Cross-platform remarketing: how to get your customer back wherever they are

What is cross-platform remarketing?

Imagine this: a user visits your website, browses your products, even puts something in the cart, but doesn’t buy it. A day later, he scrolls through Instagram, a week later, he watches a video on YouTube, and a month later, he reads the news on Google. How do you get them back? This is where cross-platform remarketing comes in.

Cross-platform remarketing is a user re-engagement strategy that uses advertising tools from different platforms to remind users of a brand. It allows you to show ads to those who have already interacted with a website or mobile app, regardless of where they are now.

Where is cross-platform remarketing used?

This strategy works in conjunction with the following platforms:

• Facebook and Instagram (Meta Ads) – the combined advertising system allows you to track user actions between social networks and even beyond.
• Google Ads – covers the search network, contextual media network (CMS), YouTube, and Gmail.
• TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest – also allow you to set up remarketing, but are less popular in the broader cross-platform context.

The main secret to success is the correct transfer of audience data between systems and a creative approach to advertising on each platform.

Why does cross-platform remarketing work?

According to research, more than 70% of users do not make a purchase during the first visit to a website, but remarketing can increase conversion by 50-70% (WordStream data). This is due to the “repeated contact” effect: the more often a person sees a brand, the more likely they are to make a purchase.

You should also take into account the multichannel nature of modern users. They can start searching for a product on Google, then get a recommendation on Facebook, watch a review on YouTube, and only then make a purchase decision.

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But there is an important nuance: people quickly get used to advertising, so it is a bad idea to show the same banner everywhere. It is important to adapt creatives to the format of each platform.

Cross-platform remarketing strategies

Meta Ads: Facebook and Instagram

Facebook and Instagram use a single advertising system, which allows you to create campaigns with reach on both platforms. Main approaches:

• Dynamic remarketing is the most effective format for e-commerce. If a user browsed a certain product on the website, Facebook will show them an ad for that particular product.
• Video remarketing – works to increase awareness. For example, if a user has watched a video review of a product, they can be shown a discounted ad.
• Interaction-based remarketing – you can target people who have interacted with posts, pages, or even sent messages in Direct.

One of the most effective approaches is staging. First, we show general ads, then more personalized ones, and then we offer a special offer or a limited discount.

Google Ads: search, contextual display ads, YouTube, and Gmail

Google Ads allows you to reach users at different stages of the purchase journey. Here’s how you can use cross-platform remarketing here:

• Remarketing in Search (RLSA) – when a user searches for similar products on Google, you can show them your store’s ad with a special offer.
• Remarketing in KMM – banner ads on Google’s partner sites that remind you of the product.
• Remarketing on YouTube – if a user has watched a video about your product, you can show them an ad before other videos.
• Gmail advertising – an ad in the Promotions tab with a product reminder.

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Research shows that 70% of Google users watch YouTube before making a purchase (Think with Google). Therefore, video remarketing is becoming an important tool in conjunction with search and banner campaigns.

Best practices for cross-platform remarketing

For cross-platform remarketing to be effective, you need to use a comprehensive approach. Here are the key methods that will help you increase conversions and avoid wasting your budget:

Synchronize messages and offers

It is important that advertising on different platforms works in a coordinated manner. If a user sees a discount on Facebook and then receives another message on Google Ads without the discount, it can be confusing. All ads should maintain the same tone of voice, visual style, and links to the same offers.

Adapt creatives to the platform

What works on Facebook won’t necessarily be effective on YouTube or Google Display Networks, for example:

• Videos up to 15 seconds and carousels work better on Facebook and Instagram.
• Static banners with a clear CTA (call to action) are effective on Google Display Network.
• Short videos (6-15 seconds) or pre-roll ads work best on YouTube.
• In Gmail ads, it is important to use personalized headlines that arouse interest.

Limit the frequency of impressions

Intrusiveness is the main enemy of remarketing. If a user sees the same ad 10 times a day, they may get annoyed and even block your ads. The optimal frequency limit is 3-5 impressions per user per day (depending on the niche). Facebook Ads and Google Ads allow you to set frequency limits at the campaign level.

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Use audience segmentation

Not all website visitors are equally valuable. It is important to segment your audience and create personalized ads:

• Users who have just browsed the site → general reminder ads.
• Users who have added a product to the cart → ads with a special discount or bonus.
• Users who have already made a purchase → upsell offers or ads for additional products.

This helps to increase the effectiveness of remarketing and not waste your budget on people who have already made a purchase.

Optimize remarketing timing

The timing of remarketing ads also matters. For example:

• If the product is expensive and needs to be thought about (for example, a laptop), ads should be shown a few days after the first visit.
• If it’s an impulse purchase (e.g., cosmetics), the best option is to show ads a few hours after the first contact.
• For seasonal products (e.g., clothing), it is worth testing different time windows to find the optimal period for repeated reminders.

Combine audiences across platforms

One of the most effective methods is to use data from one platform for remarketing on another. For example:

• Create an audience of users who clicked on a Facebook ad but didn’t make a purchase and show them an ad on Google Ads.
• Target those who watched a video review on YouTube with ads on Facebook or Instagram.
• Use the email list of customers in Google Ads to show them personalized ads in search and KMM.
• This helps to build a logical chain of advertising and bring the user to the purchase.

Test A/B campaigns

No strategy works perfectly without testing. It is best to test:

• Different ad formats (banners, videos, carousels).
• Time interval of remarketing (in 1 day, 3 days, 7 days).
• Visual and textual variants (bright design vs. minimalistic, CTA “Buy now” vs. “Learn more”).

After collecting statistics, you can determine which approaches give the best results and optimize your campaigns.

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Conclusions.

Cross-platform remarketing is not just a trend, but a necessity in a modern digital strategy. People interact with brands on different platforms, so it is important for businesses to be wherever there is a potential customer.

The key is to segment your audience correctly, use personalized creatives, and take into account the specifics of each platform. Otherwise, you risk becoming an annoying ad that everyone blocks. And this is a completely different story…