Why Retargeting on Facebook is Right On Target for Ad Success
Retargeting is changing digital marketing today, but some still don’t understand all of the aspects of this advanced ad approach. Basically, retargeting lets advertisers stay top of mind with consumers who have already visited a company’s website or mobile app by displaying tailored ads that reflect the type of intent and interaction they’ve shown on the website.
The approach has been so effective that 76% of marketers plan to increase their retargeting budget in 2014. And one of the most powerful platforms for retargeting has proven to be Facebook. Over the past two years, more and more advertisers have adopted retargeting on Facebook as a way to drive conversions, lead generation, and app downloads. It’s no secret that retargeting on social media has completely converted digital marketing, so now discover how retargeting on Facebook can bring results within reach.
Since retargeting on the social media network has proven to be so valuable for advertisers, Facebook has created the retargeting products of Facebook Exchange (FBX) and Website Custom Audiences (WCA). FBX lets advertisers buy retargeting placements on its desktop site, while WCA expands access to retargeting inventory to its mobile site and mobile app to offer placements on both mobile and desktop versions. By retargeting on both versions of Facebook, advertisers are better able to reach their audiences on the social network and digital devices where they spend most of their time online.
When it comes to Facebook retargeting on desktop through FBX, the network’s News Feed provides prime placement on the platform. Placing ads in the News Feed provides advertisers with exposure to more than a billion monthly active Facebook users. These native ad units are designed to be highly engaging with many social features. And since a single placement remains in users’ News Feeds, it provides numerous opportunities to reach and click with users.
Another way to reach Facebook’s enormous desktop audience is through FBX inventory in Facebook’s right-hand column. While these units may be smaller and lack the social media features of the News Feed placements, they still offer outstanding placement but at a lower cost with greater availability. They deliver effectiveness with efficiency to meet the needs of any business.
Beyond FBX, WCA lets advertisers create Facebook ads that specifically target users who have previously visited their websites. This allows for more personalized retargeting through ad placements in Facebook’s News Feed on both mobile and desktop. And the explosion in mobile usage means that Facebook users are just as likely to view the site from a smartphone or a tablet as from a desktop, so WCA offers a huge chance for cross-device retargeting. Plus, multiple retargeting placements allow for layering different demographics such as age, gender, location, and relationship status into the same campaign. In addition to offering tighter targeting opportunities based on these demographic distinctions, this also gives advertisers many more factors to fine-tune for better performance.
Retargeting on Facebook has turned the social media network into a strong direct response channel. In fact, advertisers have found that Facebook retargeting on mobile is especially effective at driving direct response when promotions and content marketing are mixed into the messaging.
To show the impact of implementing retargeting on Facebook, researchers recently compared the performance of retargeting campaigns run in the desktop Facebook News Feed through FBX, the mobile Facebook News Feed on WCA, and other web sources. An analysis of hundreds of millions of ad impressions revealed the following results:
- Advertisers averaged 58% more click-through conversions, 53% more clicks, and 5.7% more impressions by layering desktop Facebook News Feed campaigns onto outside web retargeting campaigns
- Advertisers averaged 29% more clicks, 15% more conversions, and 4% more impressions by integrating mobile into an existing Facebook campaign comprised of web retargeting and desktop News Feed ads.
- When compared to outside web retargeting, mobile Facebook News Feed ads had 9.1 times the click-through rate, and desktop Facebook News Feed ads had 8.1% times the click-through rate.
- An increase in retargeting budgets directly correlated to an increase in incremental impressions and conversions.
Retargeting is dominating digital marketing today, but when this ad approach is used on Facebook, there’s no limit to the reach and results it can yield. By leveraging and layering the many desktop and mobile options for retargeting on Facebook, advertisers can convert their placements into performance.
Add retargeting on Facebook to your social media marketing strategy. Contact MDG today at 561-338-7797 or visit www.mdgsolutions.com.
MDG is a full-service advertising agency and one of Florida’s top branding firms. With offices in Boca Raton and New York City, MDG’s core capabilities include branding, logo design, print advertising, digital marketing, mobile advertising, email marketing, media planning and buying, TV and radio, outdoor advertising, newspaper, video marketing, Web design and development, content marketing, ad retargeting, social media marketing, and SEO. To discover the latest trends in advertising and branding, contact MDG today at 561-338-7797.