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What are the pros and cons of targeted advertising?

Written by Shelby Stone
July 6, 2021

The pros and cons of targeted advertising have been widely debated in the marketing industry.

As the digital era progresses, so did advertising. Advertisers have adapted to our digital habits by remembering what we open, read or buy online. After this, they use the information they have to suggest to us things similar to those we like and trying to sell them to us. It may sound strange, but this practice has become extremely common. In this post, we will talk more about what’s advertising, why is it good to use and what are the benefits of using it.  Find some of these top tips from our team at Aliado Marketing Group below.

What is Targeted Advertising and How Does It Work?

For those who are not familiar with what targeted advertising is, it is a form of online advertising that focuses on our interests, preferences, and traits. Like we mentioned before, this is done by tracking our activity on the internet through social media and search engines. For instance, if you are watching a product on Amazon and you didn’t buy it. In order for Amazon to keep your attention and to make you come back on the site and buy what you were looking for.

Many people think this is a bad thing, but it is actually not. The good thing about targeted ads is that you always see what you want to see. However, there is a small downside to this: even when you see what you want to see, the ads will show up for some longer period that you might like. If you were looking for products that were related to maternity, you may see that type of ad a long time after you’ve given birth.

Ads can follow you through any device. If you shop for something on your laptop, you can see that type of ad on your phone as well. This is because advertisers can guess who you are because they have “access” to your location, your habits, the sites you visit, and basically everything you do on the internet.

These guesses are very accurate, but they are not collected and used as sensitive personal information files on everyone, but we don’t know for sure how much information do the big-data advertisers have.

The pros and cons of targeted advertisingWhy Is It Good?

If you are a business owner, this type of advertisement is perfect for you. You know that you can reach out to people through social media platforms since we live in a world of digitalization. Social media is an easily accessible and easy-to-use tool for both – users and businesses. The cool thing about it is that no matter how big your marketing budget is, as an advertiser, you can always successfully reach your target audience. It is a really quick way to reach your ideal customer without any trouble. Your target audience can be only a click away if you know how to use the right settings.

If you decide to use targeted ads, you may want to know that they are maybe one of the most affordable and most flexible forms of advertising. Now, they do not cost much, but the more you spend on an ad campaign, the bigger your reach is and the longer your ad will be shown. But not necessarily. It is shown that even the smallest of budgets can reach out to their ideal audience and therefore run a successful campaign.

the pros and cons of targeted advertising

The Benefits of Targeted Advertising

Targeted advertising has many benefits, especially for your business. Here are a few of them:

They Engage Mobile Users

The number of mobile users was rapidly increasing in the past years. Now mobile-friendly sites are prioritized in order to deliver a better experience to the users. Not only that, but the popularity of social media platforms allows you to target specific groups of users through their advertising tools that help narrow your target demographics. Once you target your ideal customer, you can design mobile-friendly ads that can be an effective way to reach out to the users.

Reach Local Customers

This can work for both online and physical businesses. You can use the local customer data to get a better understanding of buying behavior of your customer. This can be achieved if you discover how, when, and where your ideal customer has bought a certain product.

Increase Sales

Yes, you can increase sales with targeted advertising, because people love when they receive personalized service. This type of communication will help you connect better with your consumers. If you send targeted considerations to some of your customers at specific locations, you can encourage them to buy, complete a purchase or visit your store.

You Will Ensure Personalization

Personalization is a great trend nowadays since all the customers love to be treated with relevant offers. If you personalize your ads according to your ideal customer’s profile, you can increase the chance of offering them something they will find interesting.

You Can Introduce Exciting Innovations

One of the main reasons why the consumers back off from buying goods is the lack of opportunity to try that particular product. And one of the best ways to solve this issue is to use technology and to incorporate it into a targeted advertising zone. This means giving them products that they are most likely to like. One of the ways you can do this is by adding a section that says “Recommended for You” in case they are not satisfied with the first choice.

This type of advertising is an extremely effective tool that can help you reach out to the right audience. It is important to mention that you can drive more sales, which is why they are very used by business owners.

To learn more about targeted advertising and other online marketing techniques, contact Aliado Marketing Group today.

What are the pros and cons of targeted advertising?