Tips for Ad Targeting and Personalization

Here’s our latest roundup of digital marketing tips.

Mobile: Google starts testing Android Instant Apps to collect user feedback

Phone full of apps you’ve only used once? Google hopes to save users some mobile memory with Android Instant Apps, best applied to apps that require infrequent use, like an amusement park map or music festival lineup.

Client takeaway: Instant Apps require no download or URL. Instead, they tap a URL to launch an app instantly without installation. Closing the app means it’s gone from your phone. No icon will live on your home screen.

Suggested implementation: Instant Apps are still being tested. A full dev kit should be available in a few months. Consider creating Instant Apps for events, location-specific resources, and one-time payments.

SEM: Target YouTube ads based on people’s Google search histories

Google updated its advertising offerings, providing more detailed insights for marketers to better understand their campaigns. The one that’s got everyone talking? The introduction of search data into video ad targeting.

Client takeaway: Over 50 percent of YouTube videos are viewed on mobile. A user’s search history can now be applied to YouTube ad targeting. Users can choose to have this feature turned off.

Suggested implementation: This offers businesses an opportunity to tailor ads based on their target audience. Use these new insights to understand how your YouTube ads have influenced audiences across devices.

Social media: Snapchat’s big redesign

In an effort to make its app more user friendly, Snapchat has added features to simplify navigation, including a universal search bar.

Client takeaway: The universal search bar makes it easier for users to find individuals, groups, and businesses. Users can also search for Discover channels or Our Stories by title.

Suggested implementation: No more excuses for ignoring Snapchat because you don’t know how to use it. The new search bar opens the door for search ads in the future. Submitting snaps to Our Story has also been simplified.

Trends: NFL’s Antonio Brown apparently snags 6-figure Facebook deal

ICYMI: Pro footballer Antonio Brown was fined for live-broadcasting a NSFW locker room victory speech. He blamed excitement, but looks like money was the real incentive.

Client takeaway: Brown reportedly signed a six-figure deal with Facebook for securing content no one would otherwise see. Paying for celebrity endorsements, even for social media, is not new. But live, unfiltered, exclusive content is hot right now.

Suggested implementation: Influencer marketing is hitting its peak. But with this raw user-generated content comes the risk of infringing on policies and laws in real time. Proceed with caution.

Writing: Who am I when I write?

Do you know your audience? We mean, do you really know them — what they want, where they’re going, what they dislike, how old they are? From novelist to ad copywriter, every writer must know their audience before they begin.

Client takeaway: Personas are your best marketing tool for creating compelling, targeted content. As a brand storyteller, it’s the writer’s job to craft brand messaging into something your ideal audience actually wants to read.

Suggested implementation: Create personas using customer data to clearly define who your ideal customers are. These snapshots provide the groundwork for all brand messaging. Make your reader king.