Programmatic marketing has become a staple of the online diet. From our laptops to our over-the-top TV content, CMOs try to tempt buyers and consumers to consume or engage with their content. This means day in and day out, marketers continually seek fresh ways to optimize programmatic marketing for better conversion rates and ROI . 

According to a Statista report, programmatic ad spend will reach close to $147 billion by the end of 2021. There’s a lot going on there, so how do you know what to do to spend your part of that wisely?

As the maxim says, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” In the same fashion, in digital marketing, you have to note what’s working and what’s not for your programmatic marketing ad campaigns. Reporting is natively possible with digital, data-driven programmatic campaigns, but one could argue that the usefulness of the data “out” depends on the data “in” that drives campaigns. Having the best quality data at both ends of the effort propels meaningful improvements. When you give programmatic the data it needs for precise, thoughtful targeting, it’s a proven engagement magnet.

Do You Follow These Best Practices for Programmatic Marketing ROI?

To save you from repeating past mistakes or targeting deadend audiences, consider adopting some of these best practices to improve programmatic ROI. 

1. Behavioral targeting: Behavioral targeting is an important way to hit the sweet spot with prospects by feeding them relevant and contextual ads based on behavior signals. Intent data is a reliable source of behavioral data. Target your audiences based on their online “body language”, i.e. search history, browsing habits, social media interactions and purchase behaviors. 

2. Hyperlocal targeting: Multi-location brands fire up programmatic ROI by hyperlocal targeting. You focus on specific geographical locations, as per your business demands. Walled gardens like Google and Facebook use hyperlocal targeting to serve specific users in most cities, down to the streets.

3. Ad-spend optimization: Digital advertising has evolved from broader, brand-oriented campaigns to dedicated direct response efforts. Marketers have started leveraging predictive customer lifetime value (CLTV) to analyze future revenue generation by existing customers. This predictive strategy is deeply rooted in optimizing downstream behavior like purchase decisions, app downloads and online engagements. You can get insights about future ad-spend and brand success to target programmatic more effectively.

4. Quality intent signals: What marketer doesn’t want to know who your prospective buyers are and what they want? A dependable resource is live intent signals. Actionable intent data insights — freshly-baked data sourced from diverse touch points– are what you’re looking for. If you’re a data-driven marketer, you know the importance of good targeting strategies for scaling success. Drive tighter ad targeting by studying intent data as you design and run marketing campaigns. Thanks to cognitive technologies like AI, you can check campaign performance in real-time and optimize as needed.

5.  Frequency caps: No one likes seeing the same ads over and over on some of our steaming services. Frequency caps let you differentiate cross-channel users and exclude them from viewing duplicate ads. You can control the number of impressions on specific users on hourly, weekly or monthly basis, via analytics platforms. This makes better use of programmatic media budget by avoiding repetitive ad displays to the same users. If users get irritated by seeing the same ad time and again, they are less likely to choose your brand, and that ad could actually harm the brand perception.

6. Attractive brand visuals: Visual media definitely impacts programmatic ROI, so your programmatic ads must deliver clear and creative messages. Consistent brand visuals help strengthen customer relationships and brand awareness, and make your ads more recognizable. Set the right tone for brand identity, especially when users view it for the first time.

Spring Summit: Accelerate Revenue with Artificial Intelligence

Remember, saying hello doesn’t bring ROI; rather, conversations, do. Keep building relationships through your programmatic engagement. Smart, well-managed, well-targeted programmatic marketing pushes you closer to that goal and helps you find your next customer.Have a walk through our blogs and resources for a deeper dive into trending programmatic concepts. Or you might want to just sign up for the Anteriad Spring Summit on April 14 about using AI to accelerate revenue.