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How to Use Retargeting Effectively
In theory, the buying cycle is orderly. The prospect realises that they have a problem or need. They then research the best solutions. From there, they compare offerings from different companies, and then buy.
In reality, it’s hardly ever such a straight path. You’re more likely to find that people move back and forth between the different stages. They might decide to buy and then change their mind at the last second. Eventually, they do make a purchase decision, but it takes a while.
In this post, we’ll discuss a technique that can short-circuit this cycle – its called retargeting.
What Is Retargeting?
Retargeting, in a nutshell, is about putting your ads in front of the right people at the right time. Here you’ll insert a snippet of code, commonly known as a pixel, onto your site. You can opt to put the pixel on every page of your site. If you do that, you’re effectively targeting every visitor to your site.
That’s one way to go, but it’s not the best way. It’s far better to segment your target audience based on particular criteria. You could, for example, target those who visit a specific blog post on your site.
Top Tip: The more targeted your approach, the better your conversion rates will be.
After someone lands on the page, they’re tracked. When they navigate to other sites, the pixel ensures that they see the ads you want to display. This is most commonly used in conjunction with social media and Google Ads. When your target checks their Facebook feed afterwards, for example, they’ll see your ad. This is the most common application of this marketing technique.
It’s highly effective because the ads are timely. So timely that the average consumer thinks they’re just a serendipitous coincidence. In reality, it’s part of a cleverly devised marketing scheme.
It can be used for any content, not only ads. Say, for example, that you sell drones. Someone visits your blog and reads up on regulations about flying drones. They’re demonstrating an interest but might need more convincing.
To capitalize on this interest, why not link to a video showing the drone in action? Or perhaps a case study on why this drone, in particular, is an upgrade on previous models. Or maybe even a tutorial on how to fly the drone.
You can use this form of marketing to promote products and to further the client relationship.
- The Pros
- It’s possible to create highly targeted campaigns.
- Retargeted ads on Facebook are 76% more likely to be clicked on than standard ads.
- You’re dealing with an audience that has expressed some form of interest in the product, so conversion rates are naturally higher.
- Can be used across a range of different industries.
- The Cons
- Your results are based on how many people visit your site.
- Adblockers will block your retargeted ads.
- You must be careful when retargeting people who’ve just purchased or risk being deemed a nuisance.
I’m sure you are now wondering how to create a successful retargeting campaign, so here are some tips:
Set Clear Goals
If you don’t set clear goals, you’ll get mediocre results. You must create your campaigns in line with your objectives.
Do you want to increase brand awareness? If so, then it’s better to dull down the sales approach. You might, for example, create an ad showing how your brand helped out at the community fun run. You need to display more information about your brand values.
Do you want to drive sales? Then segment that list carefully and create great campaigns for each segment.
Do you want to help the prospect in the research stage? Then linking through to well-researched blogs and case studies could be effective.
Do you want to help to improve the customer relationship? Then link through to tutorials or content that improves the client’s satisfaction with the product.
Choose the Right Platform
Before you enthusiastically look up how to create code snippets for every social media site you can think of, take a breather. It’s a lot better to focus on one or two platforms at most. Choose the platform that the segment you’re targeting is most active on.
Why only two platforms? How many social media accounts do you have? A lot of us have Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and maybe Twitter. Seeing an ad pop up in your Facebook feed is perfectly normal. Seeing that same ad popping in all your feeds feels more like stalking.
That’s not to say that you can’t retarget on different platforms. If you’re marketing to millennials, it makes sense to head over to Instagram. By the same token, if you’re marketing to baby boomers, it makes sense to use Facebook.
Segment Your Market
We all know that the spray and pray approach to marketing doesn’t work. Consumers today want marketing to be relevant to them, no matter what channel it’s on. Marketers that don’t take heed of this will achieve lackluster results.
Think of creative ways to create better-targeted audiences. You could, for example, target:
- People in a specific area.
- Prospects of a certain age, job title, income, and so on.
- Those that have bought a specific product.
You get the idea. There are many ways to segment your market effectively. By creating a more defined target group, you’re in a great position to create advertising that speaks to that group.
Final Notes
Retargeting is an older technique. The reason it’s still in use today is that it’s highly effective. By creating cleverly targeted campaigns to use in conjunction with your retargeting, you can be sure that no prospect slips through the net through neglect.