How Targeted Advertising Motivates Users to Buy

Targeted advertising often serves as the initial stage of the marketing cycle for any brand: before a user decides to purchase a company’s product, they want to learn as much about it as possible. But first, the user needs to be introduced to the product.

Targeted ads address performance marketing goals. Companies aim to sell their products and earn revenue. They launch targeted ads for their goods and services. Through these ads, people come to make purchases if they already have a specific need.

Targeted ads build brand recognition. By using this approach, also address a company’s media objectives by entering a person’s information field, showcasing the product, and creating initial awareness and trust. People are more likely to buy when they repeatedly see the product.

Simply put, recognition works. People might want to get what they regularly see in ads or banners, even if they haven’t directly interacted with the product. Do you recognize these triggers in the examples below?

These examples demonstrate that targeted advertising is highly effective. People feel they want to buy something on their own, but the product has been in their attention field for a while. This media aspect of the promotion campaign works beyond just the advertising part.

Considering this specificity, targeted ads are used to promote products and services with long sales cycles — complex or B2B products, expensive goods, and those bought «once in ten years.» The most obvious examples are buying an apartment or a car.

A brand’s goal is to secure a strong position within a specific market or target niche, shape an image, and strengthen its reputation in the eyes of its target audience. This way, people will unconsciously include the brand in their list of values and preferences — mentally integrating the products into their kitchen, wardrobe, and… their expenses.

A brand needs to establish its image in people’s minds — for example, through a logo, silhouette, color combination, or slogan. And maintain the chosen style consistently over a long period (later, when the brand is «on everyone’s lips,» many companies rebrand, but we are not discussing that stage now).

Consider these examples: the combination of red and white colors with a wavy font, a bitten apple, three white stripes on a black background, and a yellow «M.» Each of us knows these brands — and they are unmistakable.

The point is that brands are recognized by key details. If it’s a specific font or silhouette, and even if we were to change the colors, you’d still recognize it. For example, the distinctive «M» in any random color will still be associated with «everything on a sesame seed bun.» But if a brand is recognized primarily by its color palette, changing these colors might «blur» the logo’s perception — say, Microsoft’s colorful windows in black and white would likely just be a set of squares.

Brands create a clear image, invest a certain meaning into it, and solidify it in users’ minds. From many brands, people prefer those they associate with their mood and personality—often not with the person they are, but with the person they want to become.

Different brands may have essentially the same products in terms of quality, but each person chooses the products of a particular brand that suit them personally. This is because, in a person’s perception, individuality is often more important than quality. Targeted advertising helps convey and reveal this individuality, successfully bringing the client to the point of purchase.

In situations without a specific purchase request:

Targeted ads solve a range of tasks in the consumer demand cycle:

Information about a new product can be delivered in different formats.

Articles are suitable when you need to extensively tell about the company itself, its products, and capabilities, and the specifics of the goods and services. You can create separate text content units for each product, both articles and posts. This format also helps address potential user doubts and objections. Here, you can explain in detail why the product is beneficial and why it’s worth buying.

Videos visually showcase the product and its application scenarios, such as its appearance and functions. Videos often help a person «try on» the product or imagine how they will use it.

Information about the product generates more interest, and users start searching for it themselves. The more demand in search networks, the more ad interactions you get. Through that method, users come to the company’s website and make a purchase.

The interaction sequence is as follows: targeted ads help to attract interest, gather a specific target audience, SEO specialists collect statistics on text material reads and video views, and then launch direct ads to this warmed-up audience.

At this stage, it’s important to understand that these methods won’t be effective separately. Promotion will be very long, and covering several target audience segments won’t be possible. It’s much more effective to combine different promotion methods—each will enhance the other’s impact.

Managing social networks. A significant portion of purchases happens there. It’s easier for users to go to a social network, and search for a brand or product group, and the platform will show relevant stores. They will then get to know the seller better, show interest in specific products, and make a purchase.

In the brand’s account, everything matters: users will definitely notice the design, search convenience, content description (and the absence of mistakes!), the number of followers, and reviews. So, don’t neglect social media management or abandon it after initial promotion results—the brand’s platform must remain «alive»!

Buying ads from bloggers. People tend to be interested in others’ opinions, experiences with the product, and reviews. Primarily, they listen to friends and acquaintances—this is how «word of mouth» works, but the next key point is the opinion of well-known bloggers.

The goal is to build high trust levels based on product reviews, making it something people want to discuss—and speak positively about.

Influencer marketing should function as part of an integrated strategy. Users rely on the opinions and reviews of many people. For different target audience segments, different bloggers’ opinions may be significant. Collaborating with several bloggers helps create sustainable demand for the brand’s products.

Inform about offline stores if you have them. Targeted ads in this case are excellent for attracting clients who live or work within 1-2 kilometers of your store. People need to see the products in person, and picking them up in person is often faster than ordering online.

Tip: nudge clients to visit your store in person with a discount for self-pickup.

Events and promotions. Hosting events for specialists in a specific profile provides an additional touchpoint and helps form a professional community around the brand.

To attract people, launch a reach campaign targeting relevant specialists. Show the most relevant information to the most important users for the brand within the chosen target audience, resulting in more views and interactions.