Demand generation is a constant struggle for any business. Each marketing strategy you employ has a budget – and every dollar counts. But despite all your marketing efforts, statistics say that only 3 percent of first-time site visitors will end up making a purchase, which means 97 percent of your potential customers are lost.
How do you maximize your marketing efforts and get more out of your marketing dollars? By using retargeting ads to reach that 97 percent and remarketing emails to get more out of the 3 percent.
You may ask, what is retargeting? Here’s the best way to describe a retargeting strategy: It employs tactics to bring back previous visitors and give you another chance at finally converting them. Now, what is remarketing? It’s a similar concept, as it also attempts to bring back previous customers. But it hones in on those who have already made a purchase and compels them to do it again.
Does retargeting work? Yes it does. Remarketing does too. In fact, both are excellent tactics to implement to boost the effectiveness of your lead generation and conversion strategies and improve your marketing return on investment (ROI).
So how does retargeting work, exactly? In this blog, we provide the answer to that question while also discussing:
• The difference between remarketing vs retargeting
• The benefits of retargeting
• How to set up a retargeting campaign
• Setting up retargeting ads through different channels, including Google Ads retargeting, social media retargeting and email retargeting
• How to get more out of your Google remarketing campaign through email remarketing
Remarketing vs Retargeting: How Do They Differ?
What Is Retargeting?
Retargeting involves the use of retargeting ads to find people who previously interacted with your website, ads or social channels but did not complete an action. Social media marketing experts cite the additional contact points between you and the target audience as one of the biggest benefits of retargeting. Other benefits of retargeting include:
• Increased brand awareness
• Higher marketing return on investment (ROI)
• Greater insight into the success of your marketing efforts
How Does Retargeting Work?
One question a social media marketing expert will often get asked is this: How does retargeting work? A retargeting campaign works by using tracking pixels or cookies to record user behavior from the moment they land on your domain until after they leave. A domain that uses retarget ads does retargeting work through these pixels or cookies served through third-party networks like Google and Facebook. This gives you an idea of how easily a social media marketing agency can retarget ads pointing to similar products with just a click on any obscure link.
What Is Remarketing?
Remarketing uses email to re-engage previous customers and get them to do business with you again. This is usually done through remarketing emails, which means customers who previously opted in can receive a remarketing email from you.
Although a retargeting and a remarketing strategy have similarities in that they both aim to re-engage those who previously interacted with your business, they traditionally use different channels and employ varying methodologies. Social media marketing experts would use a retargeting campaign mostly for lead generation, while remarketing emails are typically used for customer retention.
Clearing the Confusion
Now, where does the confusion lie vis-a-vis remarketing vs retargeting? Well, marketers have been using the two terms interchangeably, especially in the pay-per-click (PPC) community. Of course, it doesn’t help that Google itself conflates the two terms on its Google Ads retargeting help page – and virtually every social media marketing agency has been following through with that definition.
(Side note: a Google remarketing campaign can also refer to email retargeting, where a remarketing email is integrated with your Google ads to promote your business. In this case, we’ll be using “email retargeting” to refer to a Google remarketing campaign.)
But why the need to clear up terminologies? Because they’re fundamentally different tactics. Understanding these differences can help you set the right goals and achieve those goals more effectively.
When Do I Use a Retargeting Campaign Over a Remarketing Campaign?
Essentially, having both a remarketing and a retargeting strategy can do wonders for your business. Consumer goods company Kimberly-Clark saw up to a 60 percent conversion rate from their website visitors thanks to their Google Ads retargeting strategy. Meanwhile, eMarketer, a social media marketing company reporting tool, reported that 81 percent of customers were more than likely to make additional purchases when they received a remarketing email.
Consider your marketing goals in deciding whether to use email remarketing over a Google retargeting or Facebook retargeting campaign. Here are recommendations shared by another powerful social media marketing company tool, Alexa, to determine which one is right for you:
Choose retargeting if:
• You want to attract new customers
• Your website bounce rate is high
• You don’t have a list of prospects’ email addresses
Choose remarketing if:
• You want to re-engage past or current customers
• Your Google retargeting or Facebook retargeting ads budget is non-existent
• You already have an engaged email list of customers
Ultimately, any reliable social media marketing company would suggest having both strategies in place as it allows you to maximize your visibility online by utilizing more than one marketing channel. Does retargeting work when used together with email remarketing? Yes. Statistically, your business can see a 24 percent higher ROI when you use multiple marketing channels.
What Channels Can I Use for My Retargeting and Remarketing Strategy?
Running both a retargeting and remarketing campaign enables you to build a holistic sales funnel that integrates all your target customers. But how do you integrate a retargeting and remarketing strategy successfully? Aside from Google retargeting, what channels can a social media marketing agency use for social media retargeting? This section shares recommendations coming from social media marketing experts.
Aside from Google, any social media marketing expert knows that the top channels for social media retargeting campaigns are Facebook and LinkedIn. Here’s how you can set up retargeting options for each channel, assuming you’re already running ads on each platform.
Google Retargeting
1. Open your Google Ads Manager account. Next, click on the tool icon on the navigation bar.
2. Under Shared Library, click on Audience Manager.
3. Under Remarketing, click on the big blue plus (+) symbol.
4. A dropdown list will appear with a variety of options. Depending on who you want to target, you can select Website visitors, App users, YouTube users, a Customer list or a Custom combination of these options.
5. Name your audience. From the List members dropdown menu, you can select the type of audience behavior you want to capture, whether it’s visiting a specific page on a certain date or with a specific tag, etc.
6. Each option will have different options for specific target pages, dates and tags that correspond to the audience behavior you choose. Follow each prompt.
Facebook Retargeting
1. Go to Facebook Ads Manager and create a dynamic ad for your Facebook retargeting campaign. You can activate Facebook retargeting by choosing Retarget ads after selecting your audience.
2. Choose a retargeting option for your Facebook retargeting ads depending on who you want to show Facebook retargeting ads to, including people who:
• Viewed or added to cart but did not make a purchase
• Viewed products from your product set
• Viewed products from a different product set
3. Once you’ve selected an audience, choose a duration of time when the action was last performed for your Facebook retargeting campaign, e.g., in the last 45 days.
LinkedIn Retargeting
1. Go to LinkedIn Campaign Manager to set up a LinkedIn retargeting campaign.
2. Choose an account name for which you’d like to set up website retargeting.
3. Go to Account Assets and from the dropdown menu, select Matched Audiences.
4. At the top right of the page, click on the Create audience button.
5. From the dropdown list, select Website.
6. Name your audience.
7. Add the website URLs you want to use for LinkedIn retargeting. Follow each prompt.
8. Finally, click Create.
How To Implement Retargeting and Remarketing Strategies Effectively
What is retargeting going to accomplish if your ads don’t appeal to your audience? What is remarketing achieving for your business if your overall strategy is subpar? Ask any social media marketing expert and they’ll say that the key to successful retargeting and remarketing is getting creative with your ads while staying true to your goals.
Here are some creative strategies used by most remarketing services to make your campaigns more effective:
1. Create copy that highlights solutions to user pain points.
With attention spans as short as they are today, the best way to show your remarketing audience the benefits of what you’re selling is to say so on the ad itself. Remember that these people visited your website but did not follow through on their purchase, which means they already recognize you one way or another. So instead of showing them a generic ad, go straight to showing them your solution to their pain points. Here’s a great example from HubSpot:
2. Show consumers products they’re interested in.
There are many reasons why customers don’t follow through on their decision to purchase. Whatever their reasons may be, you can use dynamic ads showcasing similar products to give them a second look and lure them back to your website. This ad from Madewell provides an excellent example of what this looks like to recapture the attention of your customer who viewed similar products.
3. Create a sense of urgency.
Humans are risk-averse species. We’d rather do something now than regret not doing it later. This is the main reason why FOMO marketing works (fear of missing out). Creating a sense of urgency makes consumers want to latch on to great deals before they lose out, which is what you should be targeting with your retargeting ads. For instance, if they are looking at a specific product, offering that product with limited slots for free shipping can do the trick.
4. Offer discounts to customers who abandoned carts.
It’s always disheartening when your marketing efforts go to waste at the last minute. That’s what happens when customers abandon their carts right before checkout, which 88 percent of buyers do online. Best Buy had a brilliant solution for this: remind the customers of what they did with a retargeting ad.
You can follow up with an email to increase the number of touchpoints, increasing the likelihood of recovering their abandoned cart.
5. Cross-sell to existing customers.
Re-engaging past customers is the main point of a remarketing campaign. Just like how you retarget customers that viewed similar products, why not showcase similar products to past customers to remind them of how much they enjoyed their previous purchases? This cross-selling tactic works best when paired with remarketing emails that notify them about new arrivals, new product/service offerings or any discounts and promos you’re currently offering.
Conclusion
Despite all your marketing efforts, only a small percentage of your target customers will convert on the first visit. You can attribute this to many different reasons, from not having enough brand recognition to the potential customer simply not being ready to purchase at that time. But having additional touchpoints can improve the likelihood of a sale, which is why retargeting and remarketing work. The key is to be specific while focusing on your goals to make your campaign more effective.
Do you need the help of a reliable remarketing company in running your campaigns? We can help. Thrive is a results-focused remarketing company that offers remarketing services to help your business improve the efficiency of your campaigns. We align our remarketing services with your goals so you get the most returns. Amplify your strategies with the help of a top-tier remarketing agency like Thrive. Give our remarketing agency a call today at 866-908-4748 or drop us a message here to get started.
