Retargeting Done Right
Retargeting is essential, but there’s a very thin line between “Oh, I forgot about that!” and a creepy “Why is this brand stalking me…”
We’ve all been there. You look at a pair of shoes once, and suddenly they’re haunting every screen you look at. It’s the digital equivalent of a salesperson following you out of the store and chasing you down the street while yelling “ARE YOU SURE YOU DON’T WANT THESE??”
Here’s how to master the art of the follow up without scaring off your audience.
Frequency Cap:
The fastest way to kill brand sentiment is overexposure. If a lead sees your face 20 times in a 24 hour period, you aren’t building brand awareness. You’re building a restraining order case.
Think about it. We’ve all seen an ad that was hilarious the first time we saw it. By the 97th time, we were ready to boycott the brand all together.
Limit your ads to 2-3 impressions per user per day. You want to stay “top of mind” , not “top of the nightmare”. By capping your delivery, you preserve your budget and ensure your audience doesn’t develop brand blindness, or even worse, active resentment towards your brand.
The Power of Sequential Retargeting
The brands that fail are the ones asking for a wedding date before even saying hello. Instead of hitting a lead with the same “buy now” button for two weeks straight, use a sequential funnel that mirrors the natural human decision making.
Start with the value add:
Don’t sell yet. They just left your site, so remind them why they were there. Serve up a helpful blog post or a relevant case study that solves a specific problem.
Give Em Proof:
After awhile, doubt starts to creep in. This is the time to show, not tell. Rotate ads featuring glowing customers testimonials or reviews to build trust.
The hard offer:
If they haven’t converted yet, they might need a nudge. Now is the time for a hard offer. A limited time discount, free trial, or a high value lead magnet.
Diversify Your Presence
If you only retarget on Facebook, you’re just another Facebook ad. If you appear across different platforms, you build authority.
We wrote a whole blog post about the different platforms, and how to pick the ones that are best for your brand. Click here to check it out.
The best retargeting is retargeting that just feels like a happy coincidence.
It’s the right message appearing at the exact moment a user was thinking about the problem you solve.
Bad retargeting feels like a surveillance state.
By respecting your lead’s digital space and providing a variety of value driven touch points, you stop being the “digital stalker” and start being the brand that just happens to have the perfect solution at the perfect time.
