What are Retargeted Ads & How Can They Help Your Awards Program
Have you ever visited a website and then gone to another only to find an advertisement from the site you just left? If so, you aren’t alone and it isn’t magic, it’s retargeting.
Retargeting is commonly understood as “a form of marketing in which you target users who have previously visited your website with ads on display networks across the web.” And if major retailers and others can use these ads to their advantage, your awards program can as well.
So, How do Retargeted Ads Work?
Retargeted ads aren’t the result of companies stalking their customers and the moves they make online. Instead, they’re powered by “cookie” files that almost every website uses to store information about users and their preferences.
The process itself is actually quite simple:
- A company sets up their website to save a cookie to their user’s browser when they view products or services. The site then exclusively uses the cookie to determine their behavior and preferences.
- Next, the company will purchase ad space on another site. However, these ads aren’t fixed like most typical ads. Instead, they’re put on the site in real time and inspect the cookies saved on each user’s computer to determine which ad to present.
- Users will then see an ad based on a product or service they recently viewed, allowing a company to retarget the user and attempt to convert them by presenting the product they expressed interest in previously.
How to Use Retargeted Ads to Boost Your Awards Program
Advertising allows you to create hype and awareness around your program, communicating the true value that lies within it. And while both traditional and social media marketing have a place in spreading the word about your program, retargeting does as well.
In fact, retargeting can be the most valuable advertising method you use, especially because you can target:
- People Who Have Previously Applied – There’s a good chance that those who have applied to your program before will do so again. This means that using retargeting ads for those who have previously applied is vital to increasing submissions by reminding them that submissions have opened.
- People Who Have Visited Your Submission Page – Not everyone who visits your submission page is ready to actually create an entry the first time they’re on your website. But through retargeting ads, you can provide a subtle, yet direct reminder that your call for entry is going on and their submission is welcome.
- People Who are Similar to Individuals Who Have Visited Your Website or Submitted an Entry – Those who visit your website are likely to have people in their networks in the same industry (meaning that they might be interested in your awards program as well). By targeting them with your ads, you can direct valuable traffic to your website and increase the number of submissions you receive.
Benefits of Taking Advantage of Retargeting Ads
Aside from increasing traffic to your website, specifically your submission page, there are other benefits of using retargeting ads to your full advantage.
Specifically, this is because retargeting ads make it simpler to successfully target your audience, increase the exposure of your awards program, build interest that otherwise might not exist, and boost submissions to ensure a successful program.
Have you ever used retargeted ads?
If you’ve got any other questions concerning awards marketing, be sure to download our guide Awards Marketing 101 for the guidance you need!
[button id=”” style=”” color=”orange” type=”large” size=”large” href=”http://www.getopenwater.com/subscribe-to-openwater-blog” align=”center” target=”_self”]Like what you’ve read? Click here to subscribe to this blog![/button]
Why Some Awards Programs Seem to Have All the Luck
Lowering The Learning Curve: Getting Your Judges Acquainted with Online Awards Software
Filter resources
Explore Posts by Topic
Best Resources
The Ultimate Guide to Awards Management
