Retargeting campaigns are, in most cases, highly effective and profitable. They are often the starting point in the world of Facebook Ads. And if things aren't going well, you can simply turn off the top funnel and keep the retargeting campaigns running. Here, people are "hot" and sales are virtually guaranteed. But precisely because it almost always works, more and more advertisers are using this feature on Facebook. This naturally leads to an incredibly high and diverse volume of retargeting campaigns. Of course, you hear some people complain about being annoyed by them. After all, if you look at a backpack on a website – suddenly, your entire feed is full of backpack ads. However, when done correctly, retargeting can help build a deeper connection with customers, associate your brand with positive impressions, and most importantly – you will be profitable.
Here are 5 tips for running your retargeting campaign successfully and without errors.
1. Proper segmentation
To be successful with retargeting, you need to segment your audiences more precisely. Instead of showing visitors the same ad for 30 days, you should create a personalized, varied customer journey.
To do this, the first step is to create segmented custom audiences. Most importantly: always think in terms of a "funnel." After all, you want to create a personalized and varied customer journey for your visitors.
Let's look at this practically: for preparation, you could start with a video campaign to generate the widest possible reach. This means you let users into your top funnel and create awareness. This serves as the basis for subsequent segmentation, allowing you to define your target group even more precisely for your next action.
The next step is to use your content to reach people who have already shown interest in your brand or product. Who interacted with the video? Who liked or shared it? Who did I manage to keep watching for more than 40% of the video? Who even watched more than 70% of the video?
Using the information gathered, you can now start a new campaign (middle funnel) with your newly generated target group, aiming to bring people to your website. Now you can engage in truly targeted retargeting. Who was on my website, where, and for how long? Which products were viewed? Which ones were even added to the cart?
Throughout this process, it is also important to go into more detail. The more people have engaged with your product, the more you can offer them. This way, retargeting is no longer annoying or boring, but informative, as you always keep things varied. It is a good idea to use different ad formats for the respective stages.
2. Run dynamic ads
Dynamic retargeting ads involve displaying products that specific users viewed some time ago but did not purchase. The design of these ads can be defined as usual on Facebook. Especially when running carousel ads, you can work very effectively and profitably with dynamic ads.
For some clients, we even work exclusively with dynamic carousels in the bottom funnel.
3. Content
Of course, a high frequency of ad delivery is unavoidable in retargeting, and that is ultimately what we want. However, retargeting campaigns should never be too monotonous. Tip: Use your ROAS, frequency, and sales as a guide! If you notice a downward trend, change the messaging or swap out the content. Sometimes, simply duplicating the campaign helps. You will soon see that small changes can make your campaign successful again.
4. Don't show customers the same ad again
A user has bought your product – the goal is achieved. The problem now is that they are still being shown the same ad. This makes little sense, of course. For one thing, it is a complete waste of money, as the user is unlikely to buy a second, identical backpack. For another, irrelevant ads can cause users to perceive the brand increasingly negatively. For you, this means: when creating your campaign, make sure to exclude existing customers!
5. Ensure that customers continue to see ads
You have now excluded your customers from the campaign and left it at that – of course, that doesn't make sense either. Just because they have already bought one product from your online shop doesn't mean that other items in your range aren't interesting, or—especially in the food, beverage, or fitness segments—that you can't turn these customers into repeat buyers. Depending on the product, you can run individual ads here that match your offerings.
