One day you visit an online store that sells sneakers. After 5 minutes of checking a few products, you left because your mom called.
The following day, you log into your Facebook account. Right away, you notice an ad from the sneakers store you visited. Guess what? The ad showed you the last item you viewed.
What just happened is called retargeting.
As a business owner, retargeting should be one of the tools in your marketing arsenal. Retargeting brings potential customers by showing them relevant ads.
Perhaps you’re wondering, “Can I make money by posting ads on Facebook?” Yes, you can make money off posting ads on Facebook through retargeting.
Here’s how I discovered the power of Facebook retargeting to generate more ROI for my business:
I used to drive traffic to my UpViral tool through affiliates. I set up a sales page and every newly referred visitor was sent to that page.
One day, I decided to try Facebook ads and see if the strategy would work for my business. So I created an FB ad that would lead to my sales page. I targeted a Lookalike Audience.
Unfortunately, that ad failed miserably. I realized that my audience needed more warming up. Obviously, I came off as “salesy” because people didn’t know me enough yet!
So here’s what I did next: I ran a social proof ad (which showed UpViral testimonials). The ad targeted anyone who already visited my UpViral website. Great news, that ad generated sales. ?
From then on, I kept experimenting with FB retargeting methods to know what’s best for my business and audience.
Why Should You Retarget Your Audience with Facebook Ads?
Ever heard about the marketing Rule of 7? The Rule of 7 means that people need to be exposed to your brand seven times before they act on your message.
The main idea is that you need to show yourself more often to your potential customers. Because the truth is, not everyone who comes across you sticks around!
There is so much information overload these days. People are distracted by different messages from different brands. That said, it can be hard for a business to cut through the noise — even if that business has the best offer.
Retargeting helps you cut through that noise.
Bonus Material: 25 Facebook Targeting Ideas
Why use Facebook as a place for retargeting your website visitors?
- Facebook has 27 billion monthly active users (as of the third quarter of 2018)
- Facebook offers great targeting options — you can target people based on location, interests, behaviors, etc.
- Facebook benefits your business regardless of its size. You can always adjust your retargeting budget.
How To Make Money Posting Ads On Facebook (Creative Retargeting Ideas)
1. Bring back previous blog visitors
The truth is that not all people who get on your blog come back to have a second look at your posts. There’s a big possibility that a blog reader’s first visit is his last.
An effective way to make money posting ads on Facebook is to retarget previous readers with a free offer or lead magnet.
Make sure that this lead magnet relates to the blog post they read. If you already have a content upgrade within your blog post, use that for retargeting.
2. Notify customers of your new arrivals
The best thing about Facebook retargeting is that it helps you get repeat customers. Repeat customers are the easiest to sell to.
All it takes is to remind them of your latest offers. A little nudge can go a long way!
Here’s one good example of a retargeting ad by ModCloth, a fashion retailer:
Notice how they encourage customers who haven’t made a purchase lately with their ad copy. It’s straightforward and consistent with their use of phrases like:
- It’s been a while
- A lot to catch up on
- We miss you
- Come back
If you offer services instead of products, for example, coaching, use retargeting ads to notify them about a new course.
3. Showcase complementary products
Another reason to retarget your existing customers is to cross-sell to them. Cross-selling is the practice of recommending products that are related to the ones purchased by your customers. It’s a powerful strategy in that it doesn’t just bring more sales, but it also builds brand loyalty.
Here’s a good cross-selling example:
A customer of yours purchased your printer. Showing him a retargeting ad of your ink cartridges would be an excellent idea since these products are always used together. Your retargeting ad will most likely lead to another purchase.
Another example of complementary products are phones and phone cases.
The trick to making cross-selling work is to offer products that are truly complementary. If they’re not, your retargeting ads may not work.
4. Entice with deals and discounts
If shoppers had the opportunity to buy items at a lower cost, they would. Your customers love you more if you help them save money. That said, retarget them with discounted products.
Doing so will also be a great strategy to reach your sales goals especially when sales are slowing down. Discounts also trigger people’s fear of missing out (FOMO).
Keep in mind these tips to make money from posting ads on Facebook when leveraging discounts:
- Tailor your discounted offers accordingly. Base your offers on their shopping habits and interests. Segment your customers if you must.
- Use timing to your advantage. Run the ads on holidays or special occasions to make them relevant. Holiday promotions increase conversion rates.
- Got first-time visitors? Retargeting them with discounts gives them a reason to become first-time customers!
5. Retarget subscribers who open your email
Don’t forget to retarget a valuable asset — your email list. How many of those emails did you send remain unopened? Or how many of your email subscribers open your emails but never clicked the link to your offer? Probably MANY.
Supplement your email marketing campaign with Facebook ads to turn your email subscribers into customers.
By retargeting your subscribers, you lower the risk of unsubscribes because you don’t bombard them with emails. Plus, you get them to be interested in you again.
You can use email retargeting to:
- Reduce shopping cart abandonment. You can show subscribers the last item they left.
- Increase your email open rate. Many subscribers are too busy or distracted to open their emails.
- Introduce new offers to your email list (for example, a new webinar or lead magnet)
- Remind subscribers who opened your email but failed to click the link to your offer.
Bonus Material: 25 Facebook Targeting Ideas
Final Thoughts
If you want to make money posting ads on Facebook, use retargeting. Once you put these ideas into action consistently, you’ll realize why you didn’t do retargeting sooner. You definitely should be maximizing your opportunity to re-engage your converting and non-converting audience.
Retargeting on Facebook for the first time? Need better retargeting results?
Whether you’re a complete beginner, blogger, e-commerce vendor, or social media marketer, our tool ConnectRetarget helps you get the most out of your FB retargeting campaigns. Learn more about ConnectRetarget today.