B2B Monday Myth: Social Media Does Not Generate Quality Leads
by MGB2B
The Myth: Social media does not generate quality B2B leads.
The Truth: B2B companies are finding (and converting) leads on social.
Contrary to popular belief, social media is not limited to social interaction alone. It serves as a useful marketing tool for managing and enhancing lead acquisition. B2B businesses can use social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and even Facebook to interact with potential customers and generate leads. And once B2B leads have been acquired on social media, they are 13% more likely to convert than leads found by other tactics. In order to generate B2B leads on social media, follow these three tips:
- Create compelling content. Keeping your audience engaged (and growing) is crucial to generating new leads. Create and curate content for your social media channels that your audience will find useful, interesting, and/or entertaining. Running low on content ideas? Here are 5 simple ways to make your content more effective on social.
- Track what content is the most effective. While keeping a steady stream of content flowing on your social channels is important, simply publishing without analyzing could lead you to repeat mistakes. Track what content is working by looking at clicks through to your website and interactions on each channel. If long-form articles are not generating much attention, consider adapting to a form that is easier to digest, like video content, and vice versa.
- Commit to social media and be reliable. If you are connecting with potential leads one day, you cannot abandon the effort the next day. The worst thing a B2B marketer can do is go radio silent on social media. Effective social media use requires commitment and constant diligence. Make sure you respond to leads in a timely manner and post new content regularly.
With these tips in mind, you can launch into your week focused on generating new, quality leads on social media. Good luck, and Happy Monday!
Continue ReadingB2B Monday Myth: Your Marketing Should Target Boomers and Gen Xers
by MGB2B
The Myth: B2B Marketing to Millenials doesn’t work. Brands Should Only Target Baby Boomers and Generation X
The Truth: Millennials Are Making B2B Decisions
It’s no surprise that millennials, those of us born between 1977 and 1995, are influencing many of the trends in B2B marketing. Yet many B2B marketers still believe that this generation is not responsible for making any B2B purchasing decisions. If your company is concentrating marketing efforts solely on Boomers and Gen Xers, you may be surprised to learn these 3 facts about B2B marketing to millennials:
3 Surprising Facts About B2B Marketing to Millennials
- 46% of B2B researchers today are under 35. According to a 2015 Think With Google report, millennials are playing increasingly important roles in researching purchases and making buying decisions for their companies. If you’re not taking millennials into consideration in your content and media choices, you could be losing more sales than you realize.
- Your website is the second most important part of vendor research. After search engines, a B2B vendor’s website is the most important part of the research process in the eyes of millennials. And as a generation that was raised online, millennials are going to expect more from your website than, well, just a website. It needs to be mobile friendly. After all, 42% of B2B research is being done on a mobile device.
- Millennials value case studies and white papers. When nearly 1,500 millennials involved in B2B buying decisions were asked which content format was most important when researching a purchase, video unsurprisingly came out on top at 29%. What was surprising, however, were the next two choices: case studies (19%) and white papers (16%). The common misconception that millennials aren’t interested in long-form B2B content is just that: a misconception. That being said, it is wise to return to your existing materials and give them a refresher with a younger audience in mind, in particular, making them easy to find on your website.
When it comes down to it, the motive of B2B marketing is to reach those who would be interested in what you have to offer. Why rule out a generation whose influence has steadily been growing in the industry? Good luck reaching this growing audience and Happy Monday!
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A Call to Arms: AdWords Ad Extensions Can Be Your Greatest B2B Digital Marketing Ally
by MGB2B
HEY YOU!!!
Did I catch your attention? One of the overall goals of any B2B digital marketing campaign is to catch the audience’s eye and stand out from the competition. In a highly competitive arena like Google paid advertising, where our opportunities to attract quality attention are governed by strict rules like not being able to write something cheesy like “HEY YOU!!!” in an ad’s headline, and even stricter character limits, although this is getting a bit better lately with Google’s addition of new Expanded Text Ads, finding a way to separate yourself from the playing field can often be daunting. But fear not: Ad Extensions are here!
Any AdWords marketer worth their digital salt knows about ad extensions. They’re those complimentary bits of information that can show next to or below a text ad. There are a wealth of these extensions, and each allows the marketer the opportunity to give their audience a bit more info connected to their ad. But let’s focus on two that often go overlooked when setting up a B2B digital marketing campaign in AdWords.
AdWords Ad Extensions: Your Greatest Ally in the Fight for B2B Audiences’ Attention
Call Extensions: Call extensions allow you to show the phone number of your company alongside a text ad. This is a great way to improve your audience’s engagement with your ads. If a customer is using a desktop computer, your text ad will show your company’s phone number below the headline. If they’re searching on a smart phone, a “Call” button will show next to the add, allowing the customer to call you directly from the Google search results page with just one touch of their screen. This can be particularly handy in the B2B market, where an on-the-go salesman or contractor is searching for your company’s offerings.
Callout Extensons: Callout extensions run below a text ad providing added details about your company or offers, like the “Free Shipping” etc. in the ad below. These extensions offer you a fantastic way to highlight the key elements of your business in a structured line, and can be set up on an account, campaign or ad group level. And unlike their cousin Sitelink extensions, Callout extensions aren’t a clickable link and don’t require a unique attached URL. This allows you to single out special offers and calls to action, while still directing the audience to the landing page you’d originally chosen for your text ad. When trying to catch the attention of a busy B2B searcher, this can make or break an ad’s performance.
While both of these extensions offer their own specific audience engagement opportunities, they also provide an even more valuable service: they grab the searcher’s attention and make your ad stand out from the rest. On a search results page any available space is valuable, and both of these extensions allow you to take up more space than a stand-alone text ad would. And they add an air of authority and credibility to your ads, encouraging click confidence in your audience.
Historically, ads that show extensions like these can expect to see above average click-thru-rates and lead to conversions with lower cost-per-acquisitions, which are metrics any B2B digital marketer likes to see. Couple Call and Callout extensions with a well written, relevant text ad and you’ll be seeing better return-on-investment in no time.
The B2B paid advertising landscape on Google can often fell like a battlefield. Call on these ad extensions to help you win the fight! Need reinforcements? Drop us a line.
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