Students are a valuable demographic for today’s marketers. This is especially true at the college level, where students have a combined spending power of nearly $600 billion. You’re also reaching customers who are still open to forming new brand loyalties, which means one conversion can bring years of purchases.

Reaching those students online brings some challenges, though. Today’s college campuses are filled with distractions, and on top of that, Generation Z has developed a mistrust of traditional advertising. Authenticity wins, but how do you get the word out about your products without overtly promoting them?

The good news is, the right tools can help you get around these roadblocks. Here are some strategies to help you as you’re planning your retargeting campaigns.

How to Retarget Ads for Students: 7 Key Strategies and Best Practices With Realize

1. Layer Targeting Signals

One-dimensional targeting isn’t enough for today’s savvy students. The best results come when you layer data signals to reach the right individuals in the right mindset at the best possible time.

• Contextual targeting: Show ads alongside relevant content (e.g., student budgeting tips).
• Behavioral and demographic filters: Combine declared age ranges with inferred student-like behaviors.
• Location targeting: Narrow audiences by zip codes near college campuses.

2. Capture Students Mid-journey on the Open Web

Unlike search or social, the open web gives you a chance to catch users while they’re actively researching related subjects. They might be reading an article, exploring career advice, or looking into loan options when your ad appears alongside the content.

• Deliver native ads while students explore relevant content.
• Complement social and search strategies with discovery-driven touchpoints.
• Position your message as a useful nudge while they’re researching related topics.

3. Combine Interest and Topic Targeting for Flexibility

While student populations have many things in common, each person is unique. That means each student comes with a separate set of interests. Tools like Interest Targeting and Topic Targeting help refine campaigns.

• Interest Targeting: Use broad categories like “Education” or “Test prep.”
• Topic Targeting: Build custom audiences with free-text searches such as “scholarships for engineering students.”

4. Optimize With Real-Time Audience Reporting

Real-time reporting can help you move beyond clicks and impressions. You can analyze performance, adjust budgets, and tailor creatives based on what you learn.

• Evaluate creative performance by age, gender, or location.
• Tailor copy to students or parents, based on response.
• Discover high-value audiences using Audience Explorer.

5. Extend Reach Through Multiplatform Tools

Students rarely convert the first time they see an ad. To break through the constant stream of information coming at them, you need to follow up with messaging that incites action.

• Retarget through Meta, Google, or Realize after initial engagement.
• Exclude users who have already converted.
• Build Predictive Audiences with pixel data.

6. Scale Using Predictive Audiences

As your campaign begins capturing data, Predictive AI kicks in. With each new data point, it learns more about your audience and helps identify lookalike users to expand reach.

• Feed conversion data into the model.
• Target audiences with similar traits to converters.
• Scale results with precision.

7. Use Location Targeting to Zero in on Campuses

Targeting by physical location remains one of the most efficient ways to advertise to student populations. Homing in on college campuses ensures you’re reaching large concentrations of students.

• Target specific universities or college towns.
• Localize creatives with city or campus names.
• Promote in-person activations, events, or seasonal offers.

Key Takeaways

Successfully targeting today’s students is all about layering. Combining contextual, behavioral, demographic, and location-based data allows you to reach students when and where they’re most receptive.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Who is the target audience for retargeting ads?

Retargeting is for people who have previously interacted with your brand. Someone might have clicked on an ad or social media post, visited your website, or otherwise shown an interest in your offerings, then moved on. With retargeting, you can deliver additional content to those users with the goal of driving conversions.

Where should you advertise to students?

Advertise where students spend their time: TikTok, YouTube, and the open web. Ads can reach them while they research college life, test prep, and upcoming events.

How much does it cost to retarget ads?

Retargeting costs between $0.25 to $0.60 per click on average. Since retargeting focuses on users who’ve already interacted with your brand, they’re more likely to convert, boosting your ROI.

What is a good CTR for retargeting ads?

The average click-through rate (CTR) for retargeting ads is 0.7%, compared to 0.07% for standard display ads. CTRs are typically higher among student audiences, particularly in email campaigns.

Original source: Taboola blog