The one marketing strategy that seems to generate more client reaction than any other is Retargeting, the process of serving ads to people who have visited your site as they surf the Net. Clients are concerned it will appear to be unseemly, as if you are stalking people after they leave your site. If done incorrectly, this certainly be the case. However, if you are able to personalize the message and cap the frequency, Retargeting is one of the most powerful tools in your marketing arsenal.
Why it works. As marketing professionals know, it is tougher than ever to cut through the clutter to register with a consumer. Recommended advertising frequency seems to increase every year. However, if a shopper is looking for a new coat, and then sees a particular coat they viewed online as they browse the web, the ad will be far more meaningful. Because they are “in-market” they are far more likely to pay attention to the ad and remember the seller, cutting down the necessary frequency to brand the business.
Statistics back it up. In one ComScore study people who saw retargeted ads were 1046% more likely to search for that brand by name. And there was a 726% lift in site visitation four weeks after a retargeting campaign began. In a study of consumer reaction to retargeting ads 30% felt positively about the ads, 59% were neutral and only 11% had a negative reaction to the ads. Consumers do more research online now than ever before. Retargeting during research is a great way to build vital brand recognition.
To avoid irritating your prospect take the following steps. First, personalize your ads. If you sell products or services, feature those items in your retargeting ads. Use dynamic retargeting ads, where you have a feed into the retargeting service so they only pull images of products or services that were viewed. Second, cap the frequency. Some marketers believe that all frequency is good, but do you really want to see an ad for a Winter coat in May? Five ads, four weeks, that is plenty. Finally, like all digital advertising, monitor your results regularly and optimize accordingly.
