4 Digital Advertising Techniques That Pinpoint Your Ideal Customer.
It’s mind-bending to think that just a few years ago, digital advertising audience targeting tools didn’t exist and that businesses just sent out print ads, TV commercials and direct mail to engage their target audience.
Using these tools ensures your ad strategy is laser-focused on the people most likely to convert to actual customers, giving you the biggest bang for your buck.
Kyle Weston, Digital Director, Estland
In Part 1 of our Digital Advertising series, we discussed why digital ads are more effective than traditional methods (check that out now if you haven’t!)
This article builds on that introductory guide and reviews four techniques to reach your ideal customer.
1. Define Affinity Audiences In Your Digital Advertising Strategy.
An affinity audience refers to a group of individuals who share specific interests, lifestyles or (for lack of a better word)—affinities.
These audiences are curated based on online behaviors, preferences and interactions, allowing advertisers to tailor their messages to resonate with these groups’ particular passions or habits.
For example:
- An outdoor gear retailer might target an affinity audience interested in hiking and camping.
- A summer camp would target an affinity audience of parents with children of a certain age.
- A garden center can target people interested in plants and gardening.
Affinity audience targeting enhances the precision and relevance of digital advertising. It ensures ads reach the people most likely to engage with and respond positively to what’s being offered, allowing for a deeper connection between brands and consumers who share common interests.
2. Use Demographic Data To Narrow Your Ad’s Audience.
Demographic targeting further refines the focus, allowing businesses to tailor their campaigns based on age, gender, household income and other key demographic factors.
Demographic data are extremely helpful for service-based industries looking to target a specific type of customer.
For example, suppose your business focuses on high-end home renovation:
- In this case, you can target the top 10% of income earners in your area between the ages of 35 and 65+.
- This assumes people younger than 35 are less likely to own homes.
- It also assumes that, in general, earners below the Top 10% are not in this client’s target audience.
- By narrowing down the demographics, this company saves their ad spend on people most likely to convert to customers.
3. Use Geofencing To Set Up A Virtual Perimeter For A Quick Promotion.
Targeting the right audience in the right location is critical, and two strategies stand out: geofencing and geotargeting. They’re similar because they revolve around location but differ in key ways.
Geofencing involves creating a virtual perimeter around a specific physical location, such as a storefront or event venue.
When users enter or exit this predefined geographic area, they become recipients of location-specific ads, promotions or notifications.
This is good to use if your goods or services appeal to a broad demographic audience or your goal is to increase conversions quickly.
For example, if you own a retail store, you might set up a geofence to send enticing in-store sale offers to mobile users entering your vicinity.
4. Use Geotargeting To Pinpoint Specific People In Specific Locations.
In contrast, geotargeting is a broader strategy that delivers content or advertisements based on specific geographic locations to particular types of people.
Advertisers use various parameters like city, region, or country to tailor content for specific audiences without needing a distinct virtual boundary.
If you have a specific service area, or people can buy your products online, geotargeting puts your ads in front of the people most likely to do business with you.
This technique is good to use if you want to expand to new markets and improve your return on investment.
The Best Digital Advertising Plans Include All These Techniques.
These approaches give advertisers powerful tools to reach their ideal customers. Using all of them ensures your ad strategy is laser-focused on the people most likely to convert to actual customers, giving you the biggest bang for your buck.
Don’t forget to review Part 1 of this series for our Introductory Guide, and head over to Part 3, which covers common mistakes we see business owners make!
Trust Estland For Digital Advertising Strategies That Convert.
Estland’s expert team can help put all the pieces together for you to create digital advertising strategies that reach the right people at the right time with the right message to generate new, paying customers. Drop us a line to set up a free digital advertising consultation to get started.
