Understanding the Digital Customer Journey

When used effectively, paid media in digital marketing can be one of the most valuable pieces in the marketing strategy puzzle. Determining which combination of the paid channels to utilize–paid search, programmatic display advertising, paid social–is a must, but how often, if ever, do you take into account the digital customer journey and how you can best reach your audience at each point in that journey?

First, let’s start with a brief explanation of what exactly the digital customer journey is. The digital customer journey refers to the process that a customer goes through with your brand–from browsing to post-purchase.

The key to your paid media strategy is to identify which stage each customer is in the digital customer journey and then successfully curate the content they receive based on that stage – essentially presenting and embodying a “right product, right person, right time” sort of ethos.

Digital Customer Journey: Three Stages

Attract

At the attract or awareness stage, also referred to as the browsing stage, you want to educate visitors with content, and then eliminate barriers to making their final decision. At this point, consumers don’t know who you are or even that you exist; they are just browsing around online trying to determine their problem so they can get closer to a solution–the solution that will hopefully be you.

Engage

Continuing on their journey, they’ll arrive at the engage or consideration stage, also referred to as the “building a cart” stage for buyers. Here, you should focus on building relationships by engaging with buyers on their terms and continuing to provide value. At this point, customers have identified their problem and are starting to figure out potential solutions – they’ve found what they’re looking for and now they’re weighing their options. As a marketer, your job is to provide content that is focused on the solution they’re looking for. This point of your paid media strategy is not meant to be sales-y, and you’re not pitching your product or service yet. You’re merely positioning yourself as an industry expert with the best solution to the consumer’s problem.

Delight

Lastly (hopefully), your customer will have found them at the delight or decision stage, also referred to as the purchase stage. You simply need to be wonderful for your customer and continue to provide value. At this point, prospects are vetting alternatives in the hopes of landing on the most appealing and effective solution–which is where you come in!

Paid Media Strategy: How to Best Use Each Channel

Attract

  • Paid Social Advertising
      • This stage is a prime opportunity to use your social media ad campaigns to improve awareness, increase reach, and bring in a “cold” audience based on demographics and interests (age, sex, education level, interest in fitness, hiking, etc.).
  • Programmatic
      • When creating your target audience, take advantage of demographics and interests that most closely align with your buyer personas (age, sex, education level, interest in fitness, hiking, etc.).
  • Paid Search
    • At this level, people are typically in the exploratory stages and might be far from landing on a decision. It’s best to keep keywords as general as possible while remaining relevant to your business/brand. 

Engage

  • Paid Social Advertising
      • Building on what you’ve learned from the initial stage, continue to target your social media ad campaigns based on demographics, geographics and interests. Create a lookalike audience to find even more people likely to engage.
  • Programmatic
      • Employ contextual targeting (a tactic that places your ads only on pages that meet your topical criteria) to put yourself on pages that you know your target audience will likely visit. As with paid social, lookalike audiences are beneficial here as well. 
  • Paid Search
    • In this stage of the digital customer journey, potential customers are closer to making a decision but are still actively searching. Keywords should be more narrow at this phase, yet still not heavily focused on your specific business, service, or product. 

Delight

  • Paid Social Advertising
      • Focus on bringing as many clicks to ads as possible by retargeting those that have already interacted with your content, including those that failed to convert, and include customized CTAs (calls to action), lead generation forms. Add enticing incentives to offers, like discounts and free shipping. 
  • Programmatic
      • Here, you also want to retarget your website traffic, take full advantage of first-party CRM (customer relationship management) lists, and deep dive into specific details and info about any products or services.
  • Paid Search
    • Users are now on the verge of making a decision. To ensure that you capture the conversation, apply keywords that are as precise as possible, including brand-specific language, product/service names, and even the names of your state, city, and neighborhood.

Although each paid channel has its own distinct uses and capabilities, they all play a role in the digital customer journey and in growing your business and generating leads. Most importantly, they help you connect with customers in a meaningful way, ensuring that they will become lasting, loyal fans of your brand.

 

Having a well-rounded paid media strategy can take your messaging and marketing goals to the next level. We’re here to provide you with actionable tips and techniques that you can start using today! Need help? Get in touch with Serendipit!