retargeting Archives - Public Relations, Advertising & Social Media

Twitter recently announced that it’s acquiring a mobile technology company called TapCommerce. Specializing in mobile retargeting, TapCommerce targets ads based on previous user activity. While this service is certainly not groundbreaking, retargeting isn’t very common among mobile marketing due to the lack of cookies. But through large amounts of data and sophisticated statistical analysis, TapCommerce is able to overcome this problem.

With more and more consumers making purchases on a mobile device, it’s important now more than ever for a brand to target and communicate to its audiences via mobile. While many advertisers primarily focus on activating new users, TapCommerce reminds brands to re-engage with lapsed users and present more relevant content. Re-activating users rather than enticing new ones also can be less costly, as we know in the arena of customer retention.

The acquisition of TapCommerce will give advertisers on Twitter more opportunities for re-engagement and better measurement of mobile marketing. Mobile consumers also will reap the benefits of this team-up by receiving more relevant ads in the apps they use.

Twitter said in a statement that it’s too early to say when users will see TapCommerce technology on Twitter, but the groups are in the beginning stages of creating a product plan.

Ever wonder why after visiting a site just once, ads for the site suddenly seem to be showing up on every other site you visit?

The answer to your question lies in a marketing strategy called retargeting, which focuses on bringing potential customers back to a site after they have already visited it. A javascript tag embedded in the website generates a list of people by placing anonymous retargeting “cookies” in their browser.

Then retargeting companies are further able to segment visitors by tracking what they viewed while on the site. For example, if you looked at shoes, then it would be in best practice to show ads for shoes.

One retargeting company, Adroll, states that retargeting works by “converting window-shoppers into buyers.” While I am all for finding more shoes similar to the ones I have been coveting while online-shopping, I also think there are potential problems with retargeting.

For one, retargeting calls into question the never-ending discussion of privacy limits on the web. While retargeting offers a great way to keep track of potential consumers, it also may be seen as an invasion of privacy by visitors. It is possible that the average shopper will get annoyed that every time they visit a site, they will start seeing numerous ads.

According to retargeter.com, “for most websites, only two percent of web traffic converts on the first visit. Retargeting is a tool designed to help companies reach the 98 percent of users who don’t convert right away.”

While the goal to increase effectiveness of advertising by targeting only those who have already shown some interest in the products or company makes sense, I think the new strategy should be used with some caution. For example, companies should take ad placement and frequency into consideration and avoid annoying potential customers too much.

Twitter acquires TapCommerce

Retargeting: Helpful or Annoying to Consumers?