We are constantly digitally connected. In fact, the average person spends over three hours a day using their smartphone. Even though mobile device activity now outweighs desktop or laptop use, the key challenge for brands and business owners is still reaching people at the right time and place.

One rapidly evolving way to reach people at that moment is via mobile retargeting. At first the technique appeared as a result of targeting users based on search queries. Now it is extending into other areas including social media.

If you’re not familiar with retargeting, think of it like this:

The decision-making process is a bit like window-shopping. Some decisions take a longer period to make. For example, when a user conducts a local search they’re often looking for a product or service nearby —coffee, an oil change, a nail salon, etc. That person may review search results and then contemplate the decision while shifting into other online activities. Depending on what they’re searching for, they may consider the decision for minutes, hours, days, or even weeks (for example, finding a new lawyer, is a longer process).

Search retargeting exposes that user to display ads relevant to their previous search activity. Those ads act as reminders of products and services that they’ve previously looked up, and can contain more details, incentives, special deals, or messaging.

While search is the most obvious version of retargeting, there are other ways to ensure you’re reaching people appropriately. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you add retargeting to your advertising efforts.

Consumers Often Switch Devices During the Decision Making Process

Even though consumers constantly use their smartphones, it doesn’t mean they’re dedicated solely to that device.

A recent Nielsen survey found that 67 percent of users start the consumer journey on one device and finish on another. Additionally 63 percent of all online consumers in the U.S. readily switch devices to complete a local business search.

That means that when a customer is actively considering a decision it is crucial that your message travel with them over various devices. At YP℠, we call this the “last mile” of a consumer’s path to purchasing, and we use Cross Device Retargeting to reach people as they travel. It’s important to think of it as a digital journey of sorts, and delivering relevant display ads and creative messaging at the right time during that process is critical.

Think Carefully About Intent

One of the newest and most interesting ways to retarget involves social media channels. Although it is still in the early stages, social data is empowering brands to understand potential customers and their intent. There is a difference, for example, between searching for “Puerto Rico Vacations” and updating a Facebook status to say, “Decided I’m going to Puerto Rico over winter break!”

That second piece of information is a valuable indicator of someone’s intent. Reaching that person with the right messaging at the right time could very easily tip their decision-making process in your favor.

When it Comes to Retargeting Mobile Users, Location is Huge

That previously mentioned “last mile” is also deeply associated with a location.

Local search is huge —it’s one of the ways that mobile users orient themselves to make a decision on a product or service. A recent Ipsos MediaCT survey found that local search use is nearly universal, with four out of five respondents considering it a primary method of obtaining local information.

And it isn’t a one-way street; as it turns out, consumers actually blend offline and online experiences. Nielsen found that mobile devices are helping online and offline activities move closer together; 42 percent of those survey respondents said they ”sometimes” or ”often” use mobile devices while shopping the buying process when in a store. Another 19 percent of participants stated they did the same thing but completed the purchase online.

This means that they’re not only using their mobile device to research in-store purchases, they sometimes use the store to research for their online purchases.

Mobile retargeting is easy to understand if we stop and think about how we use our mobile phones when we are on the move to precisely locate what we want at any given time and location. It also makes the case for mobile search retargeting and how critical it is to reach your customer just at the right moment and location to impact their purchasing decision.

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