A Better Funnel

In 1898, E. St. Elmo Lewis developed a model that mapped a theoretical customer journey from the moment a brand or product attracted consumer attention to the point of action or purchase.[1] St. Elmo Lewis' idea is often referred to as the AIDA-model, an acronym that stands for Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action. (Wikipedia) Also known as, the purchase funnel or purchasing funnel.

Additionally, we have “The Rule of 7” - a prospect needs to “hear” the advertiser’s message at least 7 times before they’ll take action to buy that product or service.

So, let’s adapt that to our new world through a retargeting program with social media advertising. One that will pique interest in the short-term and maintain recognizability in the long-term. 

There’s an inverse relationship to time and likelihood of revisiting your site. The more time since they have last visited, the less likely they are to click on your retargeting ad. A great way to increase the performance of your retargeting ad campaigns is by adjusting the frequency over time.

So how do we achieve a profitable retargeting campaign? By splitting your campaign into three ad sets. These campaigns can be created on any current social advertising platform. 

Ad Set 1: High Frequency 

Frequency: 2-3x/Day for 1st Week

This is the highest frequency and highest likelihood for a return ad set. We want to adjust our ad sets so that we are hitting a user 2-3 times a day within the first week of visiting.

Concept/Creative: Social Proof

These ads should be highly engaging (video) and highly informative. Utilize social proof through review videos or showcase where your product is available. The concept here is to make it seem like your product is hugely popular, and the consumer is truly missing out.

Offer: Introductory Offer - No Offer

With these ad sets you can choose to provide an introductory offer based on your advertising strategy. Alternatively, if you don’t typically run promotions for first-time customers, you can just utilize content that showcases social proof. 

Ad Set 2: Mid Frequency

Frequency: 1x/Day for 2-3 Weeks

This is to grab all of the loose ends. If a customer hasn’t returned (or purchased) within the first week, let’s try and pull them in the second or third week. This content should include information on your best selling products, or introductory products like variety packs or sample packs. 

Concept: Great Value

Provide a great introductory offer on these ads. This is your opportunity to really pull a user in. Now, they should be aware of your brand, what you sell, why people love it, and how they’re missing out. Push them over the edge with a great offer. 

Offer: Best Offer

Provide the best offer you can in these ads. This is the most engaged audience you have and the most likely to convert. 

Ad Set 3: Low Frequency

Frequency: 1x a Week for 6 Weeks

This last ad set is our last resort to pull a user in. We want to stay top of mind and not let them forget about the brand. Try and hit them at least 1 time a week for 6 weeks.  

Concept: Everything You Have

Test, test and test. Try all forms of creative and copy to see what works best for your audience set. It could be a better offer or it could be more review advertisements. This is your chance to really refine down what works best for your brand. 

Offer: Lowest Commitment

An offer with the lowest commitment will likely work best in these ad sets. If you can’t pull them in now, you never will. Test different ways of phrasing your offer to see what works best for your brand.

Example:

Let’s say you are selling a variety pack of 12 protein bars. Your goal is to sell them at a $1 per bar. Here are the three ways you can (A/B/C) test discount pricing:

1. Normally, $24 but Now 50% OFF - Only $12 with Free Shipping
   

2. Get 12 Bars FREE, Just Pay Shipping (Shipping will be $12)
   

3. 12 Bars for Only $6 (+$6 for Shipping)

    

Tip- Be sure to exclude custom audience sets on this campaign as well. Utilize customer lists (export the list and upload them to the social platform) and available tracking pixels.

Ideally, you would combine this strategy with others to produce a perfect purchasing funnel, but this is my go-to baseline retargeting strategy on social media.

Now, go and grow.

J 

 

Recommended Apps:

For obvious reasons, the Facebook channel app would be a great addition to your store to help you sell directly on Facebook through Shopify. But, I will mention that this app has proven to have its difficulties. Give it shot.

What good is a retargeting plan without a great landing pages? PageFly is by far and away my favorite page builder on Shopify. Intuitive, full of features and affordable. Check it out.