What is Social Media Retargeting? A Guide to Personalization

Educational content is becoming increasingly digital. As a course creator, that can make marketing your courses more complicated. 

Remember when students gathered in physical buildings for classes? When you would hand them promotional material in person? Now, you have to make the most of online advertising to encourage prospective students to sign up for your courses.

The solution? Social media retargeting.

In the digital world, social media helps you reach and engage with the right people. Combine that with retargeting tactics, and you can really drive course conversions. 

In this article, we will explore the concept of social media retargeting. We explain what it is and how to integrate it into your recruitment strategy. 

What is social media retargeting?

Social media retargeting is a digital marketing technique that shows ads to people who are already familiar with you.

The idea is to re-engage them. It is like starting up another conversation with someone you have already met. “Hey, remember me? I have got something to say that you are going to want to hear.”

The people you are re-engaging with have previously expressed an interest in your products or services. They have visited your website, researched your courses, or contacted you. 

The problem is they never completed the action you wanted them to take.

So, why bother retargeting them? Because these people are leads. If they have shown an initial interest, you have a better chance of persuading them to take the next step. You are more likely to convert them into a student than someone who has never even heard about you.

In most cases, retargeting sits as a native ad. That is, it looks just like any other social media post or piece of content that is not sponsored. This is one of the reasons retargeting can be so impactful as, like the example below, your posts will not stand out as advertisements, but rather blend into the person’s feed.

Screenshot sourced from YouTube

How does a social media retargeting campaign work?

There are two primary ways to run a retargeting campaign on social media: 

• List-based retargeting. You provide a list of emails to a social media company like Facebook or LinkedIn. That company then targets users with matching emails with specific advertisements.
• Pixel-based retargeting. A ‘pixel’, a piece of Javascript code from the social media platform, is embedded in the user’s browser. It acts like a cookie, tracking the users’ behavior and gathering data on the products and services they interact with on your website. When the user leaves your site, the pixel alerts the social media platform to show them adverts relating to the products they have browsed.

Each of these techniques has its advantages (and disadvantages), so it is worth experimenting with both. 

Of course, list-based retargeting requires you to have users’ contact details in the first place. But if you do, you can then serve them much more personalized ads. For example, if they have already completed one of your courses, you can show them ads for the next level or a related course.

But keep in mind that you are responsible for these email addresses. You need to upload them and make sure they are updated, all of which is done manually.

On the other hand, pixel-based retargeting allows you to reach those who have not shared their contact details. This gives you a way of engaging with people who have browsed your course content or website anonymously. The ads are often based on data gathered only hours or minutes before so you can show highly relevant ads when your courses are still fresh in their mind. 

For example, let us say you provide online digital transformation courses. Someone visits your website, navigates to a few different pages, then leaves. If you have installed Facebook pixels, the platform will serve that visitor your ad next time they scroll through their feed. You can use that ad to highlight customer reviews, give them access to a “What is digital innovation” downloadable guide, or offer a discount on courses.

Here is an example of what that might look like. In this case, the user previously visited the website for Great Learning Global. 

Screenshot sourced from Facebook

They may have spent a few minutes reading the home page to find out more about the platform, what they offer, and what other learners thought of the courses. Or they might have browsed the list of degree and certificate programmes relevant to data science, AI, and machine learning. They then closed the website and moved on with their day. 

As a result, they were shown the below retargeting ad next time they looked through their Facebook feed as a way of re-engaging them and encouraging them to book a course.

How social media retargeting improves educational outreach

More and more marketers are using social media retargeting. But it is not just eCommerce companies that benefit. 

It is great for generating both B2C and B2B sales leads. So it is a good fit for most businesses — and that includes educational institutes and course providers. Let us look at why.

Boosts conversions by targeting interested users

If your leads have expressed an interest in your services, chances are they are already motivated to learn. Showing them a retargeting ad is like striking while the iron is hot.

 Interested users are far more likely to buy a course than a random user. They are ready to learn, they are primed for conversion, they have shown intent.

It could be that they did not take that final action because of price or lack of information. If your ad includes a discount or video explaining how the course works, you increase the chances that they will buy it. 

Better yet, if you serve them the ad immediately after they have browsed your website, they may still be in the right frame of mind to take action.

Enhances engagement with prospective students

Having prospective students interact with your brand messaging on separate occasions (an initial website interaction followed by a retargeting advert) establishes brand awareness. The more time users spend with your brand, the more familiar they will become with your messaging, offers, values, and reputation. 

It also allows you to deliver personalized messaging. Their initial action may have seen them look at your courses under a specific category, such as business intelligence or leadership. If that is the case, you can use retargeting ads to show personalized course recommendations under those categories.

Screenshot sourced from LinkedIn

Imagine a prospective student does not commit to a purchase. Instead, they follow one of your social media pages. That is great! You can still keep them in the loop about future offers or new courses.

They may not have converted, but they have taken one more step closer. Now, you can continue to interact with them so you are at the forefront of their mind. In the future, they might reconsider and become a paid customer.

Provides a more cost-efficient marketing approach

Social media retargeting campaigns are efficient. In fact, retargeting campaigns perform 10 times better than regular banner or display adverts. That makes them far more cost-effectivecost effective than traditional marketing methods.

Better yet, the more campaigns you run, the more you will feel those cost-saving benefits. Why? Data.

Data helps you to identify, and concentrate on, factors that deliver the best results for your company. You can find out the demographics, adverts, and images that lead to the most engagement or conversions.

Image Sourced from 99firms.com

Enhances decision-making through data-driven insights

As mentioned above, one of the benefits of social media retargeting is that, as your campaign develops, you gain more insights into what works for you. 

It does not matter whether you are running Instagram promotions or retargeted Facebook lead ads. What matters is how you use the insights. 

It could be that you segment contacts for your list-based campaigns. Using the data, you can split leads into groups of targeted users based on age, lifestyle, location etc.

If you run pixel-based campaigns, you can also collect data about consumer behavior. This gives you a better understanding of what they are looking for and how to serve it to them. 

You can use this information to build more effective marketing strategies in the future, even if that means just refining the text of your targeted adverts. You could even use it to develop new course content based on what people engage with the most.

Best retargeting strategies for personalized course suggestions

So, we have explored the benefits of retargeting in social media. Now, let us turn to specific strategies for realizing those benefits. 

Use these strategies to optimize your approach and make sure you are serving prospective students with relevant and enticing offers.

Identify key demographics and interests of ideal learners

The first step is to figure out who you want to target. There is no point showing ads to every single person who visits your website. Your ads simply will not be as effective as if you take a targeted approach.

So ask yourself: Who are you most interested in converting? By doing this, you avoid the mistakes of other course creators and instead create more awareness and drive conversions.

Create a customer profile for your ideal learner. Consider details such as their:

• age
• Job role, function, and industry
• Income level
• Interests
• Values
• Lifecycle stage

Why does all of this matter? Well, let us say you offer free coding courses for early career professionals. 

Two different people visit your website. The first person is in their late-60s and works in video conferencing at an international corporation. The second person is in their mid-20s and recently started a job as a programmatic ad designer. 

It is easy to see which of these people is more likely to engage with a retargeted ad. That is not to say the first person is not interested at all. But rather than casting a wide net and trying to re-engage everyone, focus on those who best align with your ideal learner.

Then, create personalized, targeted ads that speak to their needs, interests, and problems.

Image sourced from Instagram

Keep in mind that your ideal learner is likely to differ from course to course. So it is worth creating different ad campaigns for different courses and audience segments. For example, a coding course may appeal to a software developer and a digital marketer. But their reasons for taking the course will be different. So, your messaging should reflect those differences.

Segmenting your audience also helps you decide which social media sites to advertise on and even which fonts, colors, and styles to use in retargeted adverts.

Implement pixels to track visitors and their behavior

Think of pixels as the tool that connects the dots. These pieces of code track what visitors look at on your website. Then, they share that information with the relevant social media platform so that the visitor can see the right ad.

Without these pixels, it is almost impossible to retarget anyone, let alone do so in a personal and timely way. 

Pixel-based retargeting is also great for collecting data that you can use to inform your campaign more widely. You can input data provided by these campaigns into website analytics tools. This helps build a sense of how successfully converted leads behave, which is very useful when it comes to refining your campaigns and retargeted adverts.

So, how do you install pixels? The process differs by platform. If you are focusing on Facebook or Instagram, the process is similar as they are both owned by Meta. However, you will need a business account.

Here is a quick run-through of how to set up pixels on Facebook:

• Head to your Facebook page Ads Manager.
• From the menu, click the Events Manager tab.
• Select Connect Data Sources and click the Web option.
• Name your pixel then click Create.

From here, the platform will guide you through several options, including partner integrations and conversion APIs. Do not worry if it all sounds confusing. There is step-by-step guidance on setting this up. But if you are still unsure, find a developer who can help you.

You will also need to create a Custom Audience on your chosen platform. This is where creating your ideal learner profile comes in handy. It tells the platform exactly who you want to target so you can be sure your retargeting campaigns reach the right people. 

The platform can also automatically add contacts to your Custom Audience based on predetermined criteria, such as people who visit your website, view a specific course but do not buy it, or start the checkout process but do not complete it. 

Target similar audiences with lookalike profiles

Besides targeting your ideal learner, it is also worth targeting similar audiences. These people share certain characteristics, whether demographic or behavioral.

Keep in mind that targeting lookalike audiences is different from retargeting. Lookalike audiences may not be familiar with your brand or have interacted with you previously. However, targeting them is a great way of building more brand awareness. 

It is an effective form of demand generation – demand generation meaning you are generating awareness and interest in your products and services before focusing on conversions. 

Targeting look-alikes also draws on your list of ideal learners that you are retargeting. On platforms like Facebook, you use your Custom Audience as a foundation and build hundreds of Lookalike Audience lists off of it. That is a lot of potential new eyes seeing your ads.

The idea is to use a percentage scale to decide how closely you want lookalike customers to match existing audiences. The platform then shows your ads to those users on the basis that they are more likely to be interested in your course content.

Compile segmented lists based on specific user attributes. These can help you design your adverts and associated offers for particular groups.

For example, let us say the average student on your language course is over 40 and interacts with travel, food, and history content on Instagram. You can set up 3 Lookalike Audiences to target users who engage with similar content and profiles on the platform.

Create customized and relevant ad content

Once you have identified the key groups to target with retargeted social media adverts, start constructing advertisements to gain more students. 

If the intake for a particular course is older, for example, refine the fonts, colors, and visuals so it resonates with that demographic. They might respond better to clean and professional designs. By contrast, younger learners may find bright colors and bold imagery more appealing.

Customize the messaging, too. Consider what stage in the lifecycle your customer is in. Have they only just discovered your brand? Did they spend a while on your website but not complete an action? Have they already completed one course but not taken the next level up? 

Create individual ads with relevant messaging to cater to each of these lifecycles and demographics. Their interests and needs will differ, so your ad content should reflect that. 

Make sure your ads are concise and include a clear and compelling call to action. More importantly, make sure they are mobile-optimized. The majority of people will be browsing social media on a mobile device, so you have to make sure your ads display correctly.

In addition, consider including relevant offers to boost conversion rates. One example of this would be retargeting users who have abandoned their cart. Target them with a discount to encourage them to complete their purchase. 

These adverts are highly relevant to users as they may encounter these retargeted adverts minutes after leaving your site without checking out, which in turn leads to more sales.

Screenshot sourced from Facebook

Apply a sequential approach to retargeting

Sequential retargeting looks at the customer lifecycle and presents prospective customers ads that reflect their previous behavior. 

We have already touched on the importance of personalizing ads based on where someone is in the lifecycle. But sequential advertising goes a step further.

Think of it as telling your customer a story through a series of connected ads. Every time they complete (or fail to complete) an action, their behavior triggers a specific ad. The idea is that each ad is served in a sequence, guiding them through to the next stage of the lifecycle.

Let us look at this in practice. Here is how you might apply retargeting at different stages:

• Awareness: Learners have just become aware of your company, perhaps only visited your homepage. Target them with an ad that introduces your main course. This could be a video that talks about the benefits of the course to encourage them to click to learn more.
• Engagement: People have engaged with your content. They have spent time browsing your course catalog or reading about a specific training video. Re-engage them with an ad that includes a testimonial or success story from other learners. This helps build trust and credibility, encouraging them to take your course seriously. At this stage, your CTA might encourage them to sign up to your newsletter or follow you on social media.
• Consideration: These people have spent even longer engaging with your course content, browsing your website, and maybe even following you on social media. But they still have not completed an action. Serve them a personalized ad that dives deeper into course benefits. That could include a sneak peek at course content, modules included, or spotlights on expert instructors. Add an incentive that creates urgency, such as “Sign up today and get 20% off!”
• Decision: It is common for people to add a course to their basket but not complete the purchase. Ads at this stage are all about driving conversions. Remind them of their interest and address last-minute objections, such as pricing or flexibility. Give them a gentle nudge to complete their registration. That could be in the form of FAQs that answer common pain points or a personalized first-time offer. 
• Post-Purchase/Upsell: Retargeting is not purely about customers who have shown an interest but never converted. People who have previously bought your course are also worth retargeting. Follow up with complementary courses, the next level, or something new. Invite them to follow you on social media, join a newsletter, or subscribe to a private group for learners (if you have one). The idea at this stage is to encourage repeat purchases and build loyalty.

Utilize behavioral triggers for personalized suggestions

A customer’s behavior says a lot about their specific interests and pain points. So use them to guide your retargeting strategy. This makes it significantly easier to personalize your course recommendations based on what they want or need.

Behavioral triggers are user interactions that kick off a predetermined marketing material. In this case, that material is your retargeting ad. When you track user behavior, you can tailor ads based on their actions so that each ad is highly relevant and timely.

Triggers can be a number of things, such as:

• Visiting a page
• Viewing multiple courses
• Engaging with a video 
• Abandoning cart
• Spending a certain amount of time on your website
• Enrolling on or completing a prior course
• Interacting with social media content
• Subscribing to a newsletter
• Completing an assessment or interactive quiz

Look at the journey your learners take, from awareness to enrollment. Consider what actions they might take at different stages as they interact with your company, website, or social media channels. Which of these actions do you want to set up as triggers?

Create ads that deliver personalized suggestions based on each trigger. What action do you want them to take next?

This can be paired with the customer lifecycle so that as a user progresses, they receive relevant offers to try and retain them as a customer.

Conduct A/B testing to refine strategies

One of the most important parts of any marketing campaign is testing. A/B testing is one of the best ways to monitor the success of different adverts, offers, and groups. 

Here is how it works. Imagine you are running a retargeting campaign for people who completed your Wellness Foundations course within the last 3-6 months but have not signed up for another one. Your goal is to get them to enroll in the next level.

Start by creating an ad with relevant messaging and visuals. Then duplicate the ad making a small tweak. For example, the original ad, ad A, could have the headline “Ready to take your wellness journey further? Continue with [course name]”. 

Ad B’s headline could read: “What is next on your wellness journey? Discover [course name] today!”

Segment your target audience into two groups. Show half ad A and half ad B. Compare the results of each to see which wording resonates more with your target demographic.

You can expand this idea and conduct A/B testing on various aspects of your campaign, including: 

• Ad formats 
• Visual elements such as images, graphics, or videos
• Social media sites
• Wording in CTA buttons
• Colors and fonts

Engaging with A/B tests gives you a clear picture of what works for your company and ideal learners. What is more, it helps to ensure you are convincing prospective students of your unique selling point, tempting them to use your service in the process.

Summing up

Overall, social media retargeting provides several distinct advantages. Besides being an efficient way to remind previous learners about your courses, it is effective for building awareness and driving conversions. 

Why? It is all about delivering personalized ads with tailored course recommendations. Done well, retargeted ads serve the right customers the right courses. 

In addition, retargeting gives you a chance to experiment. Through A/B testing and lookalike audiences, you can refine your messaging and ad design to better capture the attention of prospective students. 

If you know your segmentations, you can ensure that you are sending them relevant and enticing offers designed specifically for them.

Ultimately, social media retargeting helps you connect with audiences. Rather than bombarding them with emails, you can glide into their social media feed with gentle but persuasive, personalized ads that help you convert more leads and retain more customers.