Pretargeting

Pretargeting is a clever marketing strategy that helps businesses warm up potential customers before making a direct sales pitch. Instead of sending out cold emails to a list of contacts, this approach first exposes these individuals to your product or service through targeted ads on social media platforms. By doing so, you create familiarity and interest before reaching out with a more direct message.

This tactic is particularly valuable in today's crowded digital landscape, where consumers are bombarded with countless marketing messages daily. By introducing your brand subtly through pretargeting, you increase the chances that your eventual email or sales pitch will be well-received. It's like planting seeds of recognition that can later blossom into genuine interest and engagement.

For businesses looking to maximize their marketing efforts, pretargeting offers a way to make email lists work harder. Rather than relying solely on email blasts, which can sometimes feel intrusive or unwelcome, this approach creates a softer introduction to your brand. It allows potential customers to discover your offerings organically, increasing the likelihood of a positive response when you do make direct contact.

Implementing pretargeting is relatively straightforward, with major social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter offering user-friendly tools for this purpose. By uploading your email list to these platforms, you can ensure that your ads reach the right people at the right time. This targeted approach not only improves the efficiency of your marketing spend but also enhances the overall customer experience by providing relevant content to interested parties.

Why this works

Pretargeting works because it leverages the psychology of familiarity and the principle of multi-touch marketing. Here's why this approach is particularly effective for digital businesses:

1. Builds brand recognition. By exposing potential customers to your brand through social media ads before direct outreach, you create a sense of familiarity. This is especially valuable for:

• SaaS companies. A cloud-based project management tool might show ads highlighting key features to decision-makers before sending a demo invitation email.
• Digital product creators. An online course provider could showcase student success stories in ads prior to offering a free trial via email.

2. Increases email open rates. When recipients recognize your brand from previous ad exposure, they're more likely to open and engage with your emails. This can be particularly impactful for:

• E-commerce stores. An online fashion retailer might use retargeting ads to showcase popular items, making their promotional emails more appealing when they hit inboxes.
• Subscription services. A meal kit delivery company could use ads to highlight the convenience of their service, priming potential customers for a targeted email campaign.

3. Improves ad targeting efficiency. By using your email list for ad targeting, you ensure your message reaches a highly relevant audience. This is crucial for:

• B2B software companies. Enterprise software providers can use LinkedIn's matched audiences feature to show ads to specific decision-makers before reaching out via email.
• Niche marketplaces. A specialized freelance platform could use Twitter's Tailored Audiences to target potential service providers with relevant ads before sending invitation emails.

4. Creates a cohesive customer journey. Pretargeting allows you to craft a consistent message across multiple touchpoints, reinforcing your value proposition. This works well for:

• Fintech startups. A personal finance app could use Facebook ads to highlight key benefits, then follow up with emails that expand on those same features.
• Online learning platforms. An e-learning company might use Instagram ads to showcase course variety, then send emails with personalized course recommendations.

5. Reduces perceived intrusiveness. By warming up your audience with ads, your direct outreach feels less like cold contact and more like a natural continuation of the conversation. This is beneficial for:

• Customer feedback tools. A survey software company could use pretargeting to familiarize potential users with their brand, making subsequent email outreach feel more welcome.
• Productivity apps. A time-tracking software provider might use ads to highlight common productivity pain points, making their email offers feel more relevant and timely.

By implementing pretargeting, digital businesses can significantly enhance the effectiveness of their email marketing efforts, creating a more receptive audience and ultimately driving higher conversion rates.

How you can steal this

Here's how you can implement pretargeting for your digital business:

1. Prepare your email list. Start by segmenting your existing email list based on relevant criteria such as:

• User behavior. Group contacts who have shown interest in specific products or features.
• Demographics. Segment by factors like job title, company size, or industry for B2B businesses.
• Engagement level. Separate highly engaged contacts from less active ones.

2. Choose your platform. Select the social media platform that best aligns with your target audience:

• Facebook. Ideal for B2C businesses and some B2B sectors, offering extensive targeting options.
• LinkedIn. Perfect for B2B companies, especially those targeting professionals or decision-makers.
• Twitter. Great for tech-savvy audiences and real-time engagement.

3. Set up your audience. Upload your segmented email lists to create custom audiences:

• Facebook Custom Audiences. Access this feature through Facebook Ads Manager.
• LinkedIn Matched Audiences. Available in Campaign Manager for LinkedIn advertising.
• Twitter Tailored Audiences. Use this option in your Twitter Ads account.

4. Create compelling ad content. Develop ads that align with your email marketing strategy:

• Highlight key benefits. Focus on the most appealing aspects of your product or service.
• Use consistent branding. Ensure your ads match the look and feel of your email campaigns.
• Include a clear call-to-action. Encourage users to learn more or visit your website.

5. Set up your ad campaign. Configure your campaign settings:

• Budget. Start small and scale based on performance.
• Duration. Run ads for at least a week before your email outreach.
• Frequency. Aim for 3-5 exposures per user to build familiarity without overwhelming them.

6. Monitor and adjust. Keep a close eye on your campaign performance:

• Track engagement metrics. Monitor click-through rates, impressions, and conversions.
• A/B test ad variations. Experiment with different visuals, copy, or calls-to-action.
• Optimize for best-performing segments. Allocate more budget to audiences that show higher engagement.

7. Coordinate with email outreach. Time your email campaign to follow your ad exposure:

• Stagger your sends. Begin email outreach a few days after starting your ad campaign.
• Maintain consistency. Use similar messaging and visuals in your emails as in your ads.
• Personalize your approach. Leverage the information gained from ad engagement to tailor your emails.

8. Measure overall campaign success. Evaluate the combined impact of your pretargeting and email efforts:

• Compare open rates. Look for improvements in email open rates compared to non-pretargeted campaigns.
• Track conversion rates. Measure how pretargeting affects your overall conversion funnel.
• Calculate ROI. Consider the cost of both ad spend and email marketing when assessing returns.

By following these steps, you can effectively implement pretargeting to enhance your email marketing efforts and create a more receptive audience for your digital business.

Examples of pretargeting

Here are some detailed examples of how different types of digital businesses can effectively implement pretargeting:

• SaaS company. A project management software startup used LinkedIn's Matched Audiences to target decision-makers from their email list with ads highlighting productivity gains. They ran the campaign for two weeks before sending personalized demo invitation emails, resulting in a 40% increase in demo bookings compared to cold outreach.

• E-commerce store. An online sustainable fashion retailer uploaded their email list to Facebook Custom Audiences. They created carousel ads showcasing their best-selling items, targeting subscribers who hadn't made a purchase in the last 6 months. After a 10-day ad campaign, they sent a promotional email offering a discount, leading to a 25% higher conversion rate than previous non-pretargeted campaigns.

• Digital course creator. An online coding bootcamp provider used Twitter Tailored Audiences to show ads featuring student success stories to their email list of potential learners. They ran the campaign for a week before sending emails with a free mini-course offer, resulting in a 30% increase in course enrollments compared to their standard email-only approach.

• B2B software platform. A CRM software company utilized LinkedIn's Matched Audiences to target C-level executives from their prospect list with ads highlighting ROI statistics. After two weeks of ad exposure, they sent personalized emails offering a free consultation, achieving a 50% higher response rate than their usual cold outreach.

• Subscription box service. A monthly book subscription service used Facebook Custom Audiences to show ads featuring popular book selections to their email list of inactive subscribers. Following a week-long campaign, they sent a "We miss you" email with a special offer, leading to a 35% increase in reactivation rates compared to email-only campaigns.

• Freelance marketplace. A platform connecting businesses with freelance designers used Twitter Tailored Audiences to target potential clients with ads showcasing top designer portfolios. After 10 days of ad exposure, they sent emails inviting recipients to post their first project, resulting in a 20% higher project posting rate than their standard email outreach.

• Fintech app. A personal budgeting app utilized Facebook Custom Audiences to show ads highlighting money-saving features to their email list of free users. They ran the campaign for two weeks before sending an email offer to upgrade to the premium version, achieving a 45% higher conversion rate compared to non-pretargeted upgrade campaigns.

• Online learning platform. An e-learning company specializing in business skills used LinkedIn's Matched Audiences to target professionals from their email list with ads featuring popular course topics. After a week of ad exposure, they sent personalized course recommendation emails, resulting in a 30% increase in course enrollments compared to their usual email campaigns.

• Customer feedback tool. A survey software provider used Facebook Custom Audiences to show ads demonstrating the ease of creating surveys to their list of free trial users. Following a 5-day campaign, they sent emails offering an extended trial period, leading to a 40% higher conversion rate to paid plans compared to their standard email-only approach.

• Productivity app. A time-tracking software company utilized Twitter Tailored Audiences to target freelancers and remote workers from their email list with ads highlighting time-saving features. After a week of ad exposure, they sent emails offering a free productivity assessment, resulting in a 25% increase in app downloads compared to their previous email campaigns.