Most common mistakes made in Meta Ads remarketing campaigns

Remarketing campaigns are an integral part of any effective online marketing strategy. Thanks to them, we can effectively reach people who have already had contact with our brand, such as visiting our website, engaging on our profile on Instagram or on our Facebook fanpage. 

If you have experience in creating campaigns in Meta Ads, at first glance, a remarketing campaign does not seem anything complicated. However, even here there are some pitfalls lurking, which can result in wasted time and financial resources. Therefore, in this article I will show you what mistakes to watch out for when creating remarketing campaigns.

No content personalization

Lack of content personalization is perhaps the most common mistake made when creating remarketing campaigns. Many marketers duplicate  in them the same ad creatives already used in cold traffic campaigns. However, this is a common mistake to beware of.

Wanting to get satisfactory results in your campaigns, it is worth betting on personalization. Statistics show that as many as 75% of consumers value personalization in promotional messages (source: Coredna). Moreover, personalized ads can increase sales by up to 7.8% (source: Econsultancy). 

Advertisements that do not address a specific user activity on the site can leave an impression of generality and lack of attention to individual customer needs. For example, showcasing specific products that a user has previously browsed significantly increases the chance of re-engagement and successful conversion.

The following is a good example of this.

Using an unsuitable audience segment 

Meta Ads campaigns offer us the possibility of really precise targeting. We can reach people who, among other things: visited our site, performed a certain action or engaged on our fanpage. 

The primary purpose of remarketing is to remind users who have had previous contact with our brand of an unfinished action (such as a purchase) and to get them to interact again. Incompetent remarketing, however, can lead to a waste of both time and money.

First and foremost, avoid targeting groups that are too broad. For example, creating one general remarketing campaign to all users who have visited our site can be ineffective in many cases. In such a situation, we lump together people who have engaged with our site to varying degrees – some may only browse the main page, while others will add a product to their shopping cart. In addition, there is a risk that some people will enter the site without showing any interest in our offer, such as by accidentally clicking on an ad. It is much more effective to test more precise segments and target campaigns to people who, for example, viewed specific products on the site or performed a specific action, such as adding a product to the shopping cart. 

Malo-effective ads

Wanting to prepare an effective remarketing campaign in Meta Ads, we should also take care of the look and quality of our ad creation. When creating ads, let’s avoid some common mistakes: 

Lack of testing different creatives

Not testing different ad elements limits our ability to optimize. Regularly testing different variations of images, headlines, and ad text and adjusting campaigns based on the results of A/B testing is crucial if we want to get the best results. 

The content of the ad should not only accurately present our offer, but also be compelling enough to induce the recipient to take the desired action. When creating an advertising creative, it is worth following a few key rules:

1. Create short texts that clearly present your offer.
2. Try to address the user directly as “You” – avoid using the plural “You”
3. Use language that your audience can understand.
4. Use graphics, images or videos – test which formats best interact with your target audience. 

No clear call to action

The purpose ofCTA (Call to Action) is to tell the recipient precisely what action we want them to take.  When creating an ad in Meta Ads, we have a wide range of different CTAs to choose from, such as Purchase Now, Sign Up, Contact Us, Learn More etc. Always choose the call to action that best resonates with the goal of your remarketing campaign.

CTAs are also worth placing in the ad text or even on the graphic itself, so that the user knows exactly what specific action to take after clicking on the ad. A clear and decisive call to action is a key element of a successful remarketing campaign.

CTAs are a key element of a successful remarketing campaign.

Not optimizing ads for different devices 

Customers are increasingly using mobile devices, such as phones and tablets, to browse Facebook or Instagram. Therefore, it is extremely important to ensure that when creating advertising creations, they are responsive and look attractive on different devices. Optimization for different platforms increases the effectiveness of the campaign and positively affects the user experience.

Skip dynamic remarketing

When you have an online store, it is a big mistake not to use dynamic remarketing in your operations. This is a form of advertising in which the user is presented with specific products with which he or she has had previous contact during a visit to our site (these can be, for example, products that were displayed by the user or added to the shopping cart).

Statistics clearly show that the use of dynamic remarketing can help brands increase maki revenue by up to 40%. Interestingly, product appeal is the main reason why 37% of customers click remarketing ads. This is clear evidence that neglecting dynamic remarketing in marketing efforts is underestimating the potential it can bring.

Too-aggressive remarketing

Many users take time before deciding to make a purchase. Therefore, using remarketing to remind users of an offer is important. However, excessive and intrusive display of ads can have the opposite effect – instead of persuading the user to make a purchase, it can strongly discourage them from doing so. Therefore, when optimizing a remarketing campaign, it is a good idea to control the frequency with which our ads are displayed. In addition, you can also apply time limits, such as not displaying ads to users after their last visit for a certain period of time (excluding such an audience in your campaign). 

When creating the ad itself, it is important to keep in mind a few key elements that define its effectiveness and ensure that it is not considered pushy. Good remarketing advertising:

• is subtle,
• it effectively encourages action,
• is tailored to the user’s individual shopping preferences,
• it maintains consistency with the brand’s character,

bad-budget

An ill-matchedbudget is one of the most common challenges marketers can face when creating remarketing campaigns. An improperly scaled budget can lead to insufficient outreach to potential customers or, on the other hand, overexposure of ads, which can result in wasted funds. 

Failure to properly align the budget with the scope of the campaign and the characteristics of the target audience can make it difficult to achieve optimal results. However, there is no clear answer to the question of exactly how much the budget should be. This is because it depends on the size of the remarketing groups. In the beginning, it is worth starting with a budget of several thousand zlotys. With low traffic on the site, a budget as low as 500-1000 PLN per month may be sufficient. 

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Lack of analysis and optimization 

Lack of appropriate optimization and systematic analysis of remarketing campaigns is a mistake that can significantly limit the effectiveness of our efforts. Advertising campaigns, especially in the context of remarketing, require constant attention and adaptation to changing market conditions and customer behavior. Neglecting this process can lead to wasted budgets on ineffective ads that fail to attract attention or induce desired actions.

When optimizing, it is worth considering A/B testing. They allow us to evaluate our targeting or even the ad creative itself. Ideally, one element in a given test should be tested. With advertising, this could be, for example, the color of the CTA button, an interactive element or a headline. This makes it possible to determine precisely which modification brings positive results and which may not be effective. Testing individual changes at the same time allows for accurate analysis and optimization of our campaign.

This process not only saves time and money, but also contributes to more effective advertising. It is worth remembering, however, that making changes too often or too quickly can be a costly mistake, as it takes time to achieve optimal advertising results.

There are a number of ways in which this can be done.

Summary

Mistakes made in Meta Ads remarketing campaigns have the potential to reduce the effectiveness of the entire advertising effort. The key to success is identifying these mistakes and optimizing your ads accordingly. It is necessary to precisely define the target audience, choose an appropriate budget and tailor the content to the needs and expectations of the audience. It is also important to systematically monitor the results of the campaign and make flexible changes.