Everyone’s chasing “leads” in B2B advertising.

But take a step back.

Social advertising is an auction.

So when you’re competing with the same old worn-out strategies as everyone else…That’s just driving up your advertising costs.

In contrast, when backed by creative remarketing strategies that leverage your CRM data – social ads become much more profitable and reliable.

And, when so few other marketers are aware of how you’re operating… You’re no longer competing for attention in the same auctions with countless other brands advertising in the same way.

OK, how the hell do you do it? Let’s get into it.

Today, we’re sharing some of our best-kept technical secrets! Here are some unconventional remarketing strategies that make a real impact on your P&L..

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Link your CRM to LinkedIn Ads, Meta Ads, or any display ad platform

If your CRM is connected to your advertising platforms – the moment a qualified contact hits your CRM and is officially in your sales cycle, they can be automatically remarketed.

But instead of pushing generic, sales-y ads, you can serve them with long-form, thought-leadership content as well as case studies. Ideally, the content will be packed with deep insights delivered on video by your sales team.

KEY: Make sure it’s unique and impactful—insights they can’t find elsewhere.

Now they’re being educated on their newsfeed while they’re speaking with your sales team, and while they’re comparing you against the competition’s proposals. If you’re using a more powerful CRM like HubSpot, you can even show different content to prospects at different stages of the sales cycle.

Will all those extra touchpoints give you a leg up in sales?

You bet …

 

 

 

 

2. Target all decision-makers who work at companies in the proposal stage

With your advertising platform’s targeting tools, you can target people by company name, job function, and seniority.

So, as soon as a proposal goes out and the CRM deal stage is updated, you can retarget EVERY relevant decision-maker in that company with insightful content highlighting what makes you stand out and why they should act now.

This approach is especially useful for reaching key decision-makers who aren’t directly involved in early sales conversations but still influence the final decision.

Now, when they are discussing your proposal as a team – or, when it’s being reviewed by managers and stakeholders – they will already be familiar with your brand and educated by your content.

If your B2B buying cycle is 6 – 18 months or more, these retargeting ads will make a big difference.

 

 

 

 

3. Advertise to current and past customers

Similar to #2, but focused on customers you’ve already worked with.

Serve content that digs deeper into your services and your thinking. You’ll notice customers coming back for more work, proactively asking about other services you offer, and even sending referrals your way.

Taking it further, they’ll respect your deliverables and your team a lot more when they are continuously learning from you in the background, on their social media feeds.

Current customers are by far the highest leverage opportunity in most B2B advertising systems.

But generally, this audience is the most forgotten about by inexperienced marketers.

 

 

 

 

4. LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads

Often, organic posts require “algorithm worship” to succeed – they have to be fun, silly or feature close-ups of pretty people to get any real traction on the newsfeed. But this type of content does not appeal to higher-value decision-makers—that extra “reach” is coming from “the masses” who you aren’t actually interested in your services.

A better way is to use paid retargeting ads to “force” your thought leadership content straight into the newsfeed of high-value decision-makers. You can be laser-targeted, using LinkedIn’s retargeting functionality and your CRM data. Now you don’t have to rely on the “algorithm hacks” to get your content in front of the RIGHT people.

And, with LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads, you can retarget your audience using ads that run directly from your team’s personal LinkedIn profiles! That puts a more personal touch on your “ads”, and helps to position your key sales staff as trusted advisors.

 

 

 

 

 

SOME KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM OUR EXPERIENCE IN THE TRENCHES

  • Focus on long-form content. This gives decision-makers the chance to gain insights right from their newsfeed without needing to click away to a Landing Page (which more often than not they won’t do). When they’re making 5- to 7-figure decisions, they will take the time to read your in-depth posts.
  • Forcing viewers to click to a Landing Page or article loses a significant portion of visitors who don’t want to click away. Ad platforms are also making link clicks more expensive.
  • As decision-makers linger on your content to read it, the algorithm picks up on their interest, increasing the likelihood they’ll see more of your insights in the future. Longer posts keep the right audience reading for longer, which signals the algorithm to show they MORE content.
  • Don’t be discouraged by the lack of “likes”—high-level decision-makers often “lurk”—which means they consume content without engaging. They don’t want you to know they’re looking at your content, preferring to remain anonymous. You’ll be surprised to learn that as a general rule, the lower-value decision-makers or people who wouldn’t buy from you hit that “Like” button more often than valuable decision-makers that have budget.
  • Optimise your ads for VIDEO VIEWS or ENGAGEMENT—not “CONVERSIONS”. CONVERSIONS are costly because nearly every other marketer is pouring their budget into competing in that same auction. By contrast, optimising for VIDEO VIEWS or ENGAGEMENT can get your insights in front of 3-6+ times more people for the same spend.
  • Retarget the top 1,000 – 5,000 key contacts “around” the business at all times. Even spending just $20 daily can pay off massively when you target the right people—clients, prospects, partners, investors and even staff. All of them bring opportunities and value into the business when you stay at top of mind and inspire them continuously.

 

 

 

It’s about staying visible and continuously inspiring those who matter most …

Keep the sales team accountable for tracking what is working. You often won’t see these results in your automated attribution software or LinkedIn stats because these are reliant on “clicks”.

So, to understand the impact of your retargeting strategies, ensure your sales team is asking a question like the following on their sales calls: “How did you hear about us, and what content have you seen?”

That way, you’ll understand what retargeting truly working as new deals are logged.

 

 

 

Modern B2B advertising needs to be so much more than just simple “lead generation”.

(Frankly, that’s a commodified service now.)

Unconventional remarketing strategies create a real impact during the sales cycle, expand that customer’s lifetime value and make an impact on your P&L.