Retargeting ads are nothing new at this point of online marketing, but following the basics of marketing principles will get you higher returns. Don’t get caught up in the technology of it all. It’s still about targeting your audience, segmenting them correctly, and delivering he right message at the right time.
Once set up correctly, retargeting ads will work hard for you. Don’t forget to set realistic goals for your program. This shouldn’t be an awareness program. This is about conversion – about getting people to buy your product. It’s all trackable and quantifiable. If your’e using pixel-based targeting you’ll get new leads, and when your’e using list-based retargeting you’ll have better quality leads. Let’s take a look at how this all works.
Web site visitors who are retargeted with display ads are 70 percent more likely to convert on your Web site.
Quick 101 – What is retargeting?
Retargeting ads are a form of online targeting advertising and are served to people who have already visited your website or are a contact in your database (like a lead or customer). Unlike banner ads, this is not random advertising, this is more specific, more “targeted” like the name says. This is a marketers dream. Tell me who to advertise to and I’ll find a way to communicate with the right message, at the right time.
Two Types of Retargeting Campaigns
There are two main types of retargeting: pixel-based and list-based.
Pixel-based retargeting is a way to re-display your material to any anonymous site visitor. It uses cookies to track you. When they leave your site to surf the web, that cookie notifies retargeting platforms to serve specific ads based on the specific pages they visited on your website. By tracking past interests, purchases, level of buying intent, and overall engagement, ads will be displayed to you when you go to FaceBook or other websites.
List-based retargeting simply works after you already have someone’s contact information in your database and it is uploaded.
The pros are that results show better performing ads, stronger ROI from your advertising spend, and the ability to nurture customers with a consistent, cross-channel experience. The cons are that people find it creepy and sometimes annoying. It depends on the product you are selling. I would make the effort to make it “less creepy” by adjusting the purchase and behavior parameters.
Hubspot has this quick guide to setting up retargeting on FaceBook.
3 Ways Your Retargeting Ads Can Be Better?
- Audience Segmentation
Audience segmentation allows you to tailor ad messages to users in different stages of the purchase funnel. The process is simple: you place different retargeting pixels on different pages of your site, and then tailor creatives based on the depth of engagement of each user. You want to have specific messages for different people. - Geographic, Demographic, & Contextual Targeting
Targeting gives you the chance to optimize your ad placements. Ads can be targeted based on demographic information, like age or gender, contextual factors like subject matter of the website, or geographic data. When you target your ads with consideration for demographic, geographic, and contextual variables, you dont waste valuable impressions on people who arent relevant to your campaign. - A/B Test The Heck Out Of The Campaign
Even if you launch your campaign with incredibly strong creatives, running the same set of ads will result in a lower performing campaign at some point. Plus, what you think is going to work ad what works can be two different things. A/B testing your creatives will help you determine the optimal combination of ad copy, calls-to-action, and graphics.
Retargeting ads are powerful and can be optimized to not be “creepy” to your audience. When used properly, retargeting has a great ROI. Follow some of these best practices and your guru marketing skills, and youll be sure to see positive returns.