What's working better for you lately: broad targeting or smaller audiences?

Ive been testing a few campaigns recently and noticed something I didn't expect: broad targeting sometimes brings cheaper conversions, while smaller audiences give me better numbers but much less volume​

Still trying to figure out where the sweet spot is

For those running paid traffic, do you generally start broad and optimize from there, or build smaller audiences from the beginning?

From my experience, I usually start broad and let the platform find the right audience. Smaller audiences can work well, but they often limit volume too much. I prefer testing both and letting the conversion data decide where to scale.

Depending on your daily budget, Facebook is targeting a large user base, but you need to provide Meta with enough data so they can learn and optimize gradually.

broad already won this fight tbh, meta removed half the interest options and advantage+ finds buyers on its own if ur pixel has data, thats why ur seeing cheaper conversions there. the sweet spot isnt in audience settings anymore, its the creative. ur ad does the targeting now, start a video with "nurses this ones for u" and it out targets any interest stack. i only go narrow for local stuff or a brand new pixel, on fresh accounts i run interests 2-3 weeks just to feed the pixel then switch broad. and dont judge broad in week 1, killing campaigns mid learning phase is where everyone loses money

Typically, I set up the audience based on the specific target demographic for each ad; for ads requiring broad reach, I start with a wider audience profile and then refine the targeting for subsequent campaigns based on the reach achieved previously.