Want to make your B2B paid media strategy better? You’re in the right place. After working with dozens of clients in this space and running multiple tests, we compiled what we observed to work best. Let's dive right in.

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1. Study your customer journey

Understand the steps that your prospects take until they end up choosing your product, and design a strategy that adjusts to it. Then show up on the media platforms that your audience frequents, and provide them with the content pieces or solution they're searching for.

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2. Test different funnel approaches

We've seen a wide range of results when it comes to different clients, but truth be told, B2B clients tend to thrive with full-funnel approaches.

While it's good to focus on acquisition campaigns and snagging those high-intent BOF customers, remember that ignoring low and mid-intent audiences can eventually lead to running out of your precious high-intent audience.

Our advice? Plan campaigns that match your customer's journey starting with acquisition campaigns, but quickly branch out to test consideration and awareness campaigns at the middle and top of your funnel. This is a more sustainable approach in the long run!

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Some TOF tactics working well for us include: lead gen campaigns, educational blog posts, newsletter sign-ups, eBooks, and webinars. Let's get after it!

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3. Make sure you’re tracking correctly and capturing all results

I cannot emphasize this enough! Capture conversions throughout your funnel — both online and offline, and make sure your attribution conversion window is long enough to report all of your results.

In the B2B world, conversions often occur after 30 days. Make sure your tracking system is able to attribute these conversions back to your campaigns.

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4. Implement the right attribution model for your business

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Are you still using the default last click attribution model? This model doesn't work for most B2B businesses. Look out for a model that values the channels that drive qualified users even if they don't convert right away.

Invest in a team that can set up a tracking and reporting infrastructure for success. We offer these services too, so give us a shout if you need a hand!

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5. Use third party data platforms to target your prospects

Services such as Clearbit, 6sense, or Bombora help you reach high quality B2B audiences effortlessly. All you need to do is define the characteristics of your desired audience, import them into your preferred media platform, and start engaging with them!

Pair these audience segments with content pieces that are tailored to your audience and specific stage of the funnel and you’ll be set for success! 

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6. Test Linkedin vs other platforms while analyzing down-funnel performance

LinkedIn, despite being more expensive than other paid media platforms, offers the best targeting capabilities for B2B, and often outperforms other channels in terms of down-funnel metrics.

To accurately evaluate your results, look beyond metrics like CPL. While platforms like Facebook may generate higher lead volume, LinkedIn's cost/pipeline or cost/closed won ratios are typically better!

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7. Run lead gen campaigns

If you're not already testing lead generation campaigns, you could be missing out on great performance.

We recommend using these campaigns in your top-of-funnel strategy. While these leads will require further nurturing with other marketing and sales tactics, they can significantly increase the overall conversion rate in your funnel.

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Test lead gen campaigns both on-platform and off-platform. If you're struggling to generate high-quality leads, host the lead form on your website. However, if you're seeking a balance between volume and quality, LinkedIn lead gen campaigns could be the way to go.

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8. Allow only work email addresses when signing up 

Make the field show an error if users try to sign up with a non-work email address. This will ensure that your paid campaigns will only be fed back with qualified conversion signals for better optimisation.

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Alternatively, if you don't want to miss out on potential clients who use non-work emails, you can create a separate landing page exclusively for your paid traffic that requires work email addresses. 

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9. Test a longer signup process

Don't worry about making the sign-up process more challenging, as this ensures you capture more qualified users. This is especially important for paid traffic and for platforms that drive quantity over quality leads.

You can also use the information collected during sign-up to create a more sophisticated lead event based on the answers in the form, and optimize your campaigns to specifically drive these highly qualified leads.

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10. Look at metrics beyond CAC

In B2B, it's crucial not to get fixated on CAC reporting. Use metrics such as MQL (Market Qualified Lead), SQL (Sales Qualified Lead), and CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) to evaluate the quality of your campaign's traffic and optimize them.

However, when assessing overall performance, focus on closed won, pipeline, and LTV (lifetime value) metrics. These results will help you determine the true value of your campaigns for the business in the long term.

Bonus tip: hire B2B talent (*wink wink* like us)

The most important recommendation we can give is to invest in a paid media workforce that has B2B experience and/or to get advice from people who have the experience. 

B2B tends to be more technical than B2C, and the strategy varies greatly. Hire B2B professionals, and ensure that you have the right strategy from the start.