Retargeting is changing in 2016. Learn what you need to know, why it's important to your brand, and how retargeting will change in 2016!
What is Retargeting?
"Prospects who are shown retargeting ads are 70% more likely to convert on your website."
Retargeting is a powerful tool for digital marketers that allows you to display ads to people who have already viewed your website and shown some level of interest in your product or service, but didn't make a purchase.
Retargeting has traditionally been done through search and web CPC ads that would follow a lead around the web, however over the last few years retargeting has also become an option on social media platforms as well.
WHy IS RETARGETING Important to My Brand?
You should care about retargeting because it gives your brand an opportunity to focus on converting leads who have already shown an interest in your brand. While those leads might otherwise move on and never buy or buy from your competitors, retargeting provides more touch points with your advertising, giving a prospect more chances to choose you and keeping you top of mind while they're making a buying decision.
Prospects who are shown retargeting ads are 70% more likely to convert on your website, giving you quite an advantage. While other advertising requires you to understand the demographics and interests of your audience and fine tune these factors just to be seen by the right crowd, retargeting allows you to "re-market" to an audience that you already know has an interest in your products or services.
What Retargeting Changes Are Sprouting in 2016?
Bing Ads Are On the Rise
Perhaps one of the most surprising changes to retargeting in 2016 is that Bing ads are growing significantly in market share. Google AdWords' CPC prices are being driven up, and that's making Bing an attractive, less expensive alternative for some online advertisers.
This seems like one of the less permanent trends, once everyone flocks to the new, cheap digital marketing opportunity it too will be flooded with content and ad costs will rise, but it's a good opportunity for early movers who are looking to reach a new audience (or a different segment of a similar audience) for less cash.
Mobile Retargeting More Important Than Ever Before
Mobile retargeting is becoming even more important in 2016, with AdRoll finding that 51% of digital marketers are counting more mobile conversions as an essential KPI for their marketing efforts, during their recent 2016 State of the Industry report. It was the highest priority on list, coming in above app installs, increasing reach, and running integrated digital campaigns.
While there were some interesting responses to AdRoll's question on challenges to adopting retargeting as a part of your digital strategy, only 13% of marketers thought that their audience wasn't on mobile.
Segmentation and Automation Are Essential
"Better targeting with smart algorithms that understand what each individual prospect cares about will help digital marketers feature their best performing and most relevant content."
The wealth of information and targeting options available to digital advertisers is overwhelming compared to the options that existed just 5 or 10 years ago. As we continue to gain the ability to target audiences with a laser focus, it's more important than ever before that we understand who our target audiences are and what they care about.
Retargeting platforms on social and around the web are offering new functionality with the ability to dynamically segment your audience so that people who care about your content on one topic will only see more of your content about that topic or other related topics in retargeting ads, while topics that they've shown no interest in are avoided.
Better targeting with smart algorithms that understand what each individual prospect cares about (and what they're just not interested in) will help digital marketers feature their best performing content on their own websites and ensure that retargeting ads on social platforms and around the web are relevant to each segment of their larger audience.
Companies like BrightInfo are already developing solutions that make retargeting smarter and even more well targeted, with algorithms and marketing automation further optimizing the great conversion rate that retargeting ads already see.
"BrightInfo’s algorithm continually and dynamically analyzes audience behavior patterns and your content. Then, it displays the best matches between the two for each individual."
Powerful targeting options and audience insights are what have made social such a strong advertising contender over the last decade. Now that same level of targeting, insight, and use of smart algorithms is working its way into retargeting.
2016 will be the year of the retargeting renaissance.
Want to learn how to consistently create high quality content? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing in 2016 and download our ebook on How to Write Great Blog Posts!
