Ready to level up your user acquisition strategy? These best practices show why connected TV deserves a spot in your marketing mix.
Mobile-like precision and a larger canvas for creativity make CTV the ideal platform for UA campaigns
With so many brands and advertisers vying for users’ attention, connecting with your target audience has never been more challenging. At the same time, traditional channels no longer deliver the same results they once did, with UA costs rising 222% over the course of the past decade. It’s time for a fresh approach to user acquisition — and that starts with understanding the performance marketing opportunities provided by connected TV platforms.
The CTV ecosystem combines the benefits of mobile advertising — precise targeting and attribution — with the attention-grabbing power of the television screen. Here’s how to master UA strategy in the modern era while taking advantage of everything connected TV has to offer.
Ready to dig even deeper into user acquisition? Check out "User Acquisition: The Complete Guide."
CTV User Acquisition Strategy Best Practices
If your user acquisition campaigns are still primarily focused on mobile and social media, it’s time to take a step back and reassess. UA costs have more than doubled on iOS and quadrupled on Android since 2018, and social media ads aren’t faring much better. Though the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic deflated prices a bit, Facebook and Instagram UA costs are once again on the rise. In other words, it takes a lot more money to make an impact on traditional advertising channels, and those same channels also face intense competition.
On the other hand, connected TV platforms like tvScientific have a low minimum spend, allow for flexible budgeting, and deliver real-time analytics, making it easy to gauge exactly how your efforts are faring. That said, advertising on CTV requires more than a simple copy-paste of your mobile ads — knowing these best practices will give you an edge over the competition.
Want to learn more about CTV’s advantages? Download our free ebook, The CTV Advertising Playbook.
#1: Know Your User…
As a marketer, there’s always a desire to cast a wide net and try to attract as many users from different demographics as possible. However, to break through the noise and reach your target audience, you need to get more specific about exactly what kind of users you’re looking for. Does your user base consist mostly of Generation Z? Zoomers respond to ads dramatically differently than older generations. And that’s just scratching the surface; age is only one factor when it comes to what makes users respond to ad campaigns.
Before embarking on any user acquisition campaigns, make sure you have a thorough understanding of who you’re speaking to. Market research, like surveys sent to your existing users, will give you a better idea of what you’re looking for. Once you have a comprehensive demographic profile, use that to inform every other step in the process, from targeting to creative.
#2: …And Leverage Advanced Targeting
Speaking of targeting, CTV makes it simple for UA marketers when it comes to reaching their desired audience. For example, tvScientific uses over 15,000 unique targeting segments, allowing marketers to create custom segments based on online behaviors, interests, geographical location, age range, and a number of other factors. Before choosing a CTV platform, make sure that any potential partners have a similar wealth of targeting options.
This is the first step (but not the last) where that market research will come in handy. Gather your data about your audience and use it to guide your targeting efforts. Take advantage of the mobile-like precision on the television screen, a far cry from the linear TV commercials of yore that often dominated headlines but couldn’t be attributed to results. In fact, a 2021 survey of digital video advertisers who moved their budgets from linear to CTV showed that the vast majority — 81% — did so due to targeting and efficiency.
#3: Optimize Your Creative Approach
One of the biggest advantages television advertising has over mobile is the sheer amount of screen real estate. Your ads are no longer confined to a five-inch touchscreen; instead, you get ten times the space to make an impression. That doesn’t mean scaling up your mobile assets, though! Instead, you’ll need to start fresh with copy and visuals designed for a bigger screen.
The good news is that developing new creative from scratch doesn’t have to be a costly endeavor. Unlike the linear TV days, when commercial costs could easily run into the millions, CTV ads are generally much more cost-effective. You also don’t need a squad of A-listers or an Oscar-winning director to make an impression. Instead, experiment with different creative elements, including voiceover, stock footage, motion graphics — don’t forget your logo! Use A/B testing different iterations of your ads to track which elements are best resonating with your audience, and adjust appropriately.
#4: Engage in Retargeting Campaigns
Maybe your brand has caught viewers’ attention before, but for a plethora of reasons — timing, economic circumstance, distractions — they didn’t convert. You can stay top-of-mind with these potential customers by using retargeting campaigns aimed at those who have previously shown interest in your brand or products. Retargeting reminds these individuals of everything you have to offer, further nurturing interest and increasing the likelihood of conversion.
One particularly unique feature of CTV advertising is the ability to follow consumers on their journey across the internet and to the TV. Web-to-TV retargeting tracks website visitors and shows them connected TV ads at a time when they’re more likely to be engaged and relaxed. This reignites interest in your brand and increases your odds of converting a viewer to a customer.
#5: Avoid Ad Fatigue
You may have produced the best CTV ad ever made, but the more you show it to viewers, the more it dilutes the message. Ad fatigue occurs when viewers have seen your ads so many times that they instinctively start to tune them out, making your ad campaigns less effective. If you’re seeing fewer conversions and less engagement overall and your ads have been in rotation for a while, this could be a sign of fatigue.
Ideally, you’d be able to create a new ad from the ground up every time your metrics start to drop, but that’s not always realistic. Sometimes, all it takes is a little change of scenery — a different background color, a new CTA, fresh voiceover. You can even try mixing and matching creative assets from different campaigns to form a new message without having to start from scratch.
#6: Seal the Deal With the Right CTA
While you have viewers’ attention, you want to ensure they know what the next step is. To do this, you’ll need a clear, specific call to action. Depending on your business, there are a number of ways to direct consumers; do you want them to book an appointment? Download your app? Shop the exact products shown in the ad? Be direct and you’ll more easily guide audiences to the next step in the consumer journey.
You’ll want this step to be as frictionless as possible; asking viewers to type in a lengthy URL is probably not the best way to direct them to your website. Instead, look into QR codes, one of the most innovative facets of CTV advertising. Place a QR code on the screen and all viewers have to do is hold up their smartphones to be taken to your intended destination, whether that’s a specific page on your website or the app store.
#7: Partner with a Proven CTV Platform
When it comes to user acquisition strategy, it’s clear that connected TV should have a spot in your marketing mix. What comes next? Finding the right CTV platform. At tvScientific, we’ve created a one-of-its-kind platform purpose-built for performance marketers looking to increase reach, lift, and ROAS. Our outcome-based solutions help you target the right audience at the right time, with fully transparent analytics allowing you to track campaigns and optimize in real-time. Want to know why some of the world’s biggest consumer brands run CTV campaigns with tvScientific? Get in touch to set up a free demo.
