Recently, retargeting has become a widespread content marketing tool across many types of digital campaigns. According to the Performance Marketer’s Retargeting Guide, 88 percent of enterprise marketers are retargeting consumers after a first website visit fails to yield a conversion or purchase.
Display advertising was the most common channel where retargeting was used, with search ads serving as the second most popular medium. The study found that 89 percent of marketers use a combination of retargeting tools, diversifying their strategies to maximize returns. Social, mobile, and video retargeting were also used among a good percentage of marketers. Further, adoption of retargeting into content marketing strategies is expected to increase significantly: Close to half of current non-adopters plan to start retargeting within the next year.
“Clearly Google has been effective in using its market leadership to drive retargeting adoption across its display and search properties,” the report states. “However, considering some of the premium, high-engagement, cross-device inventory that’s become increasingly available on Facebook and Twitter, the social channel will likely see quick adoption amongst the retargeting crowd.”
As this strategy grows, the role of retargeting in relation to content marketing is becoming more and more relevant. Content marketing is already a strategy that spans all the digital channels mentioned above, but understanding it in conjunction with retargeting has proven a bit more complex.
One challenge of integrating content strategy with retargeting strategy is that a limited segment of marketers currently operate with a documented content strategy. This trend persists despite a 76-percent increase in content production since 2013. The good news is, according to the Content Marketing Institute, documented strategies are becoming more common among marketers. That could make the use of content in retargeting easier to map out.
When it comes to wielding retargeting as a content marketing tool, marketers can incorporate content by linking to that original content through various strategies. With display and through other paid ads, for example, retargeting can be conducted through a specially made advertisement that then links to original content—so long as that content aligns with the strategy behind the retargeting.
Good analytics tools can also examine the way content fares with retargeted consumers as opposed to first-time shoppers and website visitors. Over time, this information can yield valuable insights into both the retargeting steps taken and how content inspires consumers to take action.
In this way, the value of content can increase while also contributing to better retargeting efforts. The cost of that content can be split between content and retargeting strategies, and the original content can also be promoted on social media while appearing in organic—and even paid—online searches. This type of double-duty isn’t only important to maximize the value of content marketing; it’s also another way to get content in front of audiences and drive traffic back to the business.
