Many believe that competition forces businesses to improve. Just look at rivalries like Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi, Visa vs. MasterCard, Xbox vs. PlayStation, or Apple vs. Microsoft. Of course, taking customers from competitors is part of the excitement. Advertising can help you do just that! This article will teach you five clever competitive advertising techniques to reach your competitors’ customers and, hopefully, convert them into loyal patrons. Evil laughter

1. Target Facebook Users Interested in Your Competitors

Although Facebook Ads doesn’t offer keyword targeting and prevents directly targeting those who like your competitors’ pages, it does offer interest-based targeting. Facebook interests range from broad topics like “business” or “entrepreneurship” to highly specific ones. You should target the specific interest of your competitor’s name because Facebook allows targeting based on preferred brands and products.

Enter your competitor’s website URL. If that doesn’t work, experiment with their brand name or keyword combinations to determine the most effective way to connect with their audience—which is now your target demographic. Here are three additional methods for targeting your competitors’ audiences using paid social media strategies.

2. Disrupt Your Competitors’ Videos with YouTube Ads

I was recently looking for an AT&T ad on YouTube. Before I could watch it, I had to sit through another ad – a common experience nowadays. The brilliant part was that this ad wasn’t for AT&T, but for its competitor, Sprint. This Sprint ad highlighted why it’s a superior provider to AT&T and presented an offer to switch carriers before I could even see the ad for the brand I had searched for. To implement this competitive advertising strategy in your campaigns, create the most captivating TrueView ad possible, allocating your desired budget. While there are many targeting options available, such as demographics, interests, keywords, and remarketing, today, we’re focusing on the competition! Ensure your video ads are strategically targeted so that they appear first whenever someone searches for your competitor’s YouTube videos. With the right approach, they might not even watch your competitor’s video!

A memorable video ad is key to maximizing results.

3. Use Your Competitors’ Emails Against Them with Gmail Ads

Another clever competitive advertising tactic you should utilize is targeting individuals who have recently shown interest in your competitors’ offerings. Gmail Ads (those ads displayed at the top of users’ personal email accounts’ Promotions tabs) allow for keyword targeting based on your competitors’ brand terms. As we speak, potential customers interested in your competitors’ products are receiving emails containing those brands’ terms. For instance, if you were competing with Sephora, your Gmail ad campaign could target its brand name, ensuring that every time a Sephora newsletter lands in someone’s inbox, your brand does too. Naturally, your email should highlight your fantastic competing site, products, and reasons why they should check you out. To capture some of those sales, target your competitors’ trademarks. Craft compelling email subject lines that entice users to click on your Gmail Ads. Prioritize high-performing subject lines with the highest open rates—your unicorns. As a bonus, since these individuals are already considering a competing solution, your ads are more likely to be clicked, lowering your costs.

Discover more of my top Gmail Ads tips here.

4. Reach Your Competitors’ Audiences through the Google Display Network

Google offers excellent display ad technology. However, to outperform your competition, leverage Google’s custom audiences.

To maximize effectiveness and avoid wasting your ad budget, target your competitor’s home page. Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) will then identify the brand trademarks and behaviors of those who visit and show interest in that domain name (or search for related content). Consider MailChimp as an example. It’s a publication catering to businesses engaged in email marketing. If I’m running a similar business targeting email marketers, MailChimp visitors would be the foundation of our “ideal customer” for our display ads. This approach familiarizes the right audience with your brand and offerings. With the right message, you can start taking business away from your competitors and experience significant growth. For a deeper dive into this strategy, check out these methods for targeting competitor audiences on Google without search ads.

5. Download & Target Your Competitors’ Twitter Followers

Tools like BirdSong Analytics enable downloading lists of every Twitter follower for any account, including your competitors. Costs typically start around $35 and increase based on follower count. Once you have the report, use the Twitter handles to create a list for upload to Twitter Ads. Be sure to select “add tailored audiences.” The list will take approximately 3 hours to process. You can then design ads to put your business in front of Twitter users who already follow your competitors and are likely interested in similar products or services. Genius, isn’t it?

With your budget set, the fun begins: crafting compelling tweet copy. Here are a few quick and easy ways to make your Twitter ad creative stand out. Important note: Twitter’s own “advice” for ad success is rather underwhelming, so read my article, “How to REALLY Run a Twitter Lead Generation Campaign.” Find more ways to target your competitors’ audiences on paid social media here.

Don’t Let Your Competitors Have All the Fun!

These competitive ad strategies place your business in front of users already interested in your competitors, increasing their likelihood of being interested in your products or services. Your job is to demonstrate your superiority! . And there’s even more! Here are three additional (and more affordable) Google Ads alternatives for targeting competitor audiences.