B2B marketers increasingly rely on programmatic advertising strategies to drive positive business outcomes. Programmatic ad spend has increased exponentially, accounting for over 90%of all digital display ads in 2022. If your brand is running programmatic advertising (or considering running these ads), here are a few key considerations to keep in mind.
Programmatic advertising sits at the center of today’s booming digital marketing landscape. This tactic has revolutionized the way businesses reach their target audience. Programmatic advertising uses data-driven automation to deliver highly–targeted campaigns to specific audiences at just the right time. Are you already using programmatic marketing tactics? Are you ready to start? Prioritize these three things to position your B2B organization for success.
Prioritize good data
A successful programmatic strategy is always built on a foundation of good data. To get the best results from your data, take a good look at data collection, analysis and data quality. How you manage your data is more important than ever. Cleaning and normalizing your data from the start can save you from unnecessary stress down the road. Whether you’re working strictly with first-party data, buying data from a data provider, or a combination of the two, having high-quality and usable data should be your first priority.
Before you set out to target your potential customers, you need to know who they are. Understanding who your buyers are and what they want is key to targeting effectively. You should establish your ideal customer profile (ICP) before you start. From there you can pull in the data needed to reach people who match the characteristics of your ICP.
Intent data gives you an edge here. Intent gives you a glimpse into who is in the market for solutions like yours so you can better target your ideal customers. Since you know when they’re in market, you can reach them at the exact right time. Layering intent data on top of other data types like demographics and firmographics can help you get the full picture of your target audience.
Mind your budget
Return on ad spends (ROAS) is a hot topic in the programmatic advertising world. It measures the effectiveness and profitability of advertising campaigns by calculating the revenue generated from the ads compared to the cost. Understanding and optimizing ROAS is crucial for businesses to maximize their advertising investments and achieve their marketing goals. A rule of thumb is to think of your ad spend strategy like you would an investment strategy. What price do you put on the ability to generate brand awareness and brand loyalty? While conversions are important, building a strong brand presence and customer loyalty can have long-term benefits that might not directly translate like revenue. You must also consider the value of brand equity when determining ad spend.
The time it takes to determine ROAS will depend on whether your company is new or established. For new businesses, it may take longer to establish a baseline and gather sufficient data to evaluate the effectiveness of ad campaigns. Established companies, on the other hand, may have historical data that can provide insights into their ROAS more quickly. Regardless of your company’s age, it’s important to continuously track and analyze ROAS to identify trends, make data-driven decisions, and optimize future advertising efforts. Also, keep your competition in mind. Evaluate your competitors to stay ahead in the game, the more you understand your competition and where they play, the more you can optimize your ad presence.
When planning your programmatic budget, you should align programmatic efforts with search and social media ads to drive website traffic and conversion rates. Spreading your ad strategy between programmatic advertising, paid search and social media advertising expands your reach and gives your target audience more engagement opportunities. Running these ad programs together can significantly impact the overall success of ad spend strategies.
Understand your buyer journey
Understanding your prospective buyers and following them through the marketing funnel is crucial. You must ensure your marketing campaigns target the right audience groups, based on their browsing history, devices, geolocation, preferences, etc.
As a B2B marketer, you have to analyze the most important touch points where you can interact with your target audience and create a user experience that’s beyond just a simple TV ad or display ad. By providing valuable content, personalized messaging, and relevant interactions across an integrated digital campaign, you can establish stronger relationships with your potential buyers.
By being present and engaging with your audience at every stage of the marketing funnel, you can effectively nurture brand loyalty and drive higher conversion rates. Recognizing that buyers go through different stages, like awareness and consideration, at their unique pace allows you to provide them with the right information and support to guide their buying decision each step of the way.
By using intent signals, you can identify when your prospective buyers are actively seeking information, evaluating options, or generally expressing purchase intent. With this knowledge, you can deliver timely and relevant messages, personalized recommendations, and targeted offers, improving the overall user experience and increasing the likelihood they’ll convert.
Looking forward
For effective programmatic advertising, you must prioritize using data effectively, optimizing your advertising budget, and understanding the full buyer journey. These strategies will help them target the right audience, maximize returns on ad spends, and drive brand loyalty and conversions. With this in mind, marketers can unlock the true potential of programmatic advertising and propel their brands to new heights in the digital landscape.
