Audience Targeting Solutions without Third-Party Cookies

It has been a year, well two years, possibly three? Here is the thing though, digital marketing is going to be cookieless soon and we all need to get ahead and be comfortable with what is to come: Cookieless digital marketing that is privacy-first and audience centric, not the days past of taking the fastest and easiest route to exceeding goals. 

We get it, we all love the cookies and iOS systems of old, but digital marketers need to confront the brutal facts and quickly figure out how to successfully reach the right consumers, with updated tools, in the language consumers currently speak. Luckily, Rise Interactive is here to give you the answers to your most burning questions: How will I retarget website visitors in a future without cookies? What are my options for users who opt out of cross-app tracking? 

When we sought these answers for ourselves, we were unable to find a comprehensive summary of all the ways that marketers will be able to accomplish different objectives across platforms in a world without third-party cookies. So, we made our own!

Below is arguably the most helpful targeting chart ever. It lays out exactly how to target your ads to the preferred intent groups on different paid media channels in a cookieless world. Print this, screenshot it, DM yourself, whatever you need to keep this handy. Now, let’s roll up our sleeves, and bake!

Let’s start at the top, and define Known, Semi-Known, and Anonymous audiences. These categories show the range of relationship users can have with a brand, from highest to lowest intent. In the spirit of keeping things simple, a brand either knows you, sort of knows you, or doesn’t know you… yet! 

Zero-party and first-party users are Known, second-party and third-party are Semi-Known, and Anonymous users are party free. 

From there, we matched up the targeting tactics that best reach each of these groups, across different digital marketing channels. Think of it like a Bingo board! 

EXAMPLE #1 

Question: I am an e-comm brand and would like to find people on social media platforms who are likely to convert and become new customers. Specifically, how can I re-engage people on Facebook who have already browsed my website?

Solution: Incorporate the Conversions API. For users who opt into cross-app tracking, the Conversions API connects the brand’s data (e.g. website visitors) to the Meta Business Manager. 

EXAMPLE #2 

Question: I am a lead gen brand and would like to retarget customers as they browse different websites. How can I serve an ad about a specific service to someone who has bought from my brand before on the open web? 

Solution: Layer identity-based solutions, like UID 2.0, onto campaigns that display ads programmatically. 

EXAMPLE #3 

Question: I am a B2B brand and would like to retarget users as they search for topics specific to my industry. How can I show my ad on Google to someone who may be interested in my brand, but hasn’t engaged with any of my digital touchpoints yet?

Solution: Customize your PPC keywords to your target market. Rise approaches this by first segmenting by keyword, then by user intent anchors that are targeted with keywords and audiences. 

See! There are still many solutions to the existing and upcoming privacy restrictions on digital marketing. Using Rise’s audience targeting chart, the best opportunities can easily be matched with your business and your goals. 

Want to know more about audience targeting in a third-party cookieless world? We recorded a whole digital marketing learning series on it! Or have more questions about future-proofing your audience strategy? Contact us!