Retargeting means showing ads to people who have already interacted with your brand. That might be visiting your website, adding a product to a cart, watching a video or engaging with your social posts.
It works because warm audiences already know you, so they're more likely to convert. A tracking pixel on your website or engagement data from the platform builds a custom audience, and your ads follow those people as they scroll. A common example is an ad showing the exact product someone left in their cart.
Keep retargeting helpful, not creepy. Cap how often people see the same ad, exclude recent buyers and refresh the creative so it doesn't go stale.
Questions about Retargeting
How does social media retargeting work?
You install a tracking pixel or use platform engagement data to build an audience of people who interacted with your brand. You then run ads aimed only at that group, reminding them of products they viewed or offers they haven't claimed.
Retargeting vs remarketing: what's the difference?
The terms are often used as synonyms. When people do separate them, retargeting usually means ads shown to past visitors, while remarketing often means re-engaging past customers, frequently by email. In social advertising, both describe reaching warm audiences.
How often should a retargeting ad be shown?
There's no single rule, but too many repeats cause ad fatigue and annoyance. Set a frequency cap, rotate fresh creative and keep the audience window short, such as visitors from the last few weeks, to keep ads relevant.
