If you’ve ever poured money into ads and felt like you were shouting into a void, you’re not alone. 

Many entrepreneurs miss one critical piece in their marketing strategy: audience building. Without a loyal audience, even great ads can not perform as well as they could. The good news? Fixing this missing piece is simpler than you think.

In this blog post, I’ll walk you through three easy-to-follow steps to build a loyal audience using Facebook™ and Instagram™ ads. 

Audience building is the first step of my Webonize Marketing Framework – designed to help coaches, course creators and online entrepreneurs achieve consistent, scalable results. And the best news is, you can set up your audience building campaign and see great results by spending as little as $2 per day in ad spend.

Let’s dive in!

Why Audience Building is the Missing Piece in Your Marketing Strategy

Here’s a tough truth: Ads don’t convert well if people don’t trust you. And trust doesn’t come from a single click or purchase. It comes from building a relationship over time.

Many marketers focus only on conversions. But without an engaged audience to convert, even the most persuasive ad copy can falls flat. Building a loyal audience bridges that gap. It turns strangers into followers, followers into fans, and fans into buyers.

The Webonize Marketing Framework emphasizes audience-first strategies because a well-nurtured audience becomes your most powerful marketing asset. They engage, share, and, most importantly, buy.

So, how do you do it? Here are the three steps to start building your loyal audience today.

Step 1: Create Content That Speaks to Their Heart

Your ads shouldn’t just sell – they should connect. Start by asking yourself:

• What problems are my ideal audience facing right now?
• What desires or goals do they dream of achieving?
• How can I help them solve those problems or reach those goals?

Once you have answers, create content that resonates. Use your ads to offer valuable tips, relatable stories, or free resources that speak directly to their struggles and aspirations.

For example:

• A coach could share a free mini-guide: “3 Mindset Shifts to Attract Your First Client.”
• A course creator might run a video ad showing quick, actionable tips from their program.

When your audience sees you as someone who understands them extremely well, they’ll want to follow and engage with you.

Use the “80/20 Rule.” Dedicate 80% of your ads to building trust and providing value, and only 20% to selling.

Step 2: Build a Warm Audience with Engagement Ads

A common mistake is trying to sell to cold audiences right out of the gate. Instead, focus on warming them up first.

Run engagement ads to:

• Boost your most helpful posts. (But don’t use that “Boost Post” button)
• Promote engaging videos or reels. 
• Increase listeners on your podcast.
• Get more traffic to your insightful blog posts.

The goal is to get your audience to interact with your content—whether it’s a like, comment, share, or a click. And the best part? You can achieve these interactions even with a small budget, such as $2 per day, making it an affordable and effective strategy.

The more they engage, the more they’ll see your future posts and ads.

Why this works: Facebook™ and Instagram™ prioritize content from creators and brands that users have engaged with. By running engagement ads, you’re training the algorithm to show your content to the right people.

Step 3: Nurture Your Audience With Retargeting

Once you’ve built an audience of people who engage with your content, it’s time to nurture them. These ads are shown to people who:

• Watched your videos.
• Engaged with your posts.
• Visited your website, landing page and/or read your blog posts.

Use retargeting ads to:

• Share testimonials or case studies.
• Promote a free resource to grow your email database. 
• Generate leads for your upcoming launch event such as a webinar.
• Direct people to a low-ticket offer like a challenge or workshop.

When you focus on building a loyal audience first, everything else falls into place. Your ads perform better, your leads become more affordable, and your business grows sustainably.