your source
This tier mirrors your source audience most closely. It's best for conversion-focused campaigns where precision matters more than volume.
3–5%. Balanced reach and relevance
A practical middle ground. You get meaningful reach without drifting far from your core customer profile.
6–10%. Broader audience, top-of-funnel awareness
This tier prioritizes scale. Use it for brand awareness campaigns where reach is the primary goal.
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Best Practices for Lookalike Success
Run multiple similarity tiers in separate ad sets
Test 1%, 3%, and 5% in separate ad sets simultaneously. Each tier behaves differently. Let your data decide which performs best for your offer.
Tailor creative and messaging to the source audience
A lookalike of your best customers needs different messaging than a lookalike of cold video viewers. Match the creative to the audience's likely awareness stage.
Test and iterate regularly
Source data ages. Rebuild your custom audiences from fresh activity on a regular basis. New source data produces sharper lookalikes.
Exclude your source audience to prevent cannibalization
Note. per Meta's documentation, lookalike audiences created from the same source are non-overlapping with each other. But the original source custom audience itself can still enter the delivery pool. Exclude it at the ad set level to keep your lookalike targeting clean.
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How Coinis Accelerates Lookalike Campaigns
Campaign Launcher audience targeting
Coinis Campaign Launcher includes a dedicated audience step in the setup flow. You select your lookalike audience directly inside the wizard. No jumping between tabs.
Brand Profile for consistent messaging
Brand Profile learns your brand voice, product details, and tone. Every creative and copy variant stays on-brand across all your similarity tiers.
Rapid creative iteration with Revise
Testing three similarity tiers means you need at least three sets of creatives. Coinis Revise lets you variate, resize, and rewrite ad copy from a single base creative. Fast iterations. No design bottleneck.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I create a lookalike audience directly in the Instagram app?
No. Instagram lookalike audiences are created and managed inside Meta Ads Manager. There is no lookalike audience tool inside the Instagram app itself.
What is the minimum source audience size for a lookalike?
Meta requires a minimum of 100 people in your source custom audience. For best results, Meta recommends 1,000 to 5,000 people from the same country.
Do I need to exclude other lookalike tiers to prevent audience overlap?
No. Per Meta's documentation, lookalike audiences created from the same source are non-overlapping with each other. However, you should exclude your original source custom audience at the ad set level to prevent overlap with the people you already know.
Which similarity percentage should I start with?
Most advertisers start with 1% for highest-intent conversion campaigns. A 3–5% lookalike balances reach and relevance well. Test multiple tiers in separate ad sets and let performance data guide your budget allocation.