As things change in the marketing world, a sort of marketing Darwinism happens. Some companies see the change, adapt, evolve and therefore become the new leader. Others hold fast to what they have, and usually, by the time they want to make a change, it’s too late.
Contemporary advertisers must face off against ad-blockers, the decline of print, countless media channels and a general apathy from the public because of advertisement overload. Underestimating any of these challenges could be fatal for your B2B communications.
While no major form of advertising has truly gone extinct, incorrect use of any B2B advertising tools could put your brand on the endangered species list.
Before you pick up your shovel, read these three tips to resurrect your B2B advertising.
1. Know where your prospects are
No, not in a creepy, stalky way. But since there are so many different places where your prospects may go for information, it’s important to make sure that your B2B advertising is speaking to your audience’s interests.
Age, position, gender and more will all affect where your prospects go for information. Younger people like Instagram. Business people use LinkedIn. 80% of Pinterest users are female. The list goes on. You need to know what appeals to your prospects and their interests so that you can put your ads in the right place.
The print industry still survives too — though the magazines are thinning out a bit. Those that remain most likely have a strong digital and social media presence. Therefore, if your demographic follows trade publications, this is a prime spot for advertising (especially in B2B).
2. Make use of new technology
The words “programmatic ad buying” and “retargeting” may be familiar words, as in when someone mentions them, you may nod your head without really knowing what they mean.
Retargeting is huge for retailers. Once you leave a site, an ad will pop up somewhere else showing whatever you were looking at previously. For these ads, you have to think carefully about your product. Is it going to be annoying for your customers? Or will it mean more brand exposure? (More exposure can be critical since research shows you need to make 6 touches with a prospect before they may consider buying.)
Programmatic ad buying uses software that automates ad buying, meaning you don’t have to haggle with people to place an advertisement. It’s almost like the stock market of the advertising world, allowing you to buy ads on the sites where you want to get noticed. You can also decide who will see your ad, which is indispensable in B2B advertising today.
Programmatic video ad buying is coming into its own now. Since video is the most engaging medium to date, placing your ads in the right place can be incredibly effective. For example, imagine placing an ad on a competitor’s video, and your ad overshadows their video. Savage!
In addition, all social media platforms now offer advertising options, which are fairly affordable and easy to use.
3. Creativity reigns supreme
Many ads go unnoticed. In fact, it is necessary to ignore many in your day! If you read every ad word for word, you’d risk rear-ending the car in front of you while driving, or not getting any work done while on the job. That being said, your B2B advertising is going to need to stand out in a sea of B2B communications.
Despite this, many people still talk about ads that touch them. Ads that are funny. Ads that are bizarre. Ads that speak to them on a personal level.
You may need to take advantage of some shock factor to break through the thousands of ads that are bombarding your prospects every day. Try challenging a popular opinion, using some unexpected colors or telling a humorous story to break through the clutter.
To the untrained eye, it may seem like B2B advertising is dead. But this is simply not the case. B2b advertising is alive and well, but has changed. Therefore, marketers need to change their communications strategy to match.
All marketing tactics should be thought of as part of a larger whole, rather than separate pieces. By strategically integrating all marketing tactics, the marketing program becomes more effective and cost efficient. As a B2B agency, we developed B2B 360 Integrated Digital Marketing to meet this improved performance need. To learn more about B2B 360 and how it will benefit your business, download our free eBook: The Better Path to Top-Tier Tech Marketing.
