Surely you thought more than once about retargeting and remarketing on social networks... But you have doubts! If it sounds familiar and you're not entirely sure, this article will help you understand it better!
When you entered a website and then, you continue browsing, you see ads related to that website. Sometimes you feel that the ad "chases" you because it appears constantly. Well, that happens because the site you visited had a retargeting action activated.
What is remarketing?
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Remarketing is creating personalized advertising campaigns for users who have previously visited your website, your online store or other content, and based on the information you already have about them, you can use this strategy to finalize the conversions or shopping processes for the first time in a website. This is important because most of the visitors that come to your website won't buy the first time. In fact, 97% will go without buying but you can remind them that you are there waiting for them.
So, remarketing means marketing to the same person again. The intention is to generate impact more than once on someone who has already shown interest in the product. Also, remarketing is useful for reminding users about the products they added (or forgot) in their shopping cart, or even a notice about a promotion on the site that may interest that person in particular.
Take into account that the use of remarketing only focuses on accelerating the purchase decision. While the combination of these strategies allows the creation of more opportunities for the consumer to enter and advance in their sales funnel, take into account that users are aware of this technique (2 out of 4 internet users to be exact).
What is retargeting?
Re-targeting is a marketing technique that aims to re-impact users who already had contact with the brand with advertisements, and is a very common resource within e-commerce.
When users visit a website, but they don't complete the conversion that the brand had set, it will activate a retargeting action to "seduce" them. The objective is to return and finish the purchase process. To implement this, it’s necessary to use a code (a pixel tag, for example) capable of recognizing users once they are outside the purchasing domain. This is the work of the famous "cookies".
This technique shows the right ad to a perfectly segmented user. The users highlighted their preferences within the online store by clicking on the items that interest them. That is, the ad will respond precisely to the user's purchase intention. The key to the success of retargeting is its great power of segmentation.
Differences between remarketing and retargeting
It is very common for marketers to confuse both concepts since they often overlap, but there are some differences. Both terms aim to "recover" a consumer who, without having bought the product/service, shows interest in the brand.
- Remarketing (to market again) is a broader concept. It covers different communication channels or platforms.
- Retargeting is a more focused resource. It is entirely a digital resource through a pixel or tag.
Google doesn't use the term "retargeting" like Facebook. When we refer to any form of Google Ads, we are talking about "remarketing".
Why is remarketing and retargeting so important when selling on the internet?
It is common for people to come to your sales page and not be ready to buy, whether it is because they are not ready for payment or they want to think a little more before concluding the purchase.
In any case, making ads for people who left your sales page, remembering your offer, offering a bonus or reaffirming the qualities of the product, are great options for remarketing people. One of the reasons why this technique is so important for any digital entrepreneur is that it "refreshes" the memory of those who have already been impacted by your content. The decision to buy something online involves several factors that go far beyond the price.
That's why many entrepreneurs need more than one interaction with the consumer to make the sale. And one of the most efficient ways to regain that contact is through remarketing on networks like Facebook and Google Ads.
The advantages of remarketing and retargeting
It allows you to segment in a personal and individualized way your and:
- It acts as a reminder of certain products and services.
- It allows a focus on those potential customers who have already shown interest in our products or services at some point.
- It enhances the brand image.
- It allows the ads to reach users at the moment that they are more prepared to buy.
- Allows the creation of personalized lists of users according to their profiles.
- You can save time and focus directly on messages aimed at continuing to convince customers.
- Remarketing has the objective of increasing conversions based on a simple idea: the consumer rarely purchases after their first search.
- It allows your consumer to have more intimate contact with the brand through personalized messages.
- The visitor remembers your offer, continues to weigh the purchase and is increasingly convinced that it is worth closing the deal.
Since it integrates with Google Ads, remarketing allows the elaboration of these highly personalized ads easily, with options to create dynamic, attractive, and high-impact ads.
From an inbound marketing perspective, remarketing is a very powerful method to re-attract users. This is a new opportunity for these potential customers to finally leave us their details on a form so that they can mature for purchase and we can follow up on them. You can think of this strategy as a version of follow up applied to the world of digital marketing.
How to run a remarketing and retargeting campaign
To put your remarketing strategy into motion, it’s necessary to create a plan, to facilitate the mapping of the leads that are at the different points of the purchase process: awareness, consideration, purchase or loyalty. In consequence, Google Ads remarketing uses a list system similar to the segmentation of email marketing. The lists divide your site visitors according to the type of action taken. For example, the ad for those who only searched for a product is different from the one used for those who viewed the price, or put something in the cart and abandoned it, or who actually completed the purchase.
You can create templates with the content of the ad for each of these groups. That's why it’s common to also use email marketing automation tools to help scale this process due to the segmentation and similarity of this process. However, remarketing is also great if you don't want to depend only on emails. During all this time when the cart is open, you can send emails to potential buyers and one of the ways to enhance this message is by creating ads for your interest list. By doing this, you can impact your leads on social networks too.
Remarketing is a good choice when you want to sell a second product to your buyers. Selling a new product to someone who has already had a shopping experience with you is much easier than getting a new buyer. Indeed, it’s 60% more likely to sell to an existing client than to find a new client. On the other hand, for running a retargeting campaign, social networks are a great place to start. The reason is simple: it is where users spend most of their time.
The use of mobile devices has made people interact constantly in their networks. Whether it's on Instagram, sharing their selfies or stories, or on other platforms. The retargeting campaigns in social networks are increasingly effective and easy to measure. For example, Facebook retargeting works through its pixel, a piece of code capable of detecting when a user enters your site and performs any action. The Facebook pixel activates and records that action. This will let you know what action they took after seeing your Facebook ad. The more actions they take, the easier it is for Facebook /Instagram to show your ads to an audience more sensitive to perform certain actions.
Remarketing tools
The most popular remarketing tool on the market today is Google Ads. With Google Ads remarketing the process is the following:
- The user visits your website or consumes the content of your brand.
- A cookie will follow the actions of this user and add him to a remarketing list whose parameters we have previously defined.
- An advertising campaign appears to the users' searches.
- Depending on how users entered your remarketing list, it shows different types of ads.
Similarly, on YouTube, which is part of Google, ads use remarketing techniques. The reach of video remarketing is enormous because you advertise not only to the millions of YouTube users but all other video partner websites, and you’ll be able to launch the ads to those who interacted with your YouTube channel or with a particular video.
How does it work? To create your remarketing lists, you must link your YouTube channel to your Google Ads account and create lists based on what action your users took. These actions include:
- Playing a video from a certain channel
- Viewing certain videos/advertisements
- Subscribe to a channel
- Interacting with a video (Like/ Comment/ Share)
- Select "Like" in a video of a channel
- Adding a video from a channel to a playlist.
It's important to note that if you have several YouTube channels, you can link more than one to your Google Ads account. However, although you can create several lists per channel, you cannot have the same list on several channels.
How to improve your remarketing campaigns
If you want to get the most out of this tool, keep an eye on these tips:
- Limit the frequency of ads. You want to make sure your message gets through... but don't make your potential customers feel overwhelmed. Use the frequency limitation tools and make sure you have the right number of hits per user.
- Don't be afraid to create different lists. Remember: personalization is key. Users visit your website for different reasons, so the more you segment, the more you can get it right.
- Create specific lists for users who have already bought from you. If you create a special list for users who have seen the end of the order page, you can go directly to your customers. Treat them to discounts and promotions and make them feel special.
- Experiment, measure and repeat. You have a lot of analysis tools for your remarketing campaigns so use them! Set up regular controls, look at the options that give the best results and make changes accordingly. With a little practice and patience, you will surely get the ideal remarketing campaign for your objectives.
Still can't see the benefits of this strategy?
Remarketing is an important resource for increasing your conversion rate. It gives you a second chance of making a sale. If you don’t have a site or an email list, it is worth investing in these tools to take the opportunities that remarketing offers you. So, before you start investing in that type of campaign, take some time to create specific lists for each stage of the buyer journey.
We know that, at first, this type of strategy may seem somewhat complex. But, with time, you’ll realize that it becomes easier and easier to remarket your campaigns. It's easier than you think and we're here to help you. Contact us if you need a hand with that!
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