Retargeting campaigns target users who have already visited a client's website, capturing warm interest that would otherwise go unconverted. Because these audiences have already demonstrated intent, retargeting typically delivers stronger ROI than cold prospecting campaigns. For visually oriented products, retargeting on visual platforms (Meta, YouTube) is especially effective.
Retargeting is often one of the first optimizations identified in an ad account audit — clients running only search or awareness campaigns are leaving significant conversion opportunity on the table.
In a review of PaperTube's Google Ads account, Asymmetric found the client was not running any retargeting campaigns despite having meaningful site traffic. This is a common gap: budgets default to search or broad awareness, and retargeting is treated as a later-stage addition rather than a baseline component of any paid media strategy.
"You're not running retargeting now, which is dumb, right? We should have retargeting on because those are people that are already interested." — Mark Hope, PaperTube & Asymmetric Marketing Call (Feb 2026)
Retargeting platform choice should match the nature of the product:
| Platform | Best For |
|---|---|
| Meta (Facebook/Instagram) | Visual products, direct-to-consumer sales, broad B2C audiences |
| YouTube | Highly visual products; cost-efficient (pay only on full views) |
| Google Display | Broad reach across the web for existing site visitors |
| B2B retargeting, enterprise audience segments |
For visually driven products (e.g., custom packaging), Meta and YouTube are prioritized because the product's appeal is best communicated through imagery and video rather than text-based search ads.
Retargeting sits within a layered ad strategy:
Retargeting should be activated early in any engagement, as it requires no new creative infrastructure beyond what is already used for prospecting — and it immediately improves the efficiency of existing spend.
Once retargeting is established, ABM contact lists (e.g., a curated list of 250 target accounts) can be uploaded to LinkedIn or Meta to generate lookalike audiences — expanding reach to users who resemble known high-value prospects. This bridges the gap between direct outbound (ABM email) and paid social, creating a coordinated multi-channel presence.
"We can take this list of contacts that are in your ABM program, and we can feed that to LinkedIn and say, this is who we're trying to sell to. And it will create a lookalike audience and say, who are other people like this?" — Mark Hope