Digital efforts in B2B marketing can create and upgrade leads
Digital efforts in B2B marketing can create and upgrade leads
Blog Article
In this section, we will take a closer look at, among other things, webinars, lead ads, content marketing and e-mail automation, which you can use in your B2B marketing to create and upgrade your B2B leads.
Focus on the customer journey, which I told you about in the introduction: The way the B2B customer researches today means that there can be a long stage from when the research begins and until we actually get to know the lead - i.e. until the moment when the lead gives make themselves known to us and provide the first contract information.
Therefore, marketing efforts must be considered at the various points in the customer journey. To give some initial inspiration, let me share the results of a survey Marketing Charts has done , which tells what content B2B customers are interested in:
Webinars
A webinar is an online version of a seminar, morning meeting or evening meeting. If you are used to holding these kinds of meetings as part of your B2B marketing, the transition to webinars will be easy, as you probably already have materials and agendas that you can reuse.
A webinar often has two purposes:
The one purpose is to show what you can do. You can do this by showing working methods, tools, implements, latest trends or cases. How much do you have to show? You are allowed to show so much that your stomach hurts a little. It is often the last part that creates the strong authority and credibility.
The second purpose may e to obtain leads. The vast majority who hold webinars use these as these updated 2024 mobile phone number data as gated content. This means that you must provide some of your contact information oi orders to gain access to the webinars.
Of easy and simple webinar systems, I can recommend Zoom , LiveStorm and BigMarker (we use BigMarker ourselves).
If you want to delve further into the subject, watch our webinar on low B2B webinars .
Case studies and case stories
You might think that case stories and case studies are the same. It's not quite. There is a difference:
Case studies: These are more formal and in-depth. They focus on providing a detailed analysis of a specific situation, project or implementation. Case studies are often structured more like reports, containing data, statistics and a thorough examination of processes and results.
Case stories: These are more narrative and focus on storytelling. They convey a customer's experience in a more personal and engaging way. Case stories are often less formal and more accessible, and they can be more effective in creating an emotional connection with the reader.
Both are very effective approaches in B2B marketing and content that the B2B customer is looking for.
Neither case studies nor stories are in themselves digital, but they can be conveyed in many ways digitally, from interactive infographics, video, animations to slide shows in Powerpoint, Google Sheets or PDF format.
With us, we only use case stories, and if you want to see how we build them, you can find them here .
When you have to advertise on social media in B2B marketing, it is very important that you distinguish between different types of target groups, especially cold audiences (new potential customers) and retargeting audiences (those who have previously interacted with your brand). And this applies regardless of whether you advertise on Facebook and Instagram, more B2B oriented media such as LinkedIn, or geeky media such as Reddit.
To engage these two different segments effectively requires different approaches.
Advertising to Cold Audiences: When advertising to a 'cold audience', it is important to focus on creating awareness and interest. These potential customers are at the top of the sales funnel ('top funnel') and may not have an immediate intention to buy. The goal here is to introduce your brand and your solutions. This can be, for example, through educational content, webinars, or well-thought-out ads that highlight your company's unique value proposition.
Advertising to Retargeting Audiences: Contrary to 'cold audiences', 'retargeting audiences' are those who have already had some form of interaction with your brand. They may have visited your website, engaged with your content, or even begun a purchase process. The goal here is to refresh their interest and lead them closer to a sale. This can be done through more targeted messages that reflect their previous interactions with your brand, such as personalized emails, offers on products they have viewed, or invitations to exclusive events or additional webinars.
Both of these approaches – advertising to 'cold' and 'retargeting audiences' – are fundamental to building a strong pipeline of potential leads. Once a solid understanding of these two segments is established, one can move on to more advanced techniques such as lead ads on social media, which gets a section of its own.
Facebook has Lead Ads. LinkedIn has Lead Gen Ads. And YouTube has Lead Form Ads. These ad formats are worth their weight in gold in B2B marketing.
They initially function as completely ordinary ads on the respective platforms.
When you advertise on LinkedIn , you can set it up so that when the user clicks on the ad, they are taken to a form with fields you have selected. It could, for example, be fields such as work email, name, company and telephone number.
The clever thing is that LinkedIn already has this information about the users and can thus pre-fill the fields.
It therefore requires very little for the user to click through the flow and turn himself into a lead.
You can use lead ads early in your funnel, for example as registration for a webinar or other gated content. But you can also use them late in the funnel as a definite contact form, "Book a meeting" or "Book a demo".
Remember to consider the target group in relation to the campaign objective.
If you go for "Book a meeting", it will in most cases make sense to use a retargeting target group and perhaps even a limited high-intent retargeting target group that e.g. have engaged a lot with your content recently, or have viewed high-intent pages on your website (for example, at least one product page and your contact page.
If you are looking for webinar registrations, it is typically earlier in the funnel, where the target group can easily be wider. On LinkedIn, it could be matched audiences based on people who look like visitors to your website, previously registered for webinars or your customers. It could also be account based marketing based on company names and/or job titles.
On Facebook and YouTube, you have slightly different targeting options when we're talking top-funnel. But the point is the same: the target direction should be set up in relation to the objective.
Never write off Facebook as a B2B company . Although Facebook looks like something we are only on in private, through retargeting and their very sharp interest objectives, we will be able to advertise to our target groups, regardless of whether they are on Facebook in their free time or during working hours.
SEO
For many, SEO is complex and unmanageable. But hang in there. Because SEO is both interesting and important in B2B marketing.
First of all: When you optimize your content with the right keywords, you create a bridge between your company's expertise and the customer's needs. You tell not only Google, but also your target audience that you have the answers they are looking for.
But in a B2B context, SEO doesn't just mean ranking high in Google searches, but also connecting with decision makers who are looking for answers to complex questions.
I see three general ways to attack SEO when you use it in your B2B marketing:
Content that drives the pipeline : This focuses on attracting potential customers who are ready for dialogue about buying. Typical content includes information about your business type, products or services, and comparisons of related or competing products.
Attention-grabbing content : The aim here is to inspire and inform. The user is looking for knowledge, not necessarily to buy. Content includes general guides, action plans, dictionaries and FAQs.
Support-driven content : Important for customer retention, especially in SaaS companies, this content helps existing customers with product guides and support.
However, it is important to understand that not all traffic is created equal. If you only create attention-grabbing content, don't expect it to drive the pipeline. And if you only create content that drives the pipeline, you will probably find that organic traffic takes up incredibly little of the overall traffic picture.
Both things can be fine. The important thing is that you create the forms of content that drive your business strategy, marketing strategy and including your SEO strategy.
Let me dive more into the attention-grabbing content – what you would also call content marketing.
Content marketing
Over the past 8-10 years, we have talked about content marketing . And it's still interesting.
In short, it's about creating content that informs and educates your potential customers.
When you base this content on a keyword analysis , you create a strong SEO foundation for your website. The interesting thing about doing content marketing on your website is that here you can partly get relevant tracking cookies for later retargeting advertising, and partly you have an easier time converting these visits into leads. For example via gated content through pop ups and content upgrades, which I will touch on further down in the article.
In addition, the content also has a longer lifespan. It can also be found next month and into next year. It therefore helps to brand you, to show that you have experience and expertise, which is particularly important when you work with SEO. Furthermore, content marketing can also contribute to link building , which is also important in SEO.
But Content marketing is not just content on your own website. There are also other element platforms that can drive it. For example, your activities on social media can also be content marketing.
LinkedIn organically
LinkedIn is an epicenter for professional networking in the vast majority of industries. Unfortunately, many B2B companies do not take advantage of the opportunities and make classic beginner mistakes on LinkedIn .
First of all, you have to think about content marketing in the way you create content for LinkedIn, then you will create high value. Talk about the problems you see in the market and that your potential customers have. Tell about the solutions.
Engage not least in your own comment track, but equally in your network's comment track.
You get out much further when you use your personal profile. But you must not forget the company profile. Because if potential customers go in and check your profile, it must not look like a graveyard. Make sure something comes out here too. You can possibly use the best performing personal posts and then republish them on your company profile.
However, don't expect the same reach. The company profiles just don't get out as far.
You can of course also use LinkedIn to distribute your other content marketing. However, be aware that the vast majority log on to LinkedIn to get some the platform. If you want to be a real pro, adjust here so that the user can consume the content on the platform.
You can of course also use linkedin to distribute your other content marketing. However, be aware consumable content that the vast majority log on to linkenid to get some easily on the platform. If you want to be a real pro, adjust here so that the user can consume the content on the platform.
Finally, you should also experiment with using other forms of content, so that it is not just plain text posts. It can be video, documents or images.
Here, for example, a video, which was recorded in connection with an online interview, and which we then used in a post:
Content upgrade
Imagine that you can transform your already valuable content on your website into something even more attractive for your visitors. This is exactly what a content upgrade does. By adding an extra layer of value, like an in-depth checklist, an informative whitepaper, or other relevant material, you create an irresistible lure for your target audience.
When your visitors see that they can gain even more insight and value by simply sharing their name and email, they'll likely feel motivated to do just that. And voila, you just turned an interested visitor into a potential lead.
But it doesn't stop here. With their contact information in hand, you have the opportunity to initiate a dialogue through email marketing automation, which I'll dive into in a moment.
This is not just a matter of collecting B2B leads; it's about making a meaningful connection with those who show interest in what you have to offer. Content upgrade is your opportunity to delve deeper into this relationship and exploit the potential to the full.
Gated content
We have already talked about a few types of gated content, namely webinars and content upgrades. But so could some of the things that the aforementioned Marketing Charts highlighted in their report:
Whitepapers: In-depth, research-based documents that explore specific topics or issues within an industry. They are often highly valued for their detailed content and are used to attract a professional audience.
eBooks: These are longer, comprehensive guides that cover a specific topic in detail. eBooks are ideal for attracting leads as they offer valuable and detailed information that the reader deems worth exchanging their contact information for.
Interactive Tools: These can be online calculators, assessment tools or quizzes that require the user to enter their email to access the full features or results. These tools are engaging and can attract a specific audience looking for solutions to specific problems.
This form of gated content, you can e.g. promote via a classic pop up on the website or via lead ads, and then ask for the user's contact information.
A good rule of thumb is that the less information you ask for, the more people will sign up. If you ask people for both name, e-mail, phone number, company name, company size and industry, you are making it too cumbersome.
Find a good balance. You can always ask for more info in your email marketing automation flow and use that behavior when the lead gives you more info in your lead scoring. Report this page