Facebook’s website custom audiences (WCAs) is a feature that lets you reach people who have previously visited your site and show them ads while they’re on Facebook. A form of remarketing, it lets you connect with potential customers again and show them relevant, tailored messages that will encourage them to return to your site and complete a conversion such as a newsletter signup or purchase.
Website custom audiences allows you to match the right message to the right person(s) at the right time.
Here are three ways you can use this feature to drive real outcomes:
1. Remind shoppers of the benefits of shopping with you.
If a customer doesn’t return to purchase from you, it may not be that she doesn’t want to buy from you again; it may just mean that she needs a little reminder. Once a customer buys from you, don’t stop advertising to her. Instead, create a WCA that consists of existing customers and nurture that group. Stay top-of-mind by reminding the customer of the benefits of shopping with you so when she is ready to purchase again, your business is the go-to choice.
Don’t start advertising to existing customers the day after they buy from you. Rather, dive into your data and find out what the average gap between purchase times is and develop an advertising cadence that is in line with the purchase patterns of your best customers.
2. Create urgency with limited-time promotions.
Create a custom audience of people who have visited your limited-time promotional landing page but who have not yet converted. Then, serve tailored ads to this group using phrases like: Only XX Days Left, or Sale Ends On XX/XX/XX. This tactic not only reminds customers of your promotion but it instills a sense of urgency.
Related Class: Fundamentals of Facebook Advertising for eCommerce
3. Combat shopping cart abandonment.
According to research from the Baymard Institute, 67.9 percent of online shopping carts are abandoned. Combat abandonment by using WCAs to reach customers who have early-exited your shopping cart with tailored messages that work to increase purchase intention through the establishment of trust, clarifying shipping policies, or delivering a special offer.
When remarketing to your shopping cart abandoners, consider that features such as displaying customer service hours, the ability to live chat, and clear contact information show that your company is approachable and open to communication. Customer reviews, testimonials, and ratings create social proof for your products and services. Badges like those from the Better Business Bureau offer third-party credibility. Including these in your advertising will work to build trust and entice potential customers to purchase with you.
According to comScore’s Online Customer Experience Study, 57 percent of respondents said they entered a shopping cart to understand total cost with shipping and 51 percent said they abandoned a cart because the order value wasn’t large enough to qualify for free shipping. Clearly, shipping costs and policies influence purchase behavior, so consider targeting abandoners with ads that tout your shipping offers.
Yet another retargeting tactic to convert shopping cart abandoners is to deliver a special offer. An additional 10 percent off or free shipping may be just the incentive they need.
Facebook marketers are having great early success with WCAs. So much so that Facebook just announced multi-product ads to go with them. According to Facebook, “Say you’re an online retailer that’s looking to reach people that browsed your site without making a purchase. Combining the multi-product ad unit with Custom Audiences from your website, you can produce a carousel of different items — like handbags, sundresses and sandals — to show in News Feed to specific audiences.” You can see how this would work exceedingly well with our three retargeting use cases above.
Facebook website custom audiences is a powerful tool to increase conversions from your existing customers and web visitors. And Facebook has plans to roll out even more enhancements that will allow marketers to build more nuanced audiences. Are you using WCAs in clever ways? Please share in the comments below.
For a tutorial on a step-by-step process to turn your target audience into customers, watch the Online Marketing Institute class, Mastering the Facebook Sales Funnel.