Over the past few weeks we have blogged extensively about the importance of personalization as a part your sales and marketing efforts and this week we expand on this topic even further by defining the digital display technology that allows advertisers to take their message to the utmost in personalization.
The reason we feel this topic deserves prominent discussion is because of the major shift in our economy from a seller or brand driven marketplace to a consumer driven marketplace. The phrase “The Age of the Customer” coined by Jim Blasingame describes this shift as a dance where the consumer now takes the lead in each of the stages of the buying cycle. This is clearly illustrated in our own Personalized Buying Cycle Infographic. The consumer now has the power to control all aspects of their buying experience from product research to the shopping experience in deciding how, when and where they buy.
A study by Adlucent revealed that this desire for personalization is so strong that consumers are twice as likely to click on an ad for a brand they were unfamiliar with displaying a product or service they are interested in than they are a to click on a brand advertisement from a company they know, displaying a generic ad. In the same study, it was revealed that 71% of consumers want to see fewer ads but they DO want to see ads that are tailored to their needs and interests.
So the question is: How do you, the advertiser, deliver the messages consumers want to see in a way that feels personal to them?
The answer is to utilize the technology of the B.A.R.K. Campaign: BARK Campaigns refer to digital advertising campaigns that utilize a combination of Behavioral targeting, Ad Networks, Retargeting and Keyword targeting.
Behavioral targeting uses online tracking to follow a user’s web-browsing behavior and compiles that data to determine what ad to display to that particular user. There are three major components to behavioral targeting: tracking and data collection, segmenting a user based on online behavior, which defines interests, and connecting this data to show advertisements to that customer based on those interests.
Ad Networks are groups of web publishers that are compiled into categories by the content they serve such as the category, “Working Moms” or “Outdoor Enthusiasts”, for example. Utilizing specific ad networks further perpetuates the ability to reach consumers based on interest and need.
Retargeting (also referred to as remarketing) ads are especially important because the consumer has already displayed a certain level of interest by visiting your website. When they visited, a piece of code, familiarly known as a “cookie”, was placed onto their browser history. Retargeting ads are important because they have the power to boost the level of interest the consumer has already shown but there is an art to retargeting.
Utilizing additional coding to limit the number of retargeting ads shown to an individual consumer as well as terminating the ads if the consumer makes a purchase is very important. These techniques improve upon personalization by preventing your message from getting annoying and changing the consumer’s perception of your brand.
Retargeting should be an area of the BARK campaign where a little extra effort is applied. Retargeting ads should be different from the original message used to capture unfamiliar consumers. Additionally, multiple versions of the retargeting ad should be considered since these messages could be viewed by your prospect up to 25 times per month.
Keywords are a direct response to user interest. When a user types a specific keyword(s) into a search engine, such as google, the results page appears with both paid ads and organic listings. When the user clicks on a result in the organic listing and goes to the webpage a display ad that is taking advantage of keyword technology is shown to the visitor. This makes the advertising placed within that page directly relevant to the user’s interest.
Personalization has been deemed one of the top keys to success in this new “Age of the Customer.” Manning Media Inc. can help you craft a message that speaks to your specific customer in a way that will feel individually unique. Call us in Frederick at 301-620-7700, in Hagerstown at 301-733-4500 or fill out our online request form by clicking HERE to start your own BARK campaign today.
Personalization in Advertising: We Are BARKing Up the Right Tree!
