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“We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in and be what people are interested in.”
David Beebe
When David Beebe, an award-winning brand storyteller, quoted this, little did he know that today in 2021, his words would ease the task of understanding what makes display advertising an essential component of B2B marketing.
Ever wondered what makes display advertising an attractive opportunity for B2B marketers to turbocharge their marketing strategy?
The secret is in its powerful presence. So, when B2B marketers aim at accentuating brand awareness by approaching their target audience across multiple platforms and devices, they take the path of a creatively personalized approach, resulting in increased ROI.
B2B marketers can very well boost their leads with the assistance of display advertising, all because:
- When used well, display advertising supports the cardinals of all the online marketing strategies. The marketer benefits from an expansive reach with the precision of targeting the right prospect without wasting funds.
- And did you know that, if you as a B2B marketer are using Google Display Network, you are touching up to 92 percent of internet users worldwide? That means you can reach your customers like never before with the help of any digital demand-side platform (DSP).
- When implementing display advertising, marketers can creatively customize their strategic moves based on multiple parameters, like contextual, demographic, behavioral, retargeting, account, and intent.
- The retargeting process for display ads enhances the ROI for the brand to a great extent.
- Display advertising allows the marketer to stamp the market with its creative alternatives like interactive displays, videos, live product feeds, and more. Smart marketers opt for less expensive but more creative and gripping marketing ideas to enchant their targets.
What are the traits of an effective display advertisement?
Targeting the right audience at the right time at the right place by employing display advertising is no rocket science. Creative management platforms (CMPs) offer marketers a wide range of marketing strategies, tactics, and technologies for impactful success. So if you, as a B2B marketer, are trendy enough to make smart use of display advertising for your brand, then do ensure that your display ad has these indispensable elements incorporated:
1. Rich media ads:
By rich media ads, we mean the display advertising options that are inclusive of video, audio, and other interactive and engaging elements. HTML5 is an excellent example of rich media display advertising, as it gives a niche identity to the brand and grabs the attention of its viewers.
2. In-banner videos:
The presence of in-banner video within a display ad aggrandizes the impact as compared to static visuals. Marketers enjoy an 18.4 percent increase in the CTR by using videos within display ads. Also, apart from creating a much-needed impact, the in-banner videos cater very well to customer needs. If the customers are not interested, they might scroll past the videos. And, if it catches their fancy, they interact with it.
3. Compatible with mobile devices:
You shouldn’t limit the availability of display ads only across a few devices or platforms only. Customers today access the internet via different devices. For a 360-degree presence, you must optimize the display ad to run it successfully across all digital devices. With the marked-up usage of mobile devices today, the need for mobile responsive display ads has also increased. Mobile compatible display advertising is essential as people use mobile devices in non-working hours and even on weekends.
4. Live data feed in-display ads:
The use of data feeds in language, image URLs, numeric values, and links makes display advertising more personal, updated, and relevant. The proper coalescence of data feed with retargeting marketing moves adds a bonus to the ROIs.
What are the types of display advertising options available to a B2B marketer?
1. Native ads
Native ads are paid ads that perfectly blend with the form and function of the social media platforms, appearing to the audience as part of the remaining content itself. Because such ads don’t beat the drum about their presence, they get maximum attention, resulting in increased sales. Such ads are periodically visible across social media platforms like Pinterest, Facebook, etc.
2. Banner ads
Ever seen rectangular display ads on either of the four sides of a website? These are called banner ads, specifically designed to attract visitors to the landing page or company website. Such ads are available on third-party websites that draw heavy traffic. Banner ads, however, require a very creative approach because, over time, audiences have turned a blind eye towards such ads.
3. Video ads
Video ads are probably the trending display advertising option, available across multiple platforms. Be it YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook, one can find such ads easily. However, their types may vary, ranging from in-stream videos, web page videos, out-stream videos, interactive videos to more. Marketers should meticulously optimize video ads for the screen, the device, or the video length.
4. Interstitial ads
Interstitial ads are very popular amongst mobile users because of their display time and size. Though the interstitial ads pop up suddenly in mid of any read or any game, they can make their mark and delegate the purpose of their existence as for their hundred percent screen coverage. The audience does have the option of either viewing them or closing them.
5. GIF ads
GIF ads are in the form of animated images or text. They work in a loop. These ads, though, have certain constraints regarding display size, platform, and design.
Tips and tricks to increase the effectiveness of display advertising in B2B marketing?
1. Experimentation with social media platforms
Claude Bernard once quoted-
“We must never make experiments to confirm our ideas, but simply to control them.”
So go on and experiment with various types of display advertising options across multiple social media platforms before making any heavy investment in one direction, but with failed results.
2. Make your video content an ace of your marketing strategy
As a marketer, you should make the most out of your video ads by making them interactive and creative. Video ads get garner great attraction as they are displayed across multiple devices and multiple online platforms.
3. The display ad should be compatible with multiple devices
Display advertisements should be perfectly visible across any digital device without any red ink. Also, the ads need to abide by the principle of LEAN, meaning the display ads should be lightweight, encrypted, ad choices supported, and non-invasive.
4. Mobile optimization is fundamental
Considering the growing engagement of audiences with mobiles, it becomes essential to come up with a mobile-first advertising strategy. Do consider other device options, as mentioned above, but mobile-based designing is the most essential.
5. Make use of the data-driven approach
The data-driven approach simplifies and perfects the task of reaching the right audience at the right time at the right place, thereby improving the ROI.
6. Address audience segmentation
Audience segmentation is all about giving a specialized platter of your product/service to each audience just the way they want. So think over and above the concept of one suit fits all to make your campaign a success. Customization is the trend today.
7. Enhance your landing page
How sad it would be if you could increase the footfall on your landing page but fail to glue the audience for a better long-term experience. The quality of the landing page is the key to increased ROI and better search engine ranking.
8. Plan according to your budget
Plan your expenses. Do keep some funds for experimenting with multiple display advertising options before making a deep dive in any one section. Spend wisely.
9. Broaden your remarketing list
Never remain clung to one single platform. Mark your presence on diverse platforms. This way, the failed efforts in one are balanced out by the massive success on the other.
10. Use of site links and ad extensions
The use of site links and ad extensions is a trick and tip to improve the remarketing list and make the user experience more personalized.
11. Come up with simple, visual ads
Provide your audience ads that are simple and easy to comprehend but creatively rich.
12. Key to keywords
Make use of high-quality keywords that define your product/service. Your keywords determine your search ranking on Google and other search engine options.
B2B display advertising trends for 2021 and beyond
Display advertising in B2B marketing reaps its results only after the complete growth of its plant. So patience is needed. And this growth depends on the sales cycle of the product plus the effectiveness of the display advertisement. So, here you will be apportioned to all the display advertising trends of the time to ensure a successful well-crafted display ad with an enhanced conversion rate.
1. Identify the goals of your campaign
To properly attribute the impact of display advertising in your sales, you need to identify your campaign goals first and then function in that particular direction.
2. Understand your competitors
Make use of tools like Adbeat and Adclarity to learn the display advertising marketing strategy of your competitors. This will help you to plan your marketing display much better than the competition.
3. Identify top publishers in your niche
These days marketers allocate special budgets to get published on the publisher websites of their respective industries. Presence on publisher websites like that of Forbes, Entrepreneur, or Fast Company strengthens the overall market presence and also makes it easy to win the trust of your audience.
4. Know the various targeting options
Before launching your display ad, the marketer should evaluate multiple targeting options based on the traits like demographic, geographic, custom audience targeting, and remarketing. For example, you can leverage Microsoft Audience Network to target LinkedIn profiles based on their company, industry, or designation.
5. Design appealing ads for instant gratification
Don’t overload your ads with information that will become difficult to comprehend for your audience in one go. Remember that B2B audiences want direct communication without many frills.
6. Explore the potential of native ads
Make use of native ads which are organic. Because of their well-emerged display, these ads don’t bother the audience and still create an impact. Use your top-performing content in native display ads to best hit the audience with your marketing and remarketing campaigns.
7. Experiment with programmatic advertising
Programmatic advertising is the buzzword when it comes to displaying advertising trends for B2B marketers. Programmatic advertising makes the B2B marketing more effective and efficient, streamlines the process, and consolidates the display advertising efforts.
8. Adopt a multi-device design approach
Considering the growing usage of mobile phones, every marketer should make the display ads multi-device compatible. Optimal ad experience requires B2B marketers to follow IAB’s new ad portfolio practices for better user experience, faster performance, and non-disruptive ad content.
9. Use of video ads
Video ads in display advertising are more interactive and impactful. The videos should be short and interactive for better user engagement.
10. Seek Expert Advice
Considering the rise in the demand and need for display advertising in marketing, you should seek expert advice if your finances and time permits. Expert solutions are highly resourceful and can steer you in the right direction when it’s needed the most.
When Bizo, a B2B marketing software company, was given to rank their marketing initiative priorities, the online display was ranked the most important (65%). Display advertising gives easy access to niche target segments, thus a fruitful investment of funds. Also, studies define that display advertising in B2B marketing hits the entire buying process, from the stage of awareness to the post-sales phase.
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