A Guide to Performance Marketing for B2B
The advent of the internet changed the way customers browsed and bought products forever. Additionally, it completely changed the way companies advertised and sold. Nowadays, marketers have the capacity to collect campaign data whenever possible and measure the results in real-time. In the past, attribution was almost impossible. Data transparency today enables marketers to leverage their campaigns so they do better.
This is what’s known as “performance marketing”.
What is Performance Marketing?
Performance marketing is the term used to describe online marketing campaigns where advertisers pay advertising platforms or marketing companies for results attained, such as conversions or clicks.
Unlike organic and conventional marketing, performance marketing is particularly used to drive actions, monitor, and measure those actions.
While larger enterprises can spend millions of dollars on branding, most businesses need to concentrate on the bottom line to remain profitable. Performance marketing for B2B puts the power back into the hands of the advertiser. You select the action, then pay when that action is fulfilled—whether that’s a lead, click or sale.
Types of Performance Marketing
In the world of marketing, there are four types of performance marketing that work best for B2B.
Social Media Advertising
This includes content put up on any social networking site that’s used for advertisements, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Snapchat.
Native Advertising
Ads created to match the platform or site on which they appear is what native advertising is all about. These ads are appealing because they are written and designed to feel as if they are a routine part of the page you’re on.
Branded Content
To tell your company and brand’s story, you need branded content. Such content is usually compelling, visually appealing and entertaining. It helps you compete by making more than just an ad. It applies storytelling to build an experience where your brand—and the solutions you can give to a customer—is cast in a positive light.
Branded content can be more than just blog posts.
Podcasting might seem terrifying in the beginning but like blogs, podcasts follow similar fundamentals of inbound marketing. They are also the perfect way to include branded content in your marketing strategy.
For example, an ad you hear during your favourite podcast can sound like a usual radio ad that fits into the episode like a commercial break. It can also be a scripted ad read by the host, who can also offer complimentary discounts to listeners. Other times, it can sound like a friend telling you what they did over the weekend: engaging, personal and casual. The end goal, no matter the method, should be about telling a story about the service or product.
Including video into your B2B marketing strategy is another way to tell your brand’s story through striking visuals. Video can take all the intricate information you provide in a case study or white paper and compress it into an easy and consumable format.
Similar to podcasting, videos are becoming increasingly popular for business because they work. It’s both a marketing tool and a way to get positive ROI.
Performance Partnerships
When you team up with an influential person online to promote your business, it’s called a performance partnership. This individual can be a social media influencer with a huge following, affiliate bloggers or business development partners.
These campaigns can be extremely beneficial in that they provide you with the perception of being applied by a selected group of people with an amazing online reach. Tapping into this individual’s already existing following can help you improve your outreach exponentially.
The Main Advantages of Performance Marketing
It’s Low-risk
In performance marketing, there’s less risk involved as compared to conventional advertising. You can access results in real-time with performance marketing and adjust your campaign elements accordingly. Are your ads not converting? You have the means to fix your budget or even stop the ad to prevent overpaying.
Better Reach
You only pay the website or platform when your ad reaches a specific outcome. Therefore, the chances of your brand reaching the right people for conversion is more plausible.
It’s Measurable
You can monitor and measure your efforts down to the click. On most platforms, you can access campaign metrics and reports that help in determining which tactics are working and which you should change.
When it comes to digital advertising, you want to ensure you get the most bang for your buck. You only pay when you get some sort of value in the form of a click or an impression. It’s the optimal way of leveraging your marketing budget in a way that allows you to prevent funding ad campaigns that don’t generate engagement.
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