The Power of Third-Party Audiences in Performance Marketing Campaigns

Over the last few years, advertisers have had to navigate the challenges of a post-iOS 14.5 world, where achieving precise targeting, tracking, and reporting has become increasingly difficult. At Gupta Media, we believe in the value of 'hyper-targeting' for specific campaigns across various verticals, even as some ad platforms advocate for broader audience approaches. To achieve this, we frequently leverage the power of third-party data partners, either directly or through an aggregator. These partnerships allow us to gain additional user insights related to transaction propensity, demographics, behaviors, and more.

Optimizing Conversions through Paid Media

As a performance media agency, many of our projects are focused on utilizing paid media to drive tangible business results, such as ticket sales, leads, and conversions. To achieve success, we constantly evaluate the user flow from the initial paid or organic touchpoint to the landing page and ultimately to the conversion point. Throughout this process, we meticulously analyze various factors that influence the volume and cost of conversions. Key metrics such as CPC, CTR, and conversion rate are closely monitored, as even a slight swing in any of these metrics can have a dramatic impact on the overall campaign results.

Narrowing the Audience for Enhanced Engagement

While casting a wide net during ad targeting may maximize top-funnel awareness and generate more impressions, we have discovered that it can result in a decline in the quality of post-ad engagement for these types of conversion campaigns. That's why we often advocate narrowing the audience pool to focus on the most qualified segments. By doing so, we can significantly improve engagement and conversion rates along each step of the user journey. This is where our strategic use of third-party data comes into play.

For instance, if our objective is to drive streams on Spotify for a specific artist, we can narrow our targeting to existing Spotify users via a third-party data segment. This focused approach should have a positive impact on the conversion rate to stream. Similarly, when promoting an expensive musical instrument, we might narrow our audience to in-market consumers with a specific income level via third-party survey data, which hopefully results in higher conversion rates.

Harnessing the Power of Third-Party Data

By partnering with trusted third-party data providers, we can enhance our understanding of target audiences beyond what is available through first-party data alone. This additional layer of data helps us refine audience segmentation and create more personalized and targeted campaigns. We leverage third-party data to gain insights into transaction propensity, demographics, behaviors, and other factors that inform our strategies and optimize our campaigns.

The Cost-Offsetting Effect of Higher Conversion Rates

Most of these data partners pass back an access or audience fee to the end advertisers. We are willing to invest more in an initial ad click or ad view if it means that the conversion rates at later stages of the user flow are higher. The cost is offset later in the customer journey, making it a worthwhile investment. By narrowing our audience and leveraging third-party data, we optimize our campaigns to reach the most qualified prospects. Although this may require a higher initial investment, the subsequent increase in conversion rates justifies the cost, resulting in more efficient and effective campaigns.

Conclusion

As experts in performance marketing, we understand the challenges advertisers face in achieving precise targeting and tracking in today's evolving landscape. At Gupta Media, our emphasis on hyper-targeting and our strategic use of third-party data reflect our commitment to driving tangible business results for our clients. By narrowing the audience pool and leveraging third-party data, we optimize our campaigns to achieve higher engagement and conversion rates. Although the cost-per-click or impression may initially be higher, the long-term impact on the customer journey and the overall campaign results make it a worthwhile investment. As the advertising landscape continues to evolve, we will continue to leverage the power of third-party audiences to stay ahead of the curve and deliver exceptional results for our clients.

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Photo by Ricardo Arce