How to Warm Up Cold Audiences with Facebook Display Ads: The 2025 Framework

The Core Concept
Direct-to-purchase ads rarely work on cold audiences because trust has not been established. 'Warming' is the strategic process of serving value-first content (educational videos, brand stories, problem-aware display ads) to users who have never interacted with your brand, moving them from 'unaware' to 'problem-aware' before asking for a sale.

The Strategy
The most effective 2025 framework utilizes a 'Video-First' approach. Start with broad targeting using short-form video (Reels/Stories) to capture attention cheaply. Retarget viewers who watched 50%+ of that video with static display ads driving traffic to a landing page or blog post. Finally, serve conversion ads only to those who visited the page. This is often called the 'TOFU-MOFU-BOFU' sequence.

Key Metrics
Do not judge warming campaigns by ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) immediately. Instead, focus on Video ThruPlay Rate, Cost Per Landing Page View, and CTR (Click-Through Rate). A healthy warming campaign should lower your eventual CPM (Cost Per Mille) at the bottom of the funnel by building a high-quality retargeting pool.

A Cold Audience is a segment of users who have absolutely no prior interaction with your brand. They have not visited your website, engaged with your social posts, or purchased your products. Unlike warm audiences (who know you) or hot audiences (who are ready to buy), cold audiences require education before conversion.

In my analysis of 200+ ad accounts, I've found that treating cold audiences like warm ones is the single most common reason for low ROAS. You cannot ask for marriage on the first date, and you cannot ask for a $100 purchase on the first impression.

The Temperature Spectrum

Understanding this distinction is critical because the objective changes. For cold audiences, your goal is cheap attention, not expensive conversions.

Direct conversion campaigns fail on cold traffic because the trust gap is too wide to bridge with a single ad. Users require multiple touchpoints to feel comfortable making a transaction with a new entity.

Data supports this hesitation. The average conversion rate for Facebook ads across all industries hovers around 9-10%, but for strictly cold traffic without warming, it drops significantly [1]. Furthermore, modern consumer journeys are complex; it often takes between 20 to 500 touchpoints depending on the ticket price before a sale occurs [4].

The 'Learning Phase' Trap

When you launch a conversion objective campaign to a cold audience, Facebook's algorithm struggles. It needs about 50 conversion events per week to exit the 'Learning Phase.' If your cold audience doesn't convert (because they don't know you), the algorithm never optimizes, and your CPA (Cost Per Action) skyrockets. Warming campaigns feed the pixel with cheaper data points (video views, clicks), stabilizing the account before you ask for the sale.

A successful warming strategy moves users logically through the funnel. This isn't just about running ads; it's about sequencing a narrative.

1. The 'Hook' Phase (TOFU)

Goal: Stop the scroll and identify interest.
Format: 9:16 Video (Reels/Stories).
Strategy: Use broad targeting or Lookalike Audiences (LAL). The content should address a pain point, not sell a product. If a user watches 3+ seconds, they have self-identified as interested.

• Micro-Example: A skincare brand runs a video on "Why your moisturizer stops working in winter" rather than showing a product bottle.

2. The 'Value' Phase (MOFU)

Goal: Build authority and trust.
Format: Static Display Ads or Carousels leading to a blog post.
Strategy: Retarget the video viewers from Step 1. Send them to a high-value blog post or guide on your site. This captures their pixel data and establishes you as an expert.

• Micro-Example: Retarget video viewers with a static ad: "5 Ingredients to Avoid in Winter Skincare. Read the Guide."

3. The 'Offer' Phase (BOFU)

Goal: Capture the sale.
Format: Dynamic Product Ads or Single Image Ads.
Strategy: Retarget users who read the blog post. Now, and only now, do you show the product with a clear CTA like "Shop Now" or a first-time customer offer.

• Micro-Example: "Ready to fix your winter skin? Try our Hydration Kit. 10% off for new customers."

Identifying a cold audience requires technical exclusion. You aren't just targeting new people; you are actively excluding anyone who knows you to prevent wasted spend.

1. The Exclusion Method

In Meta Ads Manager, when setting up your 'Cold' ad set, you must exclude your Custom Audiences.

• Exclude: Website Visitors (180 days)
• Exclude: Social Engagers (IG/FB 365 days)
• Exclude: Customer Lists (Email uploads)

By stripping these groups away, you ensure every dollar spent is reaching a truly net-new individual.

2. Leveraging Lookalikes (LAL)

While broad targeting is powerful in 2025 due to AI advancements, Lookalike Audiences remain a staple for finding high-quality cold traffic. Create a 1% Lookalike of your highest value customers (LTV list). This tells Meta: "Find me new people who look exactly like my best spenders."

3. Interest Stacking

For niche products, 'Interest Stacking' helps define cold audiences. Group relevant interests (e.g., "Sustainable living" + "Organic clothing") to narrow down the vast ocean of cold users into a pond of likely prospects.

Creative is the new targeting. In a world where algorithms automate audience finding, your ad creative determines who stops scrolling. To warm a cold audience, your creative must be 'edu-taining'—educational yet entertaining.

Manual vs. Automated Creative Workflows

Top Performing 'Warming' Formats

1. Founder Stories: A raw, authentic video of the founder explaining why the product exists. This humanizes the brand immediately.
   • Micro-Example: A 60-second selfie video from a CEO discussing the struggle that led to the invention.
2. Problem/Agitation/Solution (PAS): Visually demonstrate the problem before showing the solution. This hooks the viewer emotionally.
   • Micro-Example: Showing a messy, disorganized kitchen drawer before introducing a new organizer tool.
3. User Generated Content (UGC) Mashups: A compilation of real people using the product. It acts as social proof for cold traffic who don't trust the brand yet.
   • Micro-Example: A fast-paced cut of 5 different customers unboxing the product.

If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will always fail. Similarly, if you judge a warming campaign by ROAS, you will kill it prematurely. Warming campaigns are about efficiency of attention, not immediate revenue.

The 'Warming' KPI Dashboard

• Thumb-Stop Rate (3-Second Video View): This measures if your hook is working. Industry standard is around 25-30%. If yours is lower, your creative opening is weak.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): For cold traffic, a CTR above 1% is generally considered strong [2]. This indicates the audience is intrigued enough to take action.
• Cost Per Landing Page View: This is often more accurate than CPC (Cost Per Click) because it filters out accidental clicks. You want to see how cheaply you can get a qualified set of eyes on your content.
• Frequency: Keep an eye on frequency for cold audiences. You want it between 1.5 and 2.0. If it goes higher without conversion, you are annoying them, not warming them [3].

I've consistently seen that brands who optimize for these 'upstream' metrics eventually see their 'downstream' metrics (like Purchase ROAS) improve, because the retargeting pool is larger and higher quality.

Even with the best intentions, marketers often sabotage their warming efforts. Avoid these specific mistakes to ensure your budget is actually building a funnel.

1. The 'Fake' Warm Up

Sending cold traffic to a product page that technically has a blog section is not warming. It's selling. True warming content adds value before asking for anything. If your landing page has a giant "BUY NOW" popup after 3 seconds, you have broken the trust.

2. Ignoring Creative Fatigue

Cold audiences are vast, but creative fatigue sets in quickly. Running the same 'warming' video for 3 months results in banner blindness. You must refresh creative assets every 2-3 weeks to keep engagement high. In 2025, using AI tools to iterate on hooks and visual styles is the only scalable way to maintain this pace.

3. Disconnected Funnels

The biggest sin is a lack of continuity. If your warming ad talks about "Sustainable Fabrics," but your retargeting ad talks about "Fast Shipping," there is a disconnect. The narrative must flow. Ensure your MOFU and BOFU ads reference the themes introduced in the TOFU warming ads.