If you have been on the Internet for any time, you’ve probably been suggested to buy hair dye after thinking about changing your hairstyle. This is no sign of fate but cleverly targeted advertisements. And in this day and age, you can benefit greatly from learning how they work.
Targeting your potential customers is one of the most powerful tools to spread your product. However, it can backfire if set improperly and do the opposite of advertising. Don’t drift away from your potential customers with wrongly targeted ads. Discover these five steps you should take to get the best results from your campaign.
Start With Demographic Parameters
The first thing you need to set is general demographic data about your customer. What are their age and gender? Where do they live? For example, if your customers’ most common Google search is to write an essay for me, you’ll have yourself an audience of people around 18-22 years old. In this case, their gender would not matter to you much.
Consider going beyond your basic parameters. Incorporate more specific ideas about your customer:
- What are their possible interests and needs based on their age, gender, or even location? Are they likely to spend more time indoors or outside? What does their social life look like? Are they prone to follow trends or be in favor of classics?
- What are they likely to research the most? If your customers live in a rainy area, it is likely they might look for a sturdy umbrella.
Identify All Possible Consumer Groups in the Funnel
Another thing you need to understand is the scope of your audience. Include not only your identified group in your targeting plan but potential customers as well. You have to understand who needs to be aware of your product, reminded about it, or encouraged to continue purchasing from you.
Remember that a properly defined demographic is the backbone of successful targeting. Separate your customers into three broad categories and target your ads accordingly:
- those who need that product but are unaware of your business;
- those who know you but do not need the product at the moment;
- those who need the product and know about you.
Target via Content
After you set up the demographic, use the content targeting option to your advantage. For instance, if the customer is interested in an EssayHub review, it would be wise to spread your ad across web pages that share similar topics. This increases the chances of making your target audience click on the ad.
You can choose to target through placement by picking specific web pages for your ad. Alternatively, you can target through keywords that your customers might use in the search for the product you sell. You do not need to set one of these options and utilize all of them. However, do pay attention to the ad’s visibility and overall performance.
Remember that settings for all of these methods will vary depending on the platform you’re using. Still, apply the general ideas to the specific setups according to your expectations. Target your ads through content that will be interesting to your potential customers.
Work on Personalization
The key to successfully targeted ads is personalization. You want to make your customers click on the ad when they need your product. Moreover, most buyers confirm that they will engage with personalized content only.
Therefore, work on getting advanced demographic information about your customers to make your ads hit the right spot. Based on the three groups of customers you defined before, look for the aspects that might attract their attention.
Do notice their shared interests, such as music, movies, or books. For example, pay attention to a certain movie trending among your target audience. And do consider targeting your ads to the people subscribed to pages dedicated to the film. However, keep in mind that your product has to relate to your customer and not be random information in their feed.
Practice Transparency
People do not like feeling puppeteered or aggressively pushed to buy something. With all the privacy issues that online platforms face, you have to be cautious about scaring your customers away with creepy ads. Do not make your customer feel like they’ve been watched or spied on.
Involve an option of partial disclosure of targeting. For instance, Facebook Ads have an option of explaining why the person sees a certain ad. Establishing trust and control is important to win over your audience and make your targeted ads successful.
Takeaway
So here it is. Study your potential audience and include all the demographic information possible. Have a clear image of your potential customer, devise a funnel of your audience, and target through content. Also, remember to enhance personalization and adhere to the ethics of using personal information. Use these five steps of setting up targeted ads, and you’ll always come out on top.