Written by Yuru Tang, input from Patrick Holmes
96% of consumers are unlikely to make a purchase decision when first visiting a website. However, if a brand interacts with these consumers afterwards, the odds that they return and take an order will greatly increase. Targeting ads to those people who have shown interest in the brand to increase conversion rates is called retargeting.
Social media marketing used to be leveraged only to increase brand awareness and improve customer engagement, but nowadays it also becomes a retargeting tool since people tend to spend more time on social media. The following social media retargeting strategies you can try for your business.
- Target specific audiences
Imagine if you searched for running shoes but received ads about a flip-flop, will the ads work for you? Similar to planning a marketing campaign, do not retarget all the audiences who have visited your website, instead, segment them according to their interests. Facebook now allows brands to target custom audiences based on:
- Visit their website
- Visit specific pages
- Visit specific pages but not others
- Haven’t visited in a certain amount of time
- a combination of the four options
Offering relevant ads according to customers’ visited website page or recent purchases can effectively strengthen the customer experience and boost sales.
- Simplify the ads
Complex messages on social media platforms will be easily ignored by audiences and so brands should create simple-designed ads to attract attention. Elements that can lead audiences to take an action include:
- Email subject lines
- Ad copy
- Call-to-action buttons
- Images
Brands can design a few ads versions with different elements to compare which one can gain the highest impressions, and then focus on developing the best version.
- Use software to track and monitor your retargeting campaigns
Tracking remarketing campaigns are time-consuming particularly when multiple campaigns are running simultaneously. Luckily, there is some AI-driven software helping brands to complete the complicated campaigns monitor. By leveraging the technology, brands can save time and costs to focus on improving social media retargeting strategies.
- Set up campaign times based on the goals
If a retargeting ad targeting someone has shown interest and will be offered for a short term, there is no limitation for the frequency. However, if a brand tends to increase awareness and runs a long-term campaign, the frequency cap would better be 4 or 5 times a month to prevent ad fatigue.
It is important to set specific audiences for each ad, create compelling content, track campaign efforts, and identify the objectives when developing social media retargeting strategies. At the same time, always listen to your audiences because they are your most direct and powerful advisors.
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