If you want to keep your name in front of leads who have bounced from your website or fallen off your email list, retargeting is one of your best options. It allows you to promote tailored ads to your leads that they’ll see as they navigate across other websites, as a means of encouraging them to reconnect with your brand. Here’s how you can use it, and why it can benefit your inbound marketing.
How Does It Work?
First, you choose a retargeting provider — whether it’s through social media like Facebook and LinkedIn, or a search engine like Google — and they provide you with a piece of code called a pixel to put on your website. When a lead visits your site through organic search, email marketing, or social media, that retargeting pixel assigns them an anonymous browser cookie. Then, as those leads migrate to other websites, that cookie lets your retargeting provider know what types of ads they should receive.
Why Is It Important?
The vast majority of people who visit your website will not immediately want to buy. Rather than lose them to the void of the Internet, retargeting allows you to display ads that remind them of who you are and how you can help them. The more often they see your name associated with relevant products and services, and as long as they have a positive or neutral opinion about your business, the greater likelihood they’ll choose to re-engage.
This is the same reason that email marketing is also effective, with one exception: per the rules of CAN-SPAM, all emails must include an option for leads to opt out if they no longer wish to receive your messages. So if leads lose interest and choose to unsubscribe, retargeting gives you another chance to demonstrate why you’re still a good fit for their needs.
As for those leads whose emails you don’t have, and who visited your website through other channels, retargeting allows you the opportunity to stay top of mind at a respectful distance, without making them feel pressured to buy.
Can It Be Personalized?
Similar to segmentation for email marketing, retargeting also offers the ability to personalize your message to a specific group. As one Forbes contributor notes, “you can retarget based on the items a person has viewed while on your website,” or have ad copy that updates “with limited quantities…time limitations…or price changes.” Like any other digital marketing, it’s important to review the statistics to see how much engagement you’re getting from your retargeting efforts, test it against different messaging to see which performs better, and continue to work on keeping that material fresh so that you don’t lose momentum or your leads’ interest.
Would you like guidance on how to develop and implement you own retargeting strategy? Let us know by clicking the link below to schedule time for a free marketing discussion.
