- 26.05.2025
Sergey Kozlov
Direct targeting is not just audience segmentation. This is a personalized communication, where advertising ceases to be a mass message and turns into an individual dialogue. Not with "women 25–34 from the metropolis", but with a man whose back hurt this morning, he googled orthopedic pillows and is now flipping through the Instagram feed at lunch.
What makes targeting «direct»?
In the classical sense, targeting is filtering. We choose: gender, age, interests, geography, behavior. Direct targeting is a transition from filtering to recognition. It is based on hyper-concrete insights: behavioral signals, triggers and intentions. This is work not with the audience, but with motivation.
Technologically direct targeting is implemented through:
- retargeting with dynamic creatives,
- segmentation by events (the card has been viewed, the product has been added to the cart, but not purchased),
- car audience by clicking on buttons, clicking on links,
- Lookalike models based on micro-conversions.
But the tool is not the main thing. The main thing is how and why you work with him.
Psychography is more important than demography
A 37-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman can be exactly the same customers — if they both sleep on an uncomfortable pillow and their neck hurts. Direct targeting is based on psychographics: contexts, scenarios, states. Not "young mothers", but "stressed by chronic fatigue". Not an "entrepreneur", but "is looking for a way to quickly automate the routine".
This requires not only knowledge of the audience, but also the ability to work with data about its behavior — both on the site and outside it. Direct targeting is always based on the hypothesis: who is this person, what state he is in, what he wants to avoid or achieve.
The role of content and creativity
Content in direct targeting is not a decoration. This is the carrier of meaning in which the user recognizes himself. The same product can be presented in ten ways — depending on what pain you touch.
Example: the same backpack is for sale.
- For an office worker, it is positioned as «accommodates a laptop and charger, but does not look bulky».
- For a young father — «free hands if you need to carry a child».
- For a cyclist — «ergonomic, does not interfere with fast driving».
Creativity should not just fall into the demographic group. He must speak the language of a person's task. Therefore, dozens of versions of one banner are used in live targeting, and A/B tests never stop.
Where direct targeting works
Platforms in which direct targeting can be effectively implemented:
- Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram) - due to deep behavioral analytics and user audiences.
- Google Ads — especially in e-commerce, where dynamic feeds and segments by intention are used.
- TikTok Ads — less accurate, but extremely effective with proper creative packaging.
- email and messenger marketing — especially in resales scenarios.
Retargeting, Custom Audiences, Lookalike, behavioral remarketing, personalized push notifications - all these are direct targeting tools. But the key is not what you use, but how you formulate the appeal.
Why direct targeting is more difficult, but more effective
The difficulty is not in technology — any specialist can cope with this today. Difficulty in working out hypotheses and scenarios. Direct targeting is constant testing, rethinking segments, abandoning universal formulations and fighting patterned thinking.
He doesn't give quick victories like «hit a wide audience and wait for the exhaust». It works slowly, but stably: builds connections, builds trust, gives high conversion with a smaller budget.
How to understand that you are using direct targeting
Check:
- Can you name not only the demographics of the client, but also his current state?
- Do your creatives solve a specific task, and not just "tell about the product"?
- Do you have any hypotheses about triggers — what triggers interest in the product?
- Do you divide segments by reasons for purchase, not by age and gender?
If yes — you are already on your way to real direct targeting.
It's not magic. This is a craft built on attention, observation and respect for real people, not marketing avatars.