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Retargeting Revisited

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Adsbalance Retargeting

Basically, we all think we know what retargeting is: when you look up drill drivers just for fun Internet goes crazy and there’s drill drivers everywhere, the ad joke familiar to anyone not related to marketing. That is the most renown and the most stereotypic type of retargeting (btw, remarketing is a legitimate synonym, don’t believe those who state otherwise) called search retargeting — so stereotypic some pro advertisers avoid it to maintain their reputation with the users. Maybe you are among them — being good at running regular types of ads and shunning the other methods? 

Why remarketing still works?

However trivial it might seem, we’d still like to remind you why it search and site remarketing (still) works.

  1. Users get distracted. A sudden call, a closed tab, a rebooted device.. You don’t follow a user creepily, you just start where your conversation ended!
  2. “There are two types of users:..” Of course, there are more, but you’ve surely noticed that you either have 5 desktop tabs or 50 (and either close everything or keeps them for days). The author is the second type and I’m not sure who is the best candidate for losing the item/app/product and forgetting it for good!
  3. Choose your rival. Maybe you’re lucky. A person has typed: pdf scanner app, clicked on both your rival’s ad and on yours, but chose in favor of the first one and.. didn’t like it. Now it’s your hour of triumph. Show the ad again and make the user happy, finally:)
  4. Analysts from Adroll used to say you need some seven contacts (brand mentions) for the user to choose you. Taking into account the overall number of various brand contact these days, you might need to increase this number. Of course, your own A/B test will show whether it’s better to show the ad to the seven new users or seven times to the “warm” one.

Remember that your competitors know this too, so try to make those seven interactions as impressive and distinctive as possible.

Mobile retargeting and user re-engagement

We have good news for you: Remarketing aimed at existing users is considered less stressful than the one aimed at relatively “cold” ones. A person has already registered/installed the app so even the most suspicious ones do not object being reminded of their choice. App owners know that the install event and even the first purchase are not the end of the battle, so here’s how your USER RE-ENGAGEMENT goals might look like:

  • get a user back to the app (have installed and is not using)
  • lead the user to the first purchase (yes, still important)
  • make the occasional “purchasers” buy more
  • increase the time user spends in the app
  • BE CROSS-DEVICE/PLATFORM. Both a mean and a goal 

So where do we begin?

Most of the major ad tech traffic/analytics providers have their own with different levels of customization. If you are a standing customer, they are usually eager to set up a call with you and explain the opportunities of the platform — so please use the chance!

If you need to sail through a chaos of technology providers, Adsbalance can help you find an optimal combination (we mean it) of mobile and desktop (even if your product is mobile-only) retargeting services.

Before you start, here are some tips for you to start retargeting on mobile like a pro:

  1. Be different. You have already grabbed some user attention if you made them install your app. Now you need to be even more creative/outstanding precise to choose the right proposal. First, you need to stand out from the crowd, second, there might not be a third chance! A great image is an absolute must, besides, why not use animation?
  2. Do not try too hard. If the creative doesn’t work, change it. Limit the number of times a promo pic is shown to the user and take a pause if it doesn’t help.
  3. Segment your audience. Some say targeting, not creative, is king. Users from different sources may have different motivations for using your app, so each group should have its own retargeting campaign. That would also come in handy for the post-campaign measurements. Bonus: adjust your bidding so that you have the right CPA for each group of users. 
  4. Do not forget to test all available channels (ads, emails, push notifications.. why not even influencer marketing). Again, this matters when you know your audience and try to balance between being noticed and beeing annoying.

This is not the ultimate list of things to pay attention to, of course. If you leave this article with a notion of the absolute necessity of retargeting, we are a happy performance marketing agency. If you need further details and insights, just drop us a line and we’ll define the strategy that fits you most and take a closer look at the bottlenecks of your user acquisition funnel 🙂

6 mobile traffic sources you have never taken seriously (or didn’t know about)

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Whether you are a self-promoted brand, or a bigshot, or an agency promoting bigshots’ apps of products you know only too well that quality traffic is generated through Facebook/Instagram/Youtube. Maybe in-app and video traffic, push notifications if you need greater reach. These are the first choice sources of paying or just real users, we aren’t going to argue with that.

But if you have a strong feeling you have exhausted those channels, what do you do? Are there any big and powerful platforms to get users from or to be present at? Of course, there are: some of them are even greater than the mentioned ones, and we mean it. 

Reddit

This is surely an example of bigger! According to Alexa, in 2018 this old-fashioned forum giant overtook Facebook in terms of daily US visitors. We’re not going deep into the reasons for its popularity, but some say that the most significant feature is being maintained and managed by users — that’s what you need to remember.

On Facebook the content distribution depends on the number of friends and subscribers you have. On Reddit, anyone (who follows the community rules) has a chance to reach out to an almost unlimited audience with user-generated content. We know you don’t do much user-generated content and abandoned the idea to mimic it. But, if you’ve ever wanted to try going viral with anything, that’s the place.

And keep on not trying to mimic the real users if you go for sponsored content. The punishment will be severe, and we mean it. Keep in mind that each major subreddit is a subculture in a subculture so you should be both vigilant and gentle in your marketing efforts.

The next thing is: the advertising opportunities range is not as developed as on other platforms, and the result is far from guaranteed. Prepare a variety of creatives with different approaches and be ready for the fact the first fry is bound to be a flop.

Twitter

Despite the reported decline in MAU, Twitter still is a mighty power and can make a boast of its 300+ millions of daily active users. It’s biggest countries are the US, of course, then goes Japan with 50 mln users (Did you know that Twitter is Japan’s second-biggest social network (after Line)?), then the UK and Saudi Arabia. If your top geos are not on that list, do not worry: you can still calculate the available audience with their built-in tools which are very similar to Facebook’s ones.

Twitter provides a great variety of targeting options, among which are channel’s subscribers’ lookalikes — might come handy if you’re only starting Twitter ads. In our experience, it’s not all about politics and is a good source of installs for almost any legit app vertical. 

Quora

One Quora respondent once said that this platform is the place where people come for important decisions. Partially, we agree. When a person asks a question, it’s highly likely that they are searching for the information to proceed with. The choices might be hard, and some of us tend to procrastinate and delay the decision-making point, maybe, by making a substitute decision. Have you ever dropped by at Amazon to renew your kitchen utensils supply and ended up buying new shoes, a stereo and a couple of Christmas gifts at a reduced price? However organized you are, you’re still very prone to be influenced by the “distraction” ads, especially when they are somewhat relevant.

By the way, they even have a CPA model and the impressions are sold with a well-known auction model. If you have the start budget for an experiment, why not try?


Yahoo Gemini

It’s not all about Google! Plenty of people still use Yahoo search and Yahoo mail. In fact, you can buy ads from Verizon Media Network in one place, and they have AOL, Tumblr, and HuffPost too. There are different native ads formats, including ones specifically designed to bring mobile app installs. If you’re a big fan of Google Ads campaigns, and they work well for you, you can import your Google Ads campaign settings right away (but please keep in mind that you might need to adjust them).

Bing

Not-all-about-Google-2, — called Microsoft ads in our case, number 2 in terms of search audience in the US and in Europe. We’d say that your competitors are already there, but we’re not completely sure about that!:) Precisely due to the fact that this search engine is not the first-choice source of ads traffic, the prices might please you because the auction for a specific user is less, so to say, heated.

You pay after you run a campaign, and it’s important to know that e-bank cards and virtual cards are not accepted, and you’d better not try to add them as a payment method: your account might be banned. Apart from that, the interface is quite simple and if you have any previous search ads experience, setting up a campaign would not be a difficulty.

Another fact: the Bing audience is different from Google’s. Stats vary, but most sources agree that it’s a bit older and with a higher income. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? 

Taboola

“And now something completely different”. Taboola is one of the top world’s native ads platform focused on text content. They have an impressive number of websites to serve their ads and brand safety is what comes to our minds when we hear the name Taboola: they provide full transparency in terms of where your creatives are run. They work with CPM, CPV and CPCV models, but they are fit for lead generation as well and their attitude to publishers attract the best content creators: not only they earn from ad watcher on their site, but also have a chance to drive more quality traffic to it using the same platform. Content quality also needs to be mentioned — they have a dedicated quality control department. 

 

 

Did you find any channel appealing enough to try right away? Drop us a line, and Adsbalance team will help you choose the right medium to skyrocket your campaign reach!

Found in Translation. The best communication practices for dealing with Asian partners.

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During the past 10 years, Asia has become a mighty power in the global digital market. Everyone has their ambitions to grab a piece of cake, but only those who get past the language and cultural barriers succeed. 

Of course, whether your client is an advertiser of a publisher, you might think that if both sides find the deal beneficial, getting the contract is inevitable regardless of minor differences between ways of thinking. Be it good or bad, it is quite far from the truth, in our experience. That is why we are here to tell you about the most important concepts, dissimilarities, and nuances to help build long-lasting and fruitful business relationships.

6 most important nuances

  • Language. 

You might have noticed that different nations’ attitude towards English as a lingua franca varies even throughout Europe. You might have been advised to learn a couple of phrases in your partner’s language but never followed this advice. We tell you it’s high time you did this (and see what happens).

  • Reputation. 

The concept of face is present in Chinese, Korean and Japanese cultures. The loss of face is considered to be a “social death” and is, more or less, the worst thing that can happen to a person from those countries. What does this mean for business communication? a) Do not say your partner is wrong/mistaken/does something in an inappropriate way. Do not let them look lacking expertise or information. b) Keep in mind that you won’t hear a direct “no”, rather a statement like “We’ll consider this option”, “I’ll think about it”, “I’ll try”. Do not insist on a less vague answer, because by this you’re forcing your counterpart to be rude. Of course, they expect you to avoid straightforward refusals in return, it’s a taboo for both sides:) c) Steer clear of joking. Chances that you fail to adapt your sense of humor or touch some delicate matters are to high.

  • Politics. 

Just avoid anything related to the matter (might be a piece of good advice for any business conversations as well).

  • Confucian values —

Hierarchy, responsibility, respect for the elders. And don’t let the appearances delude you. The advertising industry is, truely, younger and less conservative in general, but a cute 24 y/o BDM is a Mickey Mouse hoodie was still born and bred onto those ancient values. We have noticed that many of our partners love their bosses and really need their approval for every matter. “I once managed to receive a long-expected payment by telling the Chinese manager my boss would be very angry at me” — anonymous BDM, Adsbalance;)

  • Bureaucracy.

And yes, this is also part of another huge difference —bureaucracy. Where we have 2 steps for making a payment, they might have 9, so just be patient and resist the temptation of seeing this as disrespect or their finance managers as the Zootopia sloths.

  • Personal contacts 

Personal contacts are as important as ever. You might need a trusted intermediary, maybe even a native language speaker. Some performance marketing agencies already have special Asian departments with a degree in the needed region studies. After having established a contact, be ready to be in touch 24/7. Getting back to reputation and personal recommendations: did you know that TaoBao’s references system played a key role in its success?

Adsbalance recommendations

Apart from these recommendations, here are some short tips from Adsbalance team based on their personal experience:

  • Do not ask two questions at once. — Anna, SR BDM
  • Be patient. Hurrying seems to be a sign of disrespect. — Maria, Publishers relationships manager
  • You need to build a relationship first. Then you can do business. — Oxana, BDM
  • I once had to re-establish the trust with the existing partner for 1.5 months because they had changes in the team. — Maxim, SR BDM.
  • They love their children. Once I mentioned my partner’s son in the conversation. Since then, I was the only one from our team he wanted to talk to — Max, Head of Sales

We hope that these simple steps are handy on your way to mastering the cross-cultural communication!

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7 superstitions about Influencer Marketing you should no longer believe in

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Each of us has heard tales of magic influencer marketing at least once in his life. Even if you don’t read the news or are completely deprived of digital media, including social networks, stories of pain and glory reach you on the streets, as well as the products that succeeded through a single blogger integration. As for any other tale that has been around for some time, but not long enough, they already have a set of beliefs you are a bit reluctant to check.

Top-7 superstitions against Influencer marketing

We have created a list of top-7 superstitions against Influencer marketing that might stop you from running a successful campaign and improving your performance. Do you still share any of them?  

  • “I cannot track the results of my campaign”

A very old and most popular argument against Influencer marketing.

Well, it used to be true when a brand selling products through a personal blog post was a novelty. Nowadays, end-to-end tracking systems keep improving, and the blogger doesn’t even need to know how the thing works. Give him or her the link and tracking the performance results if fully yours to set up. Measuring your brand awareness growth is a bit more complicated and expensive, but it still is not much different from measuring TV campaigns or CPM-based video ads.

  • “I cannot afford a celebrity, so I won’t get the necessary reach.”

Do you really need one? It’s true that celebs are expensive so spending your IM budget on one is like putting all eggs in one basket. A celebrity integration might boost your brand awareness, but today’s marketing fashion embraces midi- and mini-bloggers with fewer demands and sometimes more loyal audience.

  • “My boss won’t let me spend the money on anything of that sort.”

Review points 1 and 2. Working with a good intermediary (manager/agency) will let you set safe and transparent KPIs to comfort the majority of non-believers.

  • “Bloggers are for FMCG/Fashion/whatever”

You don’t advertise cars on automobile-oriented websites only, so why influencer ads should be different? The audience is key, any place you can find your audience in and not risk your brand safety, works. Videogamer selling bread? New mother promoting financial consulting? Remember that things we didn’t expect to happen are more likely to stick in our memory. If your product stands out from the line of this person’s typical products, that’s even better for you.

  • “I don’t think this is going to boost our sales.”

There are times when you don’t even need to sell your product. If you’re doing something good for the universe — reducing trade waste, helping homeless animals or donating to domestic violence rescue centers, collaborating with a person who shares your views will not only raise awareness but amend for your past blunders and even increase your product declared value.

  • “My audience is not on Instagram”

So are some influencers with the audience you cannot reach with banner/context ads. Opinion leaders thrive on any platform that allows users to engage with the content, be it Twitch, Livejournal or Reddit. Is your audience not on the internet? Well, good old celeb billboards are influencer marketing too.

  • “Influencer marketing works”

Influencer marketing is not a magic pill (nothing is!), and choosing a real-life hero with real-life subscribers does not mean you have a successful campaign in your pocket. There is a great number of details you need to pay attention to. Do you really need to stick to your brand image so hard? Did the person work with such products before, and weren’t they your rivals? Did they do anything that is not compliant with your ideas? Can you afford a failure?

There are a number of questions that require some research, and Adsbalance has already done this research for you. If you want to know what goals you can reach with influencer marketing, you can take a look at our presentation or email us right away.

Deliver me from fraud, or 8 basic steps to save you from bad traffic in 2020

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Yes, fraud is not all about clever bots watching your videos and liking them: we can think of a situation when this is exactly what you expected you happen, the situation changes when Ugandan likes turn out to be from Gambian devices.

Keep track of your standard CTRs, the conversion rate for each traffic source, the more information you have now, the stronger your position in disputes to come is. For example, there are situations when your non-organic purchase rate is higher than the average. That warms your heart and nothing seems strange until you look at the number of clicks. The publisher might say that they just have cheap impressions in bulk, but most likely they use click flooding to befool the last-click conversion attribution.

  • Second, keep track of your best-performing traffic sources.

A white list can save you where blacklists fail. Set transparent and hard-to fake KPIs. Do not hesitate to ask about additional/soft KPIs. If you think your CPA is the only thing you care about, think twice, or you might be buying your own organic users’ purchases from someone else (see 1.)

  • Monitor your campaign activity or ask the traffic provider to do this.

You don’t want your nice and neat private banking solution ad to be run on adult traffic even though you don’t pay for that in the end. You just don’t want that happening. Haste makes waste, so choose an agency that can auto-stop the weirdly performing creative even during the World Cup final.

  • When testing a new publisher/agency, think of some non-performance-related targeting settings and change them.

For example, you own an Android dating app and you are still growing your user base without earning from the app directly. Most likely, you don’t care about what devices your login with as long as the app doesn’t crash. Choosing random 100 device models (out of the 1000 most popular ones) every week would make it harder for a botnet to fake a specific list precisely.

  • If, by any chance, you don’t have a direct money-related metric to base your KPIs upon, choose your affordable fraud level (=the amount of weird/badly performing traffic you can still pay for).

Strange as it seems, this is perfectly reasonable if you need huge volumes. Whitelists, strict targeting, and well-weighed KPIs would definitely save you from many of the evils of the ad world, but, sadly, this often comes with your audience/reach shrinking to zero. When everyone seems to have your app installed and your executive board still wants growth, calculating and taking risks can be beneficial.

  • Choose less complicated ecosystems and try to buy as directly as it is comfortable for you.

 The concept of RTB is awesome and some of its realizations are extremely good, but the more participants the chain has, the worse is the performance impact, both in tech and financial terms. Middlemen make your ads more expensive, endless “black boxes” and scripts your ads are run with make it hard to define the real placement/publisher.

  • Use a third-party fraud prevention system.

A problem shared is a problem halved (sadly, this is vice versa for your budget, but still worth it) 

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