8 Creative Ways To Use Ad Retargeting

Online advertising is already a key and proven effort for many businesses, but more are looking at retargeting as a way to improve customer interaction and retention. Focused adverts appearing across social media and other web properties allow your business to double down on visitor interest in your site and help complete sales. Retargeting is flexible and there are many creative ways to follow up on that initial site visit.

1. Make Use Of Their Interest

If a visitor to your site clicked on a product category, that is valuable information you can use in retargeted adverts. Knowing what someone is interested in, and addressing their needs with future retargeted adverts provides a way to get visitors back to your site, provide them with fresh information or insight, increase awareness of your brand and improve conversions (up to 147% and higher, according to industry data).

Depending on the level of information you get from their previous visits, using retargeting services can help focus in on their wants and needs, providing more specifically targeted adverts that will get their attention. By making retargeted adverts more specific and inviting you improve the chance of a second visit and winning a customer.

2. Ways To Win Back Abandoned Carts

“So close and yet so far” was an old way of looking at abandoned shopping carts. However, retargeted adverts can help win back the customer. But only if they do something new or different. Simply rerunning the advert or showing the same product again and again will likely alienate the user.

Instead, use retargeting information to offer a range of similar products. Tempt users back with offers and more detailed information about the products. Also, focus on keeping the new adverts in context with the sites they visit after leaving yours, to avoid the adverts looking out of place and creating a negative impression. For other ways to use retargeting, check out AppInstitute’s useful guide on the subject. 

3. Highlight Your Value Proposition And Other Benefits

A common flaw with remarketing adverts is pushing information that the visitor will already know. Instead load the adverts with new information and details that give the visitor a reason to take an interest. In the narrow space of adverts, feel free to hype impressive statistics, end-user or customer quotes that are relevant to their needs.

Ensure that your adverts avoid the pitfalls suffered by some retargeting adverts, and use the flexibility of retargeting to place adverts in the right places at the right times, so these messages stand a greater chance of being noticed and actioned upon.

4. Pushing The Boat Out

If a customer was interested in one product on your site, there’s always the chance that they will want the next-model up, assuming we’re not talking a yacht or high-end watch. Rather than try and sell them something they chose not to buy, use a retargeted advert to upsell them to a more valuable, better featured or specified product that might do more to grab their attention.

Winning a customer and getting extra revenue is a bold use for retargeted adverts, if your business has the variety of products to make it a relevant sale.

5. Push The Advanced Sell Through Detailed Messaging

Since the target of the advert likely already knows about your company and products, there’s little point in going over the basics or simply repeating a previous message. Instead you can use a retarget advert to push a more detailed message, such as some key features of a product, or the pain points that your business can help them solve.

For companies in hot competition with other brands, dynamic retargeting adverts can help give your brand the edge. Consider insurers, airlines or hotels that offer various prices. By highlighting the savings by using your brand over others, which dynamic ads can provide, you add context, detail and a compelling reason to buy there and then. 

6. Use Current Events To Drive Interest

If your advert is likely to stick out on other sites, then camouflage it through the use of current events. This can be by tying the advert in to brand-appropriate local, regional or global sporting, arts or cultural events, depending on the level of granularity you have about your site visitors.

As demonstrated by movie tie-ins, almost any product can be linked to an event, and you don’t need to a World Cup advertising partner to promote “the big game” if that fits in with your overall line of business.

7. Reward Your Regular, But Absent, Visitors

If a regular customer hasn’t been on your site for a while, then a retargeting advert that notices their absence for 30 days or three months can be deployed alongside email reminders and other methods as a timely nudge.

Loading a retargeting advert with a reward or bonus for a loyal customer will boost click and conversion rates, and get them back on your site on a more regular basis.

8. Use Ads To Focus On Email Dodgers

Some people just won’t open a marketing email or SMS, but those people maybe more interested in an advert. By creating active retargeting adverts that find people who fail from customer lists who fail to respond to other forms of contact, you might find that this method generates better results and gets people into your sales funnel in ways that, for whatever reason, other methods don’t work.

Whatever your business, retargeting adverts are a growing and relevant strategy to win business, and they give the business more of a chance to be adventurous.