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Key Takeaways
- Social media retargeting and social media advertising are related but serve different purposes within a digital marketing strategy.
- Retargeting focuses on re-engaging people who have already interacted with your website, content or brand but have not yet converted.
- Social media advertising is a broader strategy used to build awareness, generate demand and attract new audiences through paid campaigns.
- Retargeting typically delivers higher conversion rates because it targets warm audiences who are already familiar with your business.
- Full-funnel social media advertising helps guide prospects from awareness through to consideration and conversion.
- Combining social media advertising with retargeting often produces the strongest results by attracting new visitors and then nurturing them towards conversion.
When it comes to digital marketing, social media is packed with powerful tools to help you get in front of the right people, build brand awareness, and turn interest into action. Social media retargeting and social media advertising are often terms used interchangeably, but they serve very different purposes. Understanding how each one works (and when to use them) can help you make more informed decisions about your marketing mix.
What is Social Media Retargeting?
Have you ever had those times where you thought your phone was listening to you because you’re suddenly getting content or ads on your Facebook feed about a product you thought about? Well, it’s not a magic microphone—it’s retargeting. And it’s actually using your search history from Google to show you products, services, businesses or events, etc., from sites that you’ve recently visited on your search engine browser, like Google.
Social media retargeting is a highly focused tactic designed to re-engage users who have already interacted with your website. Think of it as a gentle reminder: someone visited your product page, browsed your services, or filled out part of a contact form—but left without converting. Retargeting allows you to serve tailored ads to those people as they scroll through platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
So how does retargeting work? Well, a small code snippet known as a retargeting pixel, is placed on your website. It is designed to track visitor behaviour and help you show targeted ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Here’s how it works at a glance:
1. Visitor Lands on Your Site
When someone visits your website, the pixel tracks their activity—what pages they view, actions they take, and where they drop off.
2. Pixel Captures Behaviour
The pixel builds an anonymous profile based on actions like:
- Viewing products/services
- Adding items to cart
- Starting but not submitting a form
3. They Leave Your Site
Once the visitor leaves, they’re added to a retargeting audience based on their actions.
4. You Serve Targeted Ads
Using Meta or LinkedIn ad platforms, you show tailored ads that remind them of your offering and encourage them to return and convert.
5. Refine and Optimise
As data accumulates, you can optimise ads for better results—boosting ROI by focusing on warm leads.
In essence, retargeting pixels help you re-engage site visitors with relevant social media ads, making it a cost-effective way to convert traffic generated by your existing SEO or Google Ads program and supercharging your existing digital marketing efforts.
If you’ve already paid for the traffic on Google Ads, NOT retargeting that traffic could mean you’re actually losing leads that are ready convert (aka ready to buy). Because the funnel is already set up, not retargeting is almost like quitting when you’re 95% there. So, if you’re a Google Ads or SEO client, retargeting is highly recommended.
What is Social Media Advertising?
Without a steady stream of visitors to your site, retargeting alone won’t move the needle much—it needs fuel to function. This is why social media retargeting is purely designed to be an add-on program. However, social media advertising is a comprehensive, standalone strategy that takes a more full-funnel approach.
Paid social media advertising guides cold audiences from awareness all the way through to conversion and loyalty:
- Top-of-funnel content to build awareness and grow reach;
- Mid-funnel campaigns that educate and nurture interest;
- Bottom-of-funnel offers designed to drive sales or leads.
This approach requires more strategy and active management. Creative messaging, audience segmentation, testing, and optimisation all play key roles. Platforms like Meta (Facebook & Instagram) and LinkedIn provide powerful tools to build and guide customer journeys directly within the platform—without requiring users to have already visited your website.
Which One is Right for You?
- Choose Social Media Retargeting if… you’re already running successful SEO or Google Ads campaigns and want to increase your conversion rates by staying top-of-mind with warm leads but don’t wish to spend budget on a full social media strategy.
- Choose Full-Funnel Social Advertising if… you’re looking to generate demand, build awareness, or drive leads from scratch—especially if you’re targeting specific industries or job titles on platforms like LinkedIn.
Speak to Our Paid Social Experts for a Tailored Strategy
Keep in mind that retargeting and full-funnel social advertising aren’t mutually exclusive—they work best when used together as part of a well-rounded digital strategy. We can help you understand which is best suited to your business needs so you can better allocate your budget, time, and creative resources for maximum impact. Give us a call today on 03 9042 0714 and let us tailor a paid social strategy that works for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is social media retargeting?
Social media retargeting is a marketing strategy that shows ads to people who have previously visited your website, interacted with your content or engaged with your business but have not yet taken a desired action.
How is social media retargeting different from social media advertising?
Retargeting focuses on existing website visitors or warm audiences, while social media advertising is designed to reach new audiences and generate awareness, interest and engagement from potential customers.
Why is retargeting effective?
Retargeting is effective because it targets users who have already shown interest in a business. These audiences are often more likely to convert compared to people who are seeing the brand for the first time.
Do I need website traffic before using retargeting?
Yes. Retargeting relies on audience data collected from website visitors or previous interactions. Without traffic or engagement data, there is no audience available to retarget.
Should businesses use retargeting and social media advertising together?
In most cases, yes. Social media advertising can generate awareness and drive traffic, while retargeting helps convert interested visitors who did not take action during their first interaction.
Which social media platforms support retargeting?
Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other major advertising networks offer retargeting capabilities through tracking pixels and audience-based advertising tools.
Colm MacGowan is a multi-award-winning digital marketer, growth strategist, and Founder of 80/20 Digital. Specialising in lead generation for service-based businesses, Colm helps brands scale through brand-led, data-driven SEO, AI SEO (AIO/GEO), Google Ads, social media, conversion strategy, and commercially focused digital marketing systems. Over the past three decades, his strategies have generated more than $100 million in revenue for clients across Australia, the UK, Ireland, Canada, and the US.
