Ideas for weather triggered marketing campaigns
We've been talking a lot about the weather lately here at Driftrock. Not because the World Cup is over and we're bored or have run out of things to talk about, but because we've just launched our cool new tool: Triggers, for weather triggered Facebook ads and Adwords!
So…why weather?
The weather doesn't have to be the boring, safe subject of many a (awkward) elevator conversation. It can make for excellent ad campaigns and can really impact your acquisition strategy. Do you use the weather for your marketing?
Think about it – every year retailers report having their sales affected by the weather, meaning that it has the power to impact footfall. Despite some studies concluding that there might not be direct causation, there is some sort of complicated relationship between weather and sales.
Moreover, weather certainly has an impact on the sales of different product categories throughout the year. Umbrellas when it rains and ice cream when it’s warm are the most obvious examples, but there are countless products and services whose sales are affected by the weather.
OK weatherman, I’m a marketer so why should I care?
Of course, most of this information isn't new. If your company’s been running for a while, chances are you already know very well how weather affects your sales, and when you should focus your marketing efforts on specific product categories.
But what does this mean for your Facebook ads (or other online advertising) strategy?
Suppose you're an e-commerce business running ads for offsite conversions, and you know that you get more traffic and conversions when it's raining. If you get an average of, say, 25% more conversions when the weather is bad, then you can bid up to 25% higher and it's much more likely that your ads will be shown more often and that you won't get low quality website clicks.
Since you already know that your sales are better when the weather is bad, timely ads can reduce your risk and your hassle immensely. You reach customers at the right time and your CPA probably won't suffer either, which is what is really important. Weather offers you a very powerful way of targeting your audience. (Click to tweet)
We're big advocates of timely, relevant and better marketing (and low CPAs!), so we've put together a few ideas on how to use weather conditions for marketing.
Come rain, come shine, there are plenty of products and services to advertise throughout the year, in all types of verticals. Timely adverts means you can be there even before your customers are looking for you. Imagine:
On a warm summer day, Emma is sitting at her desk feeling uncomfortably hot. She is scrolling down her Facebook news feed when BAM! She sees an ad that conveys exactly what she's feeling right now.
Or you can also create brand awareness by associating your brand with a certain type of weather, by being there at the right time. (Click to tweet)
Harness the power of the weather
Probably the only thing better than more timely and relevant ads is automated timely and relevant ad delivery. Since we love automation and playing with Facebook ads, we’ve cooked up a tool that automatically triggers Facebook ads depending on the type of weather, so you can easily have your own timely, relevant ad campaigns without having to worry about any of it. Triggers gets weather and forecast data for cities and towns all over the world, and takes care of your existing campaigns. Just set it up in 30 seconds and you’re good to go!
