---
title: "How to build audiences"
slug: "how-to-build-audiences"
description: "Learn how to create and manage audiences based on profiles, entry and exit conditions, ensuring effective targeting and personalization strategies."
updated: 2026-02-25T08:53:07Z
published: 2026-02-27T13:04:26Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.supermetrics.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to build audiences

An audience is a rule-based set of profiles. A profile is in the audience when it matches the definition, and out of the audience when it no longer matches. Use audiences to maintain an up-to-date list of who qualifies for targeting, suppression, or personalization.

Audience membership updates as new data arrives:

- A profile **enters** the audience when it first matches the rules.
- A profile **stays** in the audience while it continues to match.
- A profile **exits** the audience when it stops matching.

Audiences don't have steps or sequences. They define membership based on current state and recent behavior.

## Before you begin

Confirm the following before building an audience:

- The events or attributes you want to use are [being ingested](/v1/docs/data-ingestion).
- You know which profiles should qualify (for example, all loyalty tier members).
- You have determined which destination(s) will receive the audience.
- You understand what identifiers the [destination requires](/v1/docs/data-activation-destinations).

## Instructions

### Step 1: Create a new audience

1. On the Data Activation platform, go to **Orchestration**.
2. Click **+** **Create** and select**Audience**.
3. Enter a name that describes the targeting logic (for example, "Product viewers last 7 days - no purchase"). You can also add labels or a description.

### Step 2: Define the entry conditions

Entry conditions determine who qualifies for the audience.

1. Click **Entry Condition**.
2. Enter a name for the entry condition.
3. Click **+ Add first rule**.
4. Select the [attribute or event to use](/v1/docs/entry-and-exit-conditions).
5. Set the [operator and value](/v1/docs/conditions-and-rule-builder).
6. Add additional conditions as needed using AND/OR logic
7. Click **Save**.

### Step 3: Add exit conditions (optional)

[Exit conditions](/v1/docs/entry-and-exit-conditions) explicitly remove profiles from the audience when a specific event or state change occurs.

1. In the navigation bar on the right, click **Add exit condition**.
2. Enter a name for the exit condition.
3. Define the event or attribute change that should trigger the exit.

If you don't add an explicit exit condition, profiles exit automatically when they no longer match the entry conditions.

### Step 4: Connect to destinations

1. Go to the **Connectors** in the audience by clicking **+**.
2. Select the destination(s) to receive this audience.
3. Configure any destination-specific settings (identifier mapping, sync frequency).

### Step 5: Activate the audience

1. Review the audience definition.
2. Click **Publish** to start syncing profiles to destinations.

## Verify the setup works

After activating the audience:

1. Check the audience size. The audience should return profiles that match your conditions.
  - If the audience is empty, your conditions may be too restrictive. Alternatively, the events may not be arriving at all. Review your conditions and check that the event ingestion works.
  - If the audience is too large, your conditions are likely to be too broad. Review the logic, especially OR conditions.
  - If the audience is either too stale or turns over too quickly, check your time windows, recency conditions, or sync cadence.
2. Look up known test profiles to confirm they appear (or don't appear) as expected.
3. Verify that the destination received the audience members.
  - If you see fewer profiles than expected, there may be a mismatch in the identifier. To fix, check which identifier types the destination requires.
4. For exit conditions, trigger a qualifying event on a test profile and confirm it exits.
  - If the profiles aren't exiting the audience, the exit conditions may not be set or are incorrectly configured. To fix, verify that the exit event is being sent and that the conditions match.

## More resources

- [Conditions and rule builder](/v1/docs/conditions-and-rule-builder)
- [Entry and exit conditions](/v1/docs/entry-and-exit-conditions)
- [Identity resolution and profile model](/v1/docs/identity-resolution-and-profile-model)
- [Destinations for Data Activation](/v1/docs/data-activation-destinations)