Today, it isn’t uncommon to hear talk about targeted advertising. Unfortunately, not all the talk is good. For example, more and more people are becoming uneasy and concerned about the high personalization level present.
They often wonder –
- Are these platforms listening to their conversations?
- How do they find out their names?
- What is the product being displayed, and why is it appearing?
The fact is that these concerns are somewhat legitimate—just the idea of having huge companies buying your personal data can be concerning. However, the idea of targeted advertising does not really show how effective these efforts are.
Do you think hyper-targeted and personalized advertising is creepy? To an extent – yes.
Also, while most people notice when things are not working properly if everything is working seamlessly, what is there to notice? This is why it is so important than ever for advertisers to figure out who their audience is with the data available and formularize their audiences with buyer personas.
With a more focused understanding of your audience, you can use targeted advertising and personalization not to accept your customer. Here are a few tips to help ensure your advertising and personalization efforts are effective rather than jarring.
Use the Data You Have
For many brands, user or buyer personas are not a starting point or foundation. Too many brands start advertising efforts based on a thin, non-data-based specter of buyers, usually grounded in their vision of who their customer is.
Unfortunately, if you just assume who your ideal customer is, you will set yourself up for failure. You have an array of data available, which makes this the best place to start your search. Take some time to use the information to help ensure the results are achieved.
Create Nurturing Strategies
Have you mapped out the journey your customers take while on your website? These are essential as you try to build personalized nurturing strategies that actually convert.
If you have started this and you know the steps customers take at every phase of exposure to your brand, and every time they interact with your advertising or site, you are already building nurturing campaigns.
If you have established customer thoughts, triggers, feelings, and thoughts that encourage them to purchase, begin setting these up. Know what these are and pay attention to how customers respond. Remember, people will probably not notice personalization or automation as a problem unless it is completely wrong.
Seek Help for your Marketing Efforts
If you want to avoid seeming overly creepy with your personalization and automation efforts, it is a good idea to seek help from professionals. Take some time to work with the pros who know how to create effective campaigns that help them achieve the desired level of success. Being informed is the best way to ensure that you create a campaign that meets your needs, and that provides you with the effective advertising required for ongoing success.