Every business is advertising its offerings online, which is why people have gotten pretty good at ignoring ads. To get back their attention, marketing and advertising professionals need to understand their customers’ digital viewing habits and use this information to promote their products or services. While this may sound strange, it has actually become quite a popular tactic, known as targeted advertising.
All digital marketing courses online have included this concept in their curriculum and are placing significant emphasis on this practice.
But what is targeted advertising, and how does it work? Let’s find out.
What Exactly is Targeted Advertising?
Targeted advertising is a form of digital advertising that focuses on a consumer’s specific traits, interests, and preferences. Advertisers and marketers are required to discover this information by tracking consumers activity on the internet.
How Does it Work?
In order to target a specific audience that is interested in a product or service, advertisers use data collated on the user through social media channels. This data includes demographic information along with behavioural data.
For instance, if a person views a certain product/service on a website, their browser will submit this piece of information to third-party advertising networks. That is how companies know who to target and when to target.
Let’s understand this better with an example. For instance, a viewer is searching for organic shampoos on Amazon. Amazon creates a file called a cookie on their computer. Later, when they visit a social media platform like Instagram or Facebook, the advertisements read this cookie and generate ads related to their Amazon visit for organic shampoos.
The beauty of targeted ads is that ads are presented only for products your customers actually want to purchase. However, this system isn’t perfect. Even if the user visits the page only once, they may see ads for that particular product for days.
Aside from cookies, marketers also learn about their customers in other ways, like checking their search engine history and finding their personal information on social media.
But isn’t that an invasion of privacy, some may say?
In reality, all the information you submit to the internet can be tracked, whether it is the search engine that requests it or the social media platform. And if it can be tracked, it can be returned in the form of a targeted ad.
You can learn all about targeted ads, how it works, and how your organisation can leverage it by enrolling for credible digital marketing courses online. The best part about digital marketing courses is that the eligibility criteria is fairly easy to fulfil. A graduation or diploma degree from a recognised university and proficiency in spoken and written English is all you need.
Tips for Targeted Advertising on Social Media
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Know your Target Audience
Before you go on advertising on social media, understand who your target audience is, what are they looking for, and how can your product or service help them. Know exactly who or what they are trying to reach to take maximum advantage of these targeting options. This understanding will ensure that you get the best bang for your buck.
After all, there is no point in advertising baby clothes to teenage boys’ mother when your audience is new mothers. This is where digital listening and analytics come into play. It can help you motivate and target the right customers, know what they are saying, and improve the way you advertise.
You can gain in-depth knowledge about this concept, consider enrolling for digital marketing courses online. IIM is offering one such extensive and all-inclusive course. Boasting 360-degree knowledge and quality content backed by the eminent faculty of IIM, the IIM digital marketing course is considered the best in its class.
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Let Your Organic Posts Do All the Talking
If you are already advertising your organisation’s product or services, you are posting content on social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., on a regular basis.
Some of these posts will result in new followers; others won’t. So track the ones that are being clicked, shared and commented on most. These high-performing posts can give you an insight into what works with your target audience.
And even if you are branching out to a new network, start small. Use what you’ve learned from your organic posts and start from the basics. It’s better to cover the basics that are tried and tested rather than advanced techniques you don’t know about.
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Pay for What Matters: Impressions or Engagement
Whether you are working for a start-up or a multinational corporation, you need to keep your advertising under a given budget. So before investing in paid advertising campaigns, think about whether you want impressions or engagements.
If you are paying for impressions, i.e., every time some sees the ad, your advertisement can cast a wide net. On the other hand, if engagements are what you want to pay for, you are targeting people who really want to engage with your brand.
You don’t want to pay for engagement if they are not relevant to your business goals. Also, the content of your ad should instantly identify whether it’s relevant for them or not.
In retrospect, both techniques can be valuable; you just need to choose the right one to align with your advertising goals, so you pay only for real business results.
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Design Your Ads with Mobile in Mind
Over 3.23 billion social media users access these network through a mobile phone.
That means most of your viewership comes from smartphones. So your mobile ads should be designed keeping the small screen in mind. Incorporate images that are easy to view. Use geo-fencing to target mobile users when they are in a specific zip code, meaning they only see your ad when they are close enough to walk by your store.
You can learn all about mobile-friendly ads and geo-fencing by enrolling in the IIM digital marketing course. Offered on the Talentedge platform, this course can help you understand the importance and practical application of mobile-friendly ads and targeted advertisement.
So what are you waiting for? You know how valuable targeted advertising is. Scout for digital marketing courses online. Or you can cut your research short, enrol for the IIM digital marketing course and Get Learning!
More Information:
Ultimate Guide to Career in Marketing
Is Digital Marketing a good Career in India?
7 Lucrative Careers in Marketing and Branding
Growth & Opportunities for Digital Marketing Professionals in 2022
