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It’s Cyber Monday, and you know what that means…
DEALS! DEALS! DEALS!It’s the second largest shopping day of the year, the day where online deals come by the thousands, the day when it’s okay to be glued to your computer screen. Only second to Black Friday, Cyber Monday is a day when online retailers far and wide offer amazing online discounts on most of their products. Cyber Monday has its perks, the convenience of shopping from home (or from your office if you’re daring enough) and the fact that you don’t have to wrestle through the angry mobs to get those virtual reality goggles that everyone is asking for (that have also been ranked among the hottest gifts of the season).
And while we totally support taking advantage of any deal that comes your way today, we want to take time to educate you on how these deals are coming your way.
Have you ever seen the ads on the sides of your Facebook feed, or even IN your feed for a product you were looking at a few days ago? Of course, you have, we all have. If you’re like my parents, you’re annoyed by them. But if you’re like me, you’re curious as to how that ad showed up on your feed at that exact moment. And it’s all thanks to the marketing efforts of the stealthy digital marketing teams behind those companies. They utilize RETARGETING to show you the ads for the products that you have demonstrated an interest in.
Often, when you click on a link that takes you to your desired product, there are pixels (like cookies on a web browser) attached to that link that create a virtual profile of you. It tells the marketer on the other end who you are, what sites you go to, what you’re interested in, and even how long you were on the product’s site. Creepy eh? Now, this is in no way an attempt to invade your privacy, in fact, it’s a way to better target you and show you
ads for products that you’d actually be interested in instead of wasting ad space for useless products. 
I’ll use myself as an example: A few days ago, before the holiday I was considering getting a new watch. I’d looked online at brands like Fossil and Michael Kors because I’ve purchased from them before and I know their quality. Lo and behold these were the ads that popped into my news feed today! (photos below) The people behind these ads knew that recently, I’d been in the market to buy a new watch, so this ad directly pertains to me! It’s effective! They see the value in specific targeting because they know the better targeted their audience is, the more effective their ad placement will be. This ad would have been totally wasted if it was for something like men’s cologne or nursing homes. As annoying as they might be, you’ve got to admit, it’s a pretty cool trick
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Try it for yourself! Next time you’re on Facebook, take a moment to look at the ads being shown to you, chances are they’re products you’ve looked into before.
Happy Cyber Monday, shoppers, and may the ads be ever in your favor.
Find out about how you can Utilize Customer-Led Social Media for the Holiday Season
and Ways to Engage Your Audience During the Holidays!
Ready to start retargeting?
