Social Media Retargeting Guide: 9 Strategies to Win Back Visitors

You spend time and money getting people to your site—then they leave. No sale, no signup, nothing. Sound familiar?

With 70% of carts abandoned on average, that drop-off is costing you. But social media retargeting can change the story—recovering 26% of lost sales and boosting brand recall by 57%, even after just one impression.

This article will break down how social media retargeting works, why it’s essential in 2025, and the 9 most effective strategies to help you re-engage lost visitors, boost conversions, and stay top of mind—across every major platform.

What is social media retargeting and why it matters

Social media retargeting is when you show ads to people who’ve already interacted with your brand but didn’t convert. That includes anyone who visited your website, clicked on a social post, or even watched your video.

This strategy works because it focuses on warm audiences. These users already know you. You just need to remind them why they showed interest.

Retargeting is a smart way to recover lost traffic. It’s proven to increase conversion rates and lower ad costs.

On average, 97% of website visitors leave without converting. Retargeting helps bring those people back with the right message.

Most users spend over 2 hours a day on social platforms, making social retargeting the best place to re-engage them.

How social media retargeting works in 2025

Retargeting starts with a tracking pixel. That’s a small code snippet you install on your site from platforms like Facebook, TikTok, or Pinterest.

When someone visits your site, the pixel collects data about what they did—like which pages they visited or if they added items to cart.

Later, when they browse social media, the platform uses that data to serve them your ad. It’s automatic and targeted.

This method lets you show product-specific ads (called dynamic retargeting) or more general brand reminders based on behavior.

Retargeting is more complex in 2025 because of tracking limitations. Safari and Firefox already block third-party cookies. Google Chrome is phasing them out too.

So marketers are switching to first-party data—like email addresses, CRM lists, and logged-in user data. Platforms like Facebook support this with Custom Audiences.

To keep campaigns privacy-compliant, you’ll need to combine pixel tracking with server-side tagging and consent tools.

Social media retargeting by platform: Best practices

Retargeting isn’t one-size-fits-all. Each platform has unique features. Here’s how to approach the main ones:

Facebook and Instagram

Use Meta’s Custom Audiences to build segments like:

• Website visitors
• Cart abandoners
• Instagram engagers
• Facebook video viewers

Pair those with Dynamic Product Ads to show users the exact items they browsed. Add Lookalike Audiences to scale.

Best practice: Exclude people who already converted, and cap ad frequency to avoid burnout.

LinkedIn (for B2B)

LinkedIn is ideal for high-ticket B2B retargeting. Use their Insight Tag to retarget:

• Website visitors
• People who clicked on your LinkedIn ads
• Leads who visited a specific landing page

Best practice: Use lead gen forms and retarget users who opened but didn’t submit.

YouTube

With YouTube, retarget based on how much of your video someone watched—25%, 50%, or more.

Best practice: Use TrueView ads and create sequential video retargeting. Start with education, then follow up with an offer.

TikTok

TikTok’s Pixel and Events API let you build audiences by:

• Page views
• Button clicks
• Product views
• Cart events

Best practice: Keep creatives short, visual, and native to the platform. Test product demo videos and user-generated content.

Twitter (X) and Pinterest

These platforms support retargeting too, but are more niche. Use them to retarget:

• Tweet engagers (X)
• Pin savers or link clickers (Pinterest)

Best practice: Use them as supplemental channels in a broader strategy.

Types of retargeting audiences you should use

Not all retargeting audiences are equal. The better you segment them, the more effective your campaigns.

Here are the top audience types to build:

1. Website visitors

Start here. You can segment by:

• All site visitors
• Specific product or category pages
• Checkout or cart pages
• Time on site (e.g. over 30 seconds)

These audiences are already warm. Use messaging that moves them closer to a purchase.

2. Video viewers

These are users who watched your video ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube.

Segment by how much they watched—25%, 50%, 75%. The more they watched, the more interested they are.

Use this group to move from awareness to conversion.

3. Engaged users on social

These are people who:

• Liked, commented, or shared a post
• Clicked your bio link
• Followed your account
• Messaged your brand

They’ve interacted with your content. Serve them ads that reinforce brand trust or offer value.

4. Cart abandoners and product viewers

Cart abandoners are gold. They added something to their cart but didn’t buy.

Show them exactly what they left behind using dynamic product ads. Include urgency or a small discount to nudge them back.

For product page viewers, suggest similar or complementary products.

5. Customer lists and CRM audiences

Upload email addresses from your CRM. Use these to:

• Retarget recent buyers with upsells
• Win back lapsed customers
• Run referral campaigns

These are the warmest leads. Keep messaging highly personalized.

9 proven social media retargeting strategies

These are not just best practices—they’re field-tested tactics used by high-performing brands to increase conversions, lower ad spend, and shorten sales cycles. Let’s dive into each.

1. Segment retargeting by funnel stage

People don’t buy for the same reasons. A user who just discovered your brand needs different messaging than someone who abandoned their cart yesterday. That’s why segmenting by funnel stage—Top (TOFU), Middle (MOFU), and Bottom (BOFU)—is essential.

How to implement:

• TOFU (Top of Funnel) – Audience: blog readers, social post engagers
  Ad type: Introduce your brand. Use educational content like case studies, explainer videos, or social proof to build awareness and trust. 
  Example: “See how [Brand] helped a startup 10X their leads.”
• MOFU (Middle of Funnel) – Audience: product page visitors, video viewers (50%)
  Ad type: Show how you solve problems. Use product comparisons, feature demos, or customer testimonials. 
  Example: “Here’s how we compare to [Competitor].”
• BOFU (Bottom of Funnel) – Audience: cart abandoners, trial users
  Ad type: Trigger action. Use urgency, limited-time offers, or pricing highlights to convert.
  Example: “Still thinking it over? Here’s 10% off—expires in 24 hours.”

Pro tip: Use platform-specific custom audiences (Facebook Custom Audiences, LinkedIn Matched Audiences, etc.) to build these segments.

2. Set up sequential retargeting campaigns

Sequential retargeting mimics the logic of email nurture flows—but in the ad space. Instead of blasting one message repeatedly, you guide users through a story or logical progression. This reduces fatigue and increases conversions.

How to implement:

• Ad 1 (Day 1–2): Introduce your brand (short video or carousel)
  “Here’s what we do and who we help.”
• Ad 2 (Day 3–5): Educate or demo your product
  “Here’s how we solve your problem.”
• Ad 3 (Day 6–10): Trigger action
  “Sign up now for 15% off or a free trial.”

You’ll need to build exclusion audiences to remove people from Step 1 once they see it and move them to Step 2, and so on.

Tools to use:

• Facebook Ads Manager's “Engagement” filters
• YouTube Ad sequences via Google Ads
• TikTok Events API with custom time windows

3. Use platform-specific ad creative

Every social platform has a different language. The same creative won’t perform the same way across TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube.

Examples:

• TikTok – Fast-paced, raw, vertical video; UGC-style ads work best
  Bad: Static image with text overlay
  Good: Unpolished video showing real use of the product in action
• Instagram/Facebook – Clean visuals, short captions, square or vertical format
  Bad: LinkedIn-style whitepaper ad
  Good: Quick carousel with product benefits + strong CTA
• LinkedIn – Professional, B2B messaging, industry relevance
  Bad: Trendy memes or dance videos
  Good: Thought leadership content with a lead gen CTA

Pro tip: Split test creatives per platform and monitor performance metrics like CTR and Cost per Result.

4. Retarget based on video view percentage

People who watch your videos—especially past the 50% mark—are warmer leads. They’ve given you time and attention. Now, give them a reason to act.

How to implement:

• Use Facebook Video View Custom Audiences or YouTube Viewer Segments
• Set up retargeting audiences for:
  • 25% watchers → light engagement
  • 50% watchers → mid-funnel
  • 75%+ watchers → high intent

Next step: Retarget 50%+ viewers with a lead magnet, product page ad, or conversion offer.

Example: “You watched how our product works—now try it free for 14 days.”

Pro tip: Use short, punchy videos at the start and test longer demos for follow-up retargeting.

5. Exclude converted users from campaigns

Serving ads to people who already purchased or signed up is a waste of ad spend—and it can annoy your customers.

How to implement:

• Create exclusion audiences using:
  • Conversion event pixels (purchase, lead, checkout)
  • Thank you page URLs
  • Uploaded CRM customer lists

A user who signs up for your SaaS trial should be excluded from BOFU “Start your trial” ads and instead moved into a “user onboarding” campaign.

Bonus: You can also use these audiences to upsell or cross-sell instead of retarget.

6. Set ad frequency caps to avoid burnout

Ad fatigue is real. People who see your ad too often without converting are more likely to ignore or block it over time, hurting your relevance score and raising costs.

How to implement:

• Set frequency caps per campaign or ad set
• Monitor performance drop-offs after 3+ impressions per day

Recommended caps:

• TOFU: 1–2 impressions/day
• MOFU: 2–3 impressions/day
• BOFU: 3–4/day max (for limited time)

Pro tip: Rotate creatives weekly to avoid fatigue. Even small changes in image, CTA, or copy can keep performance fresh.

7. Use dynamic product ads for eCommerce

These are the highest ROI retargeting ads in eCommerce. They show users the exact product(s) they viewed or added to cart—personalized and real-time.

How to implement:

• Connect your product catalog to Meta, TikTok, or Google
• Use Dynamic Ads for Broad Audiences to scale, or focus on cart abandoners
• Set up ad templates that auto-populate: product name, price, image, link

Example Ad Copy: “Still thinking about these shoes? They're waiting in your cart.”

Pro tip: Add urgency elements like:

• “Limited stock”
• “Selling fast”
• Countdown timers for promo codes

8. Build lookalike audiences from retargeted users

Retargeted users are your warmest audience. Creating lookalike audiences from this segment helps you reach new, high-quality prospects.

How to implement:

• In Facebook or Google, build a lookalike audience from:
  • Cart abandoners
  • Past converters
  • People who watched 75%+ of your video

Best practice:

• Start with a 1% similarity to keep the new audience closely matched
• Expand to 3%–5% for scaling once performance holds

Pro tip: Test separate lookalikes from each retargeting segment. A lookalike from email signups may perform differently than one from purchasers.

9. Combine retargeting with email automation

Single-channel retargeting is limiting. When you pair retargeting ads with email workflows, you increase touchpoints, recall, and conversion rate.

How to implement:

• Use platforms like Klaviyo, HubSpot, or Mailchimp that allow ad sync
• Trigger emails and ads in the same workflow based on:
  • Cart abandonments
  • Lead magnet downloads
  • Trial signups

Example Flow:

• Day 1 Email: "Here's your free guide"
• Day 1 Ad: Same lead magnet in carousel form
• Day 3 Email: “What did you think?”
• Day 3 Ad: Product demo with testimonial

Pro tip: Use different messaging in ads vs emails to avoid repetition. Email can go deeper; ads should stay brief and visual.

Final thoughts

If you're spending time and money to bring people to your site, you can’t afford to let them slip away without a second chance. That’s where social media retargeting becomes one of your most valuable marketing tools.

If you're looking for a faster, more flexible way to build retargeting ads—especially dynamic ones—Cropink can help. It lets you create on-brand, feed-based ads for Meta, plus image creatives for TikTok, Snapchat, and more, all in one place.

Better retargeting starts with better creative. Cropink makes that easy.

FAQs

Sources

1. Cropink. 50+ Retargeting Statistics Marketers Need to Know
2. Adroll. 5 Retargeting Strategies for Social Media
3. Sproutsocial. Retargeting
4. Hubspot. What Is Retargeting? How To Set Up an Ad Retargeting Campaign