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Methods of Business-To-Business Advertising…You Can Use

Introduction

Business-to-business advertising is the strategy used to get your target market to pay attention to your business (products and services). With the hopes that they’ll end up purchasing a product from you.

Zig Ziglar says “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.”

It’s absolutely true, if you don’t take your time and energy to know who your customers are. Identify your buyer personas, certainly you will have no idea who you need to advertise your products and services to. However, many of the tactics from the “Mad Men” era still apply today. Therefore, for your business to really succeed with business to business advertising, there is need to learn and know how to apply those tactics in a digital platform.

Many B2B marketers do shy away from digital advertising because things like paid search and social media ads seems to have been created for B2C companies. Refused to get caught up in this and get left behind. If you don’t like what’s being done, then try another strategy. Life is evolving, meaning B2B is also evolving alongside with it. Today, most brands are using digital advertising successfully to push their B2B businesses to new heights! They are the ones using the proved strategies. So, the question now, is how can your business reap the benefits and also create a strong advertising plan?

In this article, we will see how you can be able to improve your B2B products and service offerings and at the same time stir up more sales;

What is business-to-business advertising? And how does it work?

Business-to-business advertising "This picture shows what business-to-business is all about"
This picture shows what business-to-business is all about.

Business-to-business advertising is a type of advertising that refers to the area of advertising directed towards other businesses of individual customer. This Business-to-business advertising, or B2B  advertising, often play out between companies that are mainly seen in the middle of a product or service’s supply chain. This will require the promotion of products, like the day-to-day office equipments. Important parts used to improve another company’s product, or services. For instance, human resources consulting or logistics are majorly designed to help businesses grow.

what is business-to-business marketing?

How does business-to-business advertising work?

While business-to-consumer (B2C) advertising main focus is to reach the person that will take the decision in a household. Business-to-business advertising is focusing on how to reach the employees of a business who is responsible for purchasing decisiong in a family. Customers may be able to take a fast decision on whether a product is of interest. Businesses, often are slower and go through a lot of complicated process, because of the cost of producing the products may be high and need due approval from various levels of management.

Venues

Business-to-business advertising is in various ways different from Business-to-customer advertising. However, companies need to pay closer attention to the media choices they have. This will enable them create suitable environment which might be difficult to come by. For example, will local newspapers be able to reach enough decision-makers or could a trade publication offer better returns? Will digital or  mobile advertising be able to work better than print? Could expensive radio or television advertising be worth the investment? Knowing your customer will help guide your advertising spending decisions, you will take.

Messaging

Before committing to any venue, Business-to-business advertiser must be fully aware of his or her target market and audience in order to create a message. This is possible with research and surveys that could either be bought or self-performed. First, this message need be tested, to see if it will appeal the target market. With such information, the advertiser is well equipped with a strategy that will feature a primary goal. Such as increasing your business leads, conversions, or entire traffic. The message should be able to convey the company’s values, explain in full details their puroduct’s best features. And the company’s value proposition, whether the business alongside with its products or services will help the customers save their time and/or their money.

The Digital Space

In business-to-business advertising, the advertiser should be well skilled in order to translate his or her message. This will involve the use of their website and social media platforms. Customers can easily find a business-to-business company online on a website that displays its brand story. You must also have a content strategy that will serve both old and potential customers with expertise and solutions. Articles, videos, testimonials should be utilized too. And more content form should be created around a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. This will seek to answer questions your customers may have. You should fully utilize your websites and social media presence to engage with your customers. With this digital space , there are a lot of things you sell online.

Types of business-to-business advertising

B2B radio advertising

The advantage of B2B Radio Advertising is that it targets local customers.

There’s a popular saying that when you buy a radio advertisement, you have not only bought an ad but an audience. Your business will target customers within the location of your business who lives and works there. A time will come that word-of-mouth may not be effective. Then, a local recognition through a well-known radio personality or organization will be the best thing to do. However, your radio ad must be relevant to local events, familiar locations, and other place-specific characteristics. It will help to speak to potential customers in a meaningful way.

Radio Advertising play a huge role on customers’ daily habits. Radio ad played during morning and evening broadcast are a perfect way to make the most out of your radio advertising budget. This is certainly the most expensive times to play your ad, it’s also one of the most listened to.

B2B TV advertising

TV advertising is an important tool for enterprise marketers, it is still the largest opportunity for agencies.

TV advertising will always remain the major focus of marketing campaigns for nearly one quater. That’s 22% of U.S Enterprises indicated that TV is their number-one important channel. However, 85% of these companies have a website, and almost 80% of them are still active on social media.

This finding strongly suggest that many enterprise companies solely rely on digital platforms as part of their multi-channel approach. In an effort to be where their customers are. They also rely solely on traditional types of advertising such as TV.

B2B online advertising

Reaching your target customer and the lead generation goals, requires using one of the online platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. This also utilize marketing methods which include: search, display, mobile, remarketing and local listings etc. Your goal is to tailor an online advertising method to fit your business needs. The technology used allows all your clients’ dollars to be tracked and improved on a daily basis to accommodate the online search trends that will best benefit them from a lead generation standpoint.

B2B social media advertising

It might not be where you can be able to convert the greatest number of leads. This will likely show up at the beginning of your customers’ purchasing journeys.

Social media is a powerful tool for building brand awareness, giving your company an online presence, humanizing your business. A powerful factor in marketing and connecting with potential customers. Like email marketing, social media is also a more highly effective channel to share your content and enhance your brand expertise. All these are done to be able to build wealth.

Importance of business-to-business advertising

Driven by business needs

In business-to-business advertising, the sale is driven more by business needs. Unlike customer transactions that are fueled by discounts, promotions, aspirations, or impulsive buys. But B2B advertising is completely driven by a business need. This need might be a required investment (for instance, think of HR software or desks), an enhancement (better tools or team trainings). Or, a purchase that’s intended to sharpen an image (specialty snacks or corporate swag).

However, it is important that when creating a B2B advertising campaign, it’s important to always consider the central need you are marketing to. And how your product or service will satisfy their need.

Maintain relationships

Business-to-business advertising is all about maintaining relationships. Although this can also be said of business-to-consumer advertising. But B2B advertising depends on a different type of relationship. Since B2B sales are less influenced by impulses, promos or discounts, there’s always room for relationships to inform the transaction.

For instance, your company purchased breakroom snacks from a vendor, there’s more likely that you’ll stick with that vendor month-over-month, unless there is a problem with the relationship. Probably poor products, high rates, or late deliveries can weaken this relationship, causing your company to build a new relationship with a different vendor. As a brand, you need newsletters, webinars, events, social media, and regular check-up calls in the B2B advertising method to help long-term relationship thrive over the years.

Conceptualized alongside consumer advertising

B2B advertising can be conceptualized together with customer advertising. As an advertiser, you need to research to know if your client is selling only to businesses. As well as if they also need to invest in a direct-to-customer campaign.

This will not only influence their marketing budget, but it will also equip you to understand and consider how multiple strategies can support or hurt each other. Especially in this age of social media, marketers or advertiser must be conscious of how their brand message translates to both customers and larger businesses. And how these messages can also be able to complement each other. Multi-faceted B2B advertising methods might be required to add effectively where traditional digital marketing are ineffective.

Methods of business-to-business advertising

Paid search

Business-to-Business Advertising "A Google search with paid ads appearing first"
A Google search with paid ads appearing first

Paid search, popularly known as search engine marketing (SEM) and search advertising. It s an online ads that surfaces in search engine results when you’re surfing on platforms like Google AdWords or Bing Ads. This will show when you are using a search engine to find a certain information, search advertising are things that will show up in the top areas of your Google search. Paid search advertising is a perfect method to get an audience who is seriously looking for answers to see your ads. You will advertise or market to online users with the intent to buy products or services.

Business-to-business advertising "Bing search of the same keyword with Google search"
Bing search of the same keyword with Google search

So, with the two pictures above, these ads offer a business pain point solutions. This will clearly show a superb method to advertise. Your ad is offering a potential customer service they want. Paid search advertising will ensure that when your potential customers searches online, they will certainly find you.

Paid social

Paid social or social advertising is the type of advertising that shows on a social media platform. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are paid to promote a business’ products or services through boosted posts, promotions and also offers.

Social ads will help in targeting potential customers through personal, professional, demographic and behavioral parameters that will allow you reach the people. Not just buyer intent but people who are relevant. With paid social advertisements, you are effectively targeting, call to action buttons, useful tracking and analytics to get fast results on important platforms everyone uses daily.

Business-to-business advertising "A Facebook ad"
A Facebook ad

Display advertising

Display ads are those ad boxes that appears on a site, either on the tops or sides of it. These ads are regarded as the billboards of the internet. It will allow you run ads on millions of websites on Google’s Display Network (or other display networks like it, if Google’s not working for you). These search engines will help in sharing your ads to sites and apps based on keywords targeting preferences.

It is more like a digital billboard and there are various ways to pay for it:

  • Cost per thousand impressions (CPM)
    This method, you will subscribe to have your ad load in front of internet users a certain number of times. To pay for impressions is known a cost per impression advertising model.
  • Fixed cost
    Fixed cost is setting a specific amount you are willing to pay for your ad to display for a period of time, not minding the engagement. Most times, it’s created by a network partner who will run your ads across a number of sites, based on your targeting.

Native advertising

Native advertising is referred to as paid content that is shared on a publication site that will identify or matches with your business’s established style. It will help in providing the kind of information that the site’s audience wants.

Video advertising

Visuals, particularly videos, are the key to the success of marketing in today’s world. Research has it that more than 25% of Instagram’s advertisements are now in video format. A powerful sample of engaging, creative and personable advertisements is Facebook’s “Connection” video. This portrayed the human need for connection beautifully. As well as explained how Facebook solved the problem of connecting with other people.

Videos are easy to share, a perfect way to incorporate your brand’s story through an engaging set of visuals. In most cases, for B2B companies, an explainer video works better! So, look for ways, strategies to creatively advertise and share brand awareness of your B2B business.

Content marketing

Many studies out there have established that publishing a consistent amount of content a month will considerably raise your website traffic! In fact, business that publishes 16+ blog posts per month will get almost 3.5X more traffic than a business that publishes between 0-4 monthly posts.

Whether it’s blogging, whitepapers, eBooks or podcasts, that really work when you do it correctly. Each time you publish an engaging content, you’re creating a new and amazing opportunity to be found on search engines, social media and by new potential clients.

B2B content marketing is centered on giving potential customers value, information and a reason to choose you over others. Whether it’s sharing helpful information, creating entertainment, or developing a community that will help them feel part of something bigger. Content should always give people value. If you always do this, potential customers will come around to invest and engage with you.

Email marketing

Email marketing is regarded as the cheapest form of online business to business advertising. It is actually used to complement other digital marketing efforts. All you need to do, is pay an email marketing services like MailChimp, HubSpot or Autopilot.

Business-to-Business Advertising "A good example of an email marketing because it takes its time to educate their subscribers without blatantly selling to them"
A good example of an email marketing because it takes its time to educate their subscribers without blatantly selling to them. 

It’s when a business sends some kind of targeted email to a purchased lead list or even a customer list. During the process of purchasing a product or service online. A customer may decide to offer the company their email address as a way to contact him/her with future deals and information.

Emails like these will help to encourage all types of customer actions: buying products, redeeming special offers. As well as reading interesting content, interacting with your page on social media or even completing a survey. The email in question, can be newsletters, promotional emails, appreciations, or even content downloads.

Conclusion

The above mentioned are the major methods to consider when considering to expand your business-to-business advertising efforts. You need to dive in, set up a business plan, then, be creative, build meaningful relationships. This will help you to enjoy the digital advertising of today too, if only you will go digital with your business-to-business advertising.

Methods are constantly changing, the opportunities and level of success are endless. You too can be an important part of the business-to-business advertising world. As well as be a major key player in the conversation using these business-to-business advertising strategies.