lookalike modeling

Definition

An algorithmic process that identifies new prospects who share characteristics with your existing customers, based on the bold assumption that people who look similar on paper will buy similar things. Statistical stereotyping, but make it marketing.

Example Usage

We built a lookalike model from our top 1% customers and targeted them on Facebook, which definitely didn't feel creepy at all.

Origin

Popularized by Facebook Ads around 2013, though the statistical concept dates to earlier predictive modeling

Fun Fact

Lookalike models can be so accurate that they've reportedly identified pregnant women before they've told their families, leading to some awkward Target mailer situations.

Source: Digital advertising platform terminology

Related Terms

Advanced

Attribution

The science of figuring out which marketing channel deserves credit for a sale, which is basically like five people arguing over who actually scored the goal. Every team claims they were the crucial touchpoint, and nobody can prove otherwise.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Beginner

impression

In marketing and advertising, a single instance of an ad being displayed, regardless of whether anyone actually looked at it or immediately scrolled past. Digital marketers obsess over impressions like they're collecting Pokemon, even though an impression doesn't guarantee anyone's eyeballs actually made contact. It's the vanity metric that makes your campaign look successful before you check the click-through rate.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Beginner

quarterbacking

When multiple team members independently contact the same client or prospect, creating confusion and looking spectacularly uncoordinated. The corporate equivalent of too many cooks.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Beginner

return on ad spend

Revenue generated per dollar spent on advertising, the metric that determines whether your marketing team gets champagne or cardboard boxes. When ROAS exceeds 1, you're making money; below 1, you're funding a very expensive hobby.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Intermediate

micro-conversion

Small user actions indicating progress toward a primary goal, like newsletter signups or video views. The participation trophy of marketing metrics, celebrating tiny victories on the path to actual business outcomes.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Intermediate

Conversion Funnel

An imaginary funnel that describes how thousands of potential customers enter at the top and approximately three of them actually buy something at the bottom. It's called a funnel because your hopes narrow dramatically at each stage.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

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