Consumers today expect brands to provide more personalized messaging. They want to feel seen, heard, and valued. A personalized approach shows that your brand is listening to their wishes and providing them with the information they want. As a result, personalization can improve a customer’s experience, increase brand loyalty, and drive revenue.
As personalization is becoming more of an expectation, marketers are tasked with creating campaigns and experiences that will resonate immediately with different audiences. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, marketers need to think of innovative ways to attract multiple segments of their target audience. For companies like Amazon and Netflix, this means using personalization tactically to show recommendations based on prior purchases and viewing behaviors. Other companies lean into email marketing to craft unique messages for each target segment.
Regardless of who makes up your target audience, there are a few personalization strategies that you’ll want to consider. Read on to discover three strategies that every marketer should be using.
1. Use Data to Enhance Experiences
A fine line exists between showing a personalized recommendation and creeping into an individual’s private life. While consumers today want to see ads tailored to them, they don’t necessarily want brands to know too much about their interests. This is where zero party data can be especially useful. This type of data is based on information consumers choose to share with brands. They won’t think you’ve gotten their email nefariously when they’re the ones who provided it.
Intel from zero party data can be used to customize on-site experiences. A simple multi-choice question on your website’s homepage — such as “What’s your personal style?” — can guide consumers to personalized recommendations. Front this single data point, you will know what types of ads or products to recommend in the future based on their initial response. This can improve how you communicate with the customer and improve the effectiveness of your marketing dollars.
2. Segment Your Audience
To ensure you’re reaching the right audience at the best time, you’ll want to segment your audience. This means dividing your large audience pool into smaller groups based on similar interests, behaviors, wants, or needs. You can have a segment based on age and another based on geographical location or purchasing behaviors. It’s important to note an individual consumer may fit into several segmented buckets.
For example, if you’re a surfing company you may have a consumer who lives in Malibu, California marked as a “dedicated surfer.” The same consumer may also fit within the “likes to travel and surf” bucket as well as the “male” and “25-34-year-old” categories. As you sift through the data, you’ll see what types of groupings make the most sense for your company. Using AI tools to help you analyze and sort through the data can also be helpful — and a huge timesaver!
Once your segments are in place, you can then better personalize your marketing strategies so they resonate with each specific group. Use A/B testing to see how your ads resonate, tweaking and optimizing them to achieve the best ROI. Take messages and craft them for different platforms, such as Instagram, email, and YouTube. See how your audiences respond with each one and take note of your learnings for future campaigns. And don’t be afraid to go back to the data and pull additional segments and get rid of others; as your company evolves, so too will your audience.
3. Scale Your Efforts
You have the data and the audience segments. Now is the time to scale your personalized efforts across your channels. Online banner ads can be the first step to seeing if your tailored marketing messages are working. Create ads that are dynamic and engaging, using messaging that will entice users within the given segment.
Alongside banner advertising, you will also want to use your collected data for email marketing. Adding a consumer’s name to the email is just the first step in personalization. Email platforms can give you the option to include more personalized elements. These may consist of last purchased items that may be running low or items still waiting in someone’s cart.
On social media, targeting your audiences with dark posts can be key. Rotate a few call-to-actions that will drive the segmented audience to your site to either learn more or make a purchase. Add different targeting layers to find out who is seeing your ad and when. Meta has numerous ad targeting options to ensure your ad gets in front of the right person, so play around with the settings to see what makes an impact. Do the same for other platforms where you see engagement.
Takeaways
Personalized marketing can be a powerful strategy for marketers, and yet there are some ethical considerations to keep in mind. The first is to be transparent when it comes to data collection. Consumers are more in tune with handing over personal information or insights and they’ll want to know how the data is going to be used. No brand should collect or use personal information without the consumer’s consent. Second, be sure to have opt-out options such as “unsubscribe” buttons for email campaigns and privacy settings on your website or app.
Lastly, make sure that any data you collect or personalized marketing campaigns are providing value to the consumer. Buyers today will see right through a marketing tactic that feels too sales-y. By keeping the consumer’s needs in mind and tailoring your campaigns appropriately, you’ll create a positive, personalized experience.