Recently, I was shopping for gifts for the Easter bunny to bring our boys. These are typically not big gifts and they’re usually very outdoor-centric. More than likely, they’re things that we’d buy anyway like chalk and bubbles. This year, I ventured out on a limb and started browsing Amazon for kids’ sunglasses.

Amazon is one of the companies in whose retargeting campaigns I often find myself ensnared. Retargeting campaigns on Facebook are designed to advertise products or services to you that you’ve previously viewed. I’ll admit, they can be great reminders of things I’ve been intending to purchase. They also, at times, can be particularly creepy. This particular retargeting campaign caught my eye because it was in both my Facebook stream and my Facebook sidebar. It was almost impossible to ignore. This, by the way, illustrates even more that Facebook is now a pay to play platform and not actually looking out for my experience as a user.

It also seemed a bit silly. Really, who needs sunglasses that badly? More importantly, how can a campaign be any more transparent than by essentially spamming you just because you looked at a product?

When looking to advertise your small business on any platform, be sure that:

1. You targeted correctly There’s no bigger waste of money than trying to sell something to people who aren’t interested. Yet, it’s not uncommon for businesses to try to sell something to “all English speaking people”. If no one from Australia ever clicks on your ads, take that cue and use your ad budget to target people who are actually clicking through to learn more about your business.

2. You retargeted thoughtfully So you’d like to start a retargeting campaign. I honestly think that’s great. But in order to make your retargeting campaign successful, make sure that you’re not spamming your clients (or potential clients). These campaigns truly need to be used strategically – it doesn’t make sense to just throw them out willy nilly and expect your desired results. To quote my partner Liz Jostes, “Keep in mind that if you’d like to use a custom audience for a specific, time-sensitive campaign, you’ll need to add your pixel to your website far enough in advance to have a healthy audience size to use for your ad.” This is a great place to start when considering your retargeting strategy.

3. People Want to Buy what you’re Advertising It’s important to make sure that whatever you’re advertising is something people want to purchase. Advertising something that is extremely niche product to a very wide audience is not going to be successful for your business. In order to make the best use of a retargeting campaign, you likely don’t want to put ad dollars behind a product that is way out of season (unless the discount is so steep people can’t resist snapping it up – like 60% or more). Make sure you’re going to spend your valuable time and money selling something people want to buy.

Have you implemented any retargeting campaigns? We’d love to hear your thoughts!