Gone are the days when customers would visit your shop with the intention to actually pay for your services. Now the shops have turned into websites and customers have become window shoppers. It’s no more about getting them on your website or impressing them with your superior products or services. Statistics show that 96% of people who visit a website are not interested in actually paying but are rather interested in just looking at what you offer. Even if they like what they see, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will go all the way.
Considering the ridiculous amount of money you spent on designing and developing your website and adding to this amount the money you spent on social media marketing to get the customers on this website, it’s unfortunate that it all goes to waste because the current generation is window shoppers. But this is just the beginning of finding potential customers because this is where retargeting kicks in.
What is retargeting?
Retargeting is the practice of approaching the previous visitors on your website by displaying the ads or sending emails to them. These ads and emails are in relevance to the products viewed, bought, or added to the wishlist by the user on your website. This keeps reminding the customer about their interest in your products which leads them back on your website and eventually results in more lead conversion. Therefore, at its core, retargeting is a marketing strategy which increases the number of paying customers by targeting the window shoppers on your website.
Especially on a social media platform, ads have become extremely common. The number of people engaged on social media platforms has peaked the interest of marketers which is why they prefer social media retargeting.
How does retargeting work?
Everything lies in the cookies(not the ones that you eat!). Cookies are the small files which contain the data about a user. These cookies are analysed to determine user activity and behaviour. Each cookie uniquely identifies a user which allows you to determine if a specific user completed a task or not and based on this information you can display relevant ads on the user’s social media account.
For instance, if a user added a product to his wishlist on your website, you can use retargeting to show the same product through an ad on the next page or website that they visit. Therefore, you can specifically target a user who is genuinely interested in your product and through retargeting, you will be able to convert him into a life long customer.
Strategies for using retargeting ads on social media
Now that we have established the importance of retargeting, let’s look at the top 5 strategies that you should follow while using retargeting ads on social media.
- Relevance
Every visitor on your website does not need to be targeted because there will be some visitors who just randomly visited and have no intention of paying for your services. Hence, target a specific type of user based on certain factors such as the number of times he visited, the time spent on your website, the pages he browsed, and the pages he didn’t visit. This allows retargeting of a more meaningful audience which has a better chance of converting. There can be different forms of ads based on further bifurcation of this audience. For instance, a past customer can be notified about a new product and a person who visited the products on sale can be shown ads of discounts on the products. - Simple is elegant
A simple, straightforward, and eye-catching ad leaves a more significant impact on the customer. These kinds of ads are easily understood by the customer and allow him to make a quick decision. You can use A/B testing. It is a technique where a duplicate ad is made with minimal changes on the original which allows you a deeper insight into the customer mindset. This further results in the creation of optimized ads which ensure the lead conversion. - Timing is the key
Defining the frequency of your ads based on the time span of your marketing campaign is a key factor in having a positive effect on the customers. If an ad overwhelms the customer he may lose interest in your services. On the other hand, if your frequency is not enough, the customer may forget about your product and buy from your competitor. Therefore, it is a delicate matter which depends on the life of your campaign. For instance, a shorter campaign means a higher frequency while a longer campaign means a lower frequency. - Advanced analysis tools
Today’s world is data-driven which is why you need to incorporate the most advanced data analysis tools and techniques. Using the data of retargeting from different multiple platforms, you can easily monitor and optimize your retargeting campaigns to generate better results. This also allows you to identify the platforms that are most useful for your campaign along with other details. - Creating audience segments
An ideal customer profile (ICP) is the key to determining a target audience. By knowing your customer’s profile you can create personalized ads which have a greater chance of converting the lead. The basic characteristics involved in creating an ICP are geographical and special interests. Other factor includes the interaction of the user with the social media platforms. By tracking their activity on social media, like the post they shared or the ad they viewed, you can identify a user with more potential to become your customer.
Summary
Retargeting is undoubtedly the most certain way of increasing your sales numbers. Retargeting not only generates more useful traffic on your website but by targeting the customers with ICP it lets you tap into the ocean of potential customers by attracting a custom audience to your website. But, social media retargeting requires patience and improvements. It is a process where you need to continuously work towards understanding your audience and learn to target better prospects. Don’t lose your patience if you don’t get results right away, after all, Rome was not built in a day.