Before the digital age, it was estimated that consumers saw about 500-1600 advertisements per day in different forms of print, radio and TV media. Today, that’s changed. We now see an astonishing 6,000-10,000 ads each day! And that’s mostly thanks to one medium that has become interwoven with the fabric of our daily lives – the Internet. Online advertising isn’t just available on every website; it’s in the top and side bars of our Google searches, on our Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram feeds – it’s everywhere you look. As a result, it’s not enough for a business to simply advertise online. You need to advertise with a purpose, bringing all the best elements of an innovative digital marketing strategy into play in order to stand out. And that means considering remarketing as part of your digital marketing strategy.
What is Remarketing?
Remarketing, also called behavioural targeting or retargeting, is a means of reconnecting with interested customers who have interacted with your website. For example, if you were looking at a distillery’s craft gin offering or a new pair of running shoes and then moved off that website without buying, you would see ads for those specific items on other websites you visit that have paid advertising slots.
Not only does this increase brand awareness and help your business stay front and centre in the minds of potential customers (no bad thing when you consider how many businesses are vying for their attention each day), it also helps remind people about a product or service they were interested in, telling them it’s still available and tempting them back to your website.
The Benefits of a Quality Remarketing Strategy
As with all digital marketing content, quality and thoughtful strategy is key when it comes to remarketing. You are not out to harass and stalk your customers, haunting them with the ghost of products they haven’t bought! Instead, you want a gentle and engaging reminder that draws them back to their shopping cart, wish-listed items, or page of interest. We all live very busy lives and it’s easy for consumers to forget where they saw that product or service they wanted, or who had the best price when they were comparison shopping – remarketing will achieve this – when it’s done right.
Another important benefit of a good remarketing strategy is that it supports personalisation of your content and interactions with your target market. Personalisation is an increasingly important part of an effective digital marketing strategy, whether you are applying it to email marketing or any other online content – and it’s because customers love it. Research shows that 80% of consumers are more likely to do business with a brand that personalises their experience, with 90% saying they find personalisation very appealing. It’s the basis of building valuable repeat customers – frequent shoppers who purchase 15 or more times a year, who are likely to recommend your brand and products to other people, and are likely to stay loyal in the long term.
Remarketing helps to support and achieve that personalisation by showing customers ads for products and services they have expressed real interest in, by showing them the things they personally want to buy, and making sure they are kept in the loop when those items are on promotion.
As a result of showing customers personal, relevant online advertising, brands experience:
- Increased click-through rates on online advertising – Generally, click-through rates drop over time – unless they are remarketing ads, as these usually increase the more ad impressions a consumer gets. Generally, people click through after they’ve seen the ad 5-6 times, and when they do, they are almost twice as likely to convert.
- Improved customer relationship and experience – Retargeting ads got a bad rap initially, where businesses felt that customers wouldn’t want ad content following them around on Facebook and Instagram or while they were looking at other websites. In fact, when done right, 30% of online customers have a positive or very positive relationship with retargeted ads, 59% are neutral, and only 11% feel negatively about it.
- Increased online advertising versatility – Retargeting is a great way to make your online advertising strategy work harder for your brand. You can apply your retargeting strategy to almost any of your digital marketing platforms, including your website, search/SEO and email marketing strategies. You can even apply contextual retargeting, which involves targeting customers who haven’t looked at your website or content, but have viewed very similar content on another platform.
- Cost-effective online advertising – Since they have such a positive impact on click-through rates and conversions, you’d expect these ads to carry a premium cost – but they don’t. Currently, they cost about half of that a search ad costs, especially if you are in a highly-competitive industry where search ad costs are high.
Now is the Time to Create Your Retargeting Campaign
In 2020, ecommerce is booming as customers look for ways to enhance their lifestyle at home, work from home and recapture their lifestyle as restrictions ease. With major retail events on the horizon, including the arrival of summer, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas, now is the perfect time to refine your online advertising strategy with high-quality retargeting.
If you’d like to make this retail season a positive one for your brand, compete effectively for consumers, and end 2020 on a successful note, our online advertising team can show you how. We’ve worked with businesses of every size, in every sector, helping them harness the full potential of their digital presence. Chat to us today about a no-nonsense strategy that delivers great results.
Sure, I’m a sales specialist – but we do things a little differently around here! For one thing, I’m not here to sell anything - I’m here to solve problems. By getting to know your business, you’ll get proven digital marketing solutions that bring in sales, leads, and results. It’s all about putting you ahead of the competition. Are you ready to be in first place?
