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Business-to-business (B2B) lead generation has always been challenging. Some of the many significant hurdles are engaging decision-makers, streamlining the sales funnel, and, most notably, reaching the right audience.
However, we have one incredibly effective strategy for conquering these challenges that you simply cannot ignore. That strategy is leveraging Microsoft Advertising. Why? Microsoft Advertising allows you to use the power of LinkedIn to target professionals in various industries and positions, but at a much lower Cost Per Click than advertising directly on LinkedIn.
Unlike business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing, B2B marketing involves selling products or services to other businesses. This often necessitates dealing with a longer sales cycle, multiple decision-makers, and larger buy-in costs. The B2B market is complex, and drawing the attention of ideal customers is a considerable task.
Traditional means of marketing like Facebook and Google Ads may fall short of the mark when targeting B2B because you can’t specifically target the correct people. You’ll end up with a load of leads, only some of which will actually be the high quality B2B prospects you were looking for. You also have to contend with other things like:
Optimizing ad campaigns specifically for B2B lead generation can provide a significant edge in the fierce competition for viable leads. It is an effective way to extend reach, engage potential clients, and convert them to sales-qualified leads. However, marketers need to leverage the right ad platforms to make these campaigns work to their potential.
For B2B advertisers, only two platforms truly fit the bill: LinkedIn and Microsoft Advertising.
With Microsoft Advertising, you can target audiences using LinkedIn profile information in Text Ads, Dynamic Search Ads, Shopping Campaigns and Audience (Display) Ads. Note: Advertisers can be located anywhere in the world, however at present they’ll only be able to target users in US, CA, UK, AU, FR and DE. Of course, this is subject to change!
Industry
You have a wide array of choices, with a selection spanning 147 diverse industries. These industries range from expansive, well-established sectors to more specialized, niche markets. This diversity grants you the flexibility to cast a broader net in your targeting strategy compared to exclusively focusing on specific companies or job roles. It’s also a valuable resource for your retargeting efforts.
Among the industries available for targeting are:
Job Function
With a current listing of 26 distinct job functions, you can precisely identify and engage with professionals in specific roles. This versatility enables you to tailor your campaigns to a wide spectrum of career paths.
Some of the job functions you can target include:
Company
As of 2022, Microsoft Ads hosts a staggering 80,000+ companies that have established their presence. This extensive database offers advertisers a practical level of granularity. You can curate company targeting lists that encompass everything from globally recognized corporate giants to some small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as some independent sole traders and freelancers.
Among the companies available for targeting are:
The Microsoft Advertising plus LinkedIn targeting strategy presents with the following benefits:
Microsoft Advertising serves a great role in B2B lead generation by providing various ad formats and unique audience targeting methods tailored to B2B marketing. The platform boasts a high buying power and a highly educated audience. When it comes to B2B-specific demographics, Microsoft Advertising offers an audience of:
Before delving into ad development, it’s crucial to define your target audience clearly. Developing buyer personas, understanding their challenges, and identifying how your product or service can help are key steps in effective B2B lead generation.
Correctly defining your audience is always important to an ad campaign, but it’s crucial in B2B advertising. If you don’t start with the correct audience, you could put yourself months behind since the customer journey can be up to a year.
Wasting time (and money!) on the wrong people could double or triple the time for you to see qualified leads.
Choosing the right keywords is critical in running successful search ad campaigns. The right keywords increase your ad visibility to the correct audience and enhance the chances of lead conversion. With B2B lead generation, it isn’t just a matter of intent. It’s about using the right jargon.
If you use layman’s terms for something you’re selling and that’s not how the potential customer would look for it, your ads won’t show to the right people.
Compelling ad copy engages potential leads and motivates action. Concise, persuasive copy boosts engagement and entices users to explore your business. But you need to be at the top of your game with B2B ad copy. You need to have a clear offer or benefit in your ads with a strong call to action (CTA).
For high-ticket items, it’s likely you’ll need to send your ads to a lead magnet. That means you’ll have to create enough intrigue to get people to your page.
Here are some best practices:
Microsoft Advertising offers various ad formats, such as Multi-Media Ads, Expanded Text Ads, Responsive Search Ads, and Performance Max Ads. Each has its benefits and can be leveraged depending on your marketing objectives.
Use the ad types to reach your audience strategically. Build a funnel with all of the ads at your disposal. You’ll need to pull users down your funnel. Remember, a business is unlikely to convert from just one ad.
Optimization only happens through data analysis. Don’t just focus on the usual metrics reports looking at clicks and conversions from the campaign and ad group level. Dig deeper with Microsoft’s reporting on the professional demographics.
Analyze what levels show engagement. A/b test your messages based on click-through and conversion rates of the best demographics. Create landing pages that call out these demographics.
Here are some ideas for campaign testing and optimization:
Proper conversion tracking is a must for B2B lead generation. Since you are likely to have a series of lead magnets, webinars, and other “conversions,” then you’ll need to make sure you track it all. Then, use it to your advantage.
For instance, you’ll want to target people who signed up to download lead magnet X or viewed a key page. Doing so will help you to spend the bulk of your budget on highly targeted lists.
By the same token, key metrics will help guide you in your strategy. Conversions and sales (or closed leads) are your end goal, but you should discuss with your team which metrics show the interest you’re looking for. Remember, it’s not just about the sale. It’s also about qualifying the audience.
Retargeting can mean a lot of things. To many advertisers, it means targeting people who visited your site, maybe performed an action like an add to cart, and didn’t make a purchase.
B2B retargeting is about moving qualified leads down the funnel, so you are going to have more lists encompassing many stages. Some ideas for lists are:
A landing page acts as the storefront of your online business. It’s the first impression of your business. Therefore, its optimization is crucial in impressing potential leads and converting them.
Landing page best practices include:
Microsoft allows you to do much more than run your average B2B lead generation campaigns. You can leverage data that makes your ads more targeted and effective.
Optimizing Microsoft Advertising for B2B lead generation leads to superior results, as evidenced by improved engagement, lead conversion, and click-through rates. Moreover, the ability to leverage LinkedIn’s professional data within Microsoft Advertising enables the creation of highly targeted campaigns.
It’s time to take action and utilize these insights to achieve your B2B lead generation goals.
We love talking PPC and spend most of our time chatting with agencies, so if you have a question please do drop us a line!
Also, Adpulse comes with a 14-day free trial, and right now the first month is only $19.99/mth, so it’s a low-risk way to try it for yourself. Sign up now!
