The terms remarketing and retargeting are often used as synonyms, but while they share similarities, they are actually two different actions that digital marketing professionals—especially those working with search and social media ads—should know.
Remarketing and retargeting are used to reconnect with customers or users who have shown interest in a brand or product.
Social Acquisition professionals, those who create ads for social networks and Google Ads, spend a lot of time studying audiences and testing ads. This type of advertising, while relatively affordable and with broad reach, requires time and analysis, as only a small percentage of people click on the ad.
Retargeting and remarketing allow marketers to analyze ad performance and audience, find errors, and try to target a different audience for better results.
What is remarketing?
Remarketing is the action of reconnecting with former customers via email. For example, sending an email to a customer to renew their domain or hosting service at the end of a contract is a remarketing action.
Although this contact is usually made by email, since it targets existing customers, it can also be done through ads directed at users of a certain product.
What is retargeting?
Retargeting targets users who have visited a website, interacted with a company’s social media, or shown interest in a product or service, but haven’t made a purchase.
In short, it’s about reaching out to customers who got stuck somewhere in the sales funnel and trying to move them to the end. It’s a good way to turn website visits into sales or build loyalty with users who have shown interest in a specific brand.
If they’re not the same… why are they confused?
In the past, mailing lists existed in isolation. However, nowadays, almost all ad tools like Google Ads or Facebook Ads offer options to include contacts from a mailing list. So, while both actions are different, they have become very similar.
