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Lead Gen Tactics

Seven Key B2B Lead Generation Strategies That Work

Lead Gen Tactics /

Lead generation is essential for the success of any B2B business, but attracting the right high-quality leads can be a challenge. With so many channels, strategies, and technologies available, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the possibilities. The key is to focus on the B2B lead generation strategies that work – strategies that have been proven to deliver results and help you generate leads that are not only plentiful but also highly qualified. Whether you are looking to enhance your current efforts or refine your approach to lead generation, the actionable tactics our experts explore below can help you achieve sustained growth and improve your bottom line. Effective Strategies for B2B Lead Generation B2B companies face longer sales cycles, complex decision-making, and highly specific buyer personas, which means they need a strategic approach to attract, nurture, and convert prospects into customers. At Stifel Marcin, the following strategies help businesses create a scalable lead stream that fuels long-term growth. 1. Account-Based Marketing (ABM) ABM focuses on identifying high-value target accounts and creating strategic campaigns designed to engage and convert them. Rather than using a broad volume-based approach, ABM takes a  more precise, data-driven strategy, diving deep into target profiles, cross-department priorities, and key insights. Key ABM tactics may include: Personalized Outreach: Crafting tailored messaging and campaigns for individual accounts based on the industry, pain points, and business goals. Custom Content: Creating unique case studies, whitepapers, and presentations that address the challenges of target accounts. Multi-Channel Engagement: Leveraging email, LinkedIn, targeted ads, and direct mail to connect with decision-makers across multiple touchpoints. Learn more our approach to account-based marketing and view client success stories. 2. Content Marketing Creating valuable, educational content is one of the most effective ways to attract and nurture B2B leads. Instead of pushing a sales message, content marketing provides prospects with the insights, solutions, and industry knowledge they need to make informed decisions. By addressing common pain points and offering expert guidance, businesses can build trust and position themselves as a go-to resource. Some of the best performing content types for B2B lead generation include: Case Studies: Real-world examples that showcase how your product or service has solved a specific problem. Blog Posts: Informative and actionable articles that answer common questions and provide value to your audience. Interested in B2B marketing tips? Check out resources from our experts. Whitepapers and Industry Reports: In-depth research and data-driven insights that establish thought leadership. While content marketing works hand-in-hand with search engine optimization to drive organic traffic, its impact goes beyond search rankings. High-quality content fuels email campaigns, social media engagement, and lead nurturing workflows, ensuring prospects stay engaged throughout the buying process. Explore our content marketing services and learn how this B2B lead generation strategy can drive results. 3. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Driving traffic to your website is only part of the lead generation equation – turning traffic into leads is where conversion rate optimization begins. CRO focuses on refining website elements, landing pages, and forms to maximize the number of visitors who act, whether it is filling out a contact form or requesting a demo. Even small improvements to user experience (UX), messaging, or design can have a significant impact on lead generation. Common CRO tactics include: A/B Testing: Experimenting with different headlines, CTAs, and layouts to determine what resonates most with visitors. Optimized Forms: Reducing friction by simplifying lead capture forms and only asking for essential information. Clear Calls-to-Action: Ensuring CTAs are easy to find, persuasive, and aligned with user intent. By continuously analyzing user behavior and making data-driven optimizations, business can increase the percentage of visitors who convert into leads. Learn how our team’s specialized B2B knowledge can help optimize your CRO strategy and help you meet your lead generation goals. 4. Email Campaigns Email remains one of the most effective and highest-ROI channels for B2B lead generation. With direct access to decision-makers, businesses can nurture leads over time, provide valuable insights, and guide prospects through the sales funnel. A well-executed email marketing strategy keeps your brand top of mind while delivering relevant content that moves potential customers closer to conversion. To maximize results, our email marketing experts consider: List Segmentation: Grouping contacts based on industry, job role, engagement level, or stage in the buyer’s journey ensures more targeted and relevant messaging. Personalized Outreach: Using recipient names, referencing past interactions, and tailoring content to their specific needs increases engagement. Timely Delivery: Drip campaigns and triggered emails keep prospects engaged by ensuring timely, relevant content based on their behavior. Our experienced team of B2B marketing experts know that standing out in a reader’s inbox takes more than a clever subject line. Get more email marketing tips for lead generation from our content experts and explore the benefits of email for B2B brands. 5. PPC & Remarketing Paid advertising (PPC) is a powerful tool for driving highly qualified B2B leads by targeting decision-makers with precision. Platforms like Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads allow businesses to reach prospects based on search intent, job title, industry, and company size. With well-crafted ad copy and strategic bidding, PPC campaigns can generate immediate traffic and capture leads from professionals actively searching for solutions. Remarketing ads play a crucial role in re-engaging website visitors who did not convert on their first visit. By tracking user behavior and displaying targeted ads across websites, social media, and search engines, businesses can stay top of mind and encourage prospects to return. Remarketing strategies can include: Personalized Display Ads: Showing relevant products, services, or content based on pages a visitor previously viewed. Lead Magnet Offers: Encouraging return visits by promoting gated content, such as webinars or whitepapers. Time-Sensitive Promotions: Using limited-time offers or discounts to create urgent and drive conversions. With a combination of precise targeting, compelling ad creative, and continuous optimization, PPC and remarketing ads can help B2B companies maximize their marketing spend and convert more prospects into leads. Talk to our digital marketing experts about PPC services designed to strategically meet your needs. 6.

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Trade Shows in B2B Marketing: Marketing Beyond the Show Floor

ABM, Lead Gen Tactics /

In recent years, some B2B companies have found it harder to justify the high cost of attending multiple tradeshows. However, live contact with prospects and customers––outside of the standard sales call––is still a valuable marketing tool. At Stifel Marcin, we regularly work with B2B companies on the marketing strategy for trade shows. We can help to evaluate your show program, as well as assist in taking your face-to-face marketing beyond the trade show to build rapport and value with your audience. Trade Show Value in the B2B Marketing Mix Is the role of trade shows within the B2B marketing mix on the decline? The answer remains nuanced with data ranging by industry. Recent data shows a strong resurgence in sectors like technology, healthcare, and entertainment, while industries such as heavy manufacturing and construction continue to see lower attendance compared to pre-pandemic levels. Real-time feedback from marketing managers in manufacturing and industrial sectors indicates that many B2B companies are reassessing their trade show strategies, weighing increasing costs and mixed lead quality against potential networking benefits. While some events are experiencing growth, the increasing scrutiny of ROI and evolving digital marketing alternatives are influencing how businesses allocate their marketing resources. Let’s face it; exhibiting at a trade show is a hefty investment. Costs include booth space, your exhibit and graphics, freight and drayage, on-site labor, utilities and services, travel, lodging, meals, entertainment, and the time commitment of vital staff. With this range of expenses, even a small regional show can cost a company tens of thousands of dollars and weeks of valuable time. And while in-person customer face time is essential, if enough leads aren’t being generated by show participation, the high costs and resource commitments are hard to justify. So, what are B2B industrial marketers to do? Here are some tips and tactics from our trade show agency experts. Analyze Carefully and Choose Wisely The first step is to analyze your trade show performance in detail. Some questions to ask are: What were the overall costs and their breakdown? Did we get quality leads? Can we follow-up quickly and effectively? How many of the leads proved convertible into actual sales? And what was the cost per lead? Plus, trade show exhibitions are also valuable for brand awareness, so consider if overall show attendance and traffic generated enough brand exposure. Use in-depth analysis to edit your tradeshow schedule. Select shows with high-quality leads, optimum cost per lead, and high brand engagement. Depending on your industry, company size, market share, and business goals, this may result in attending just one or two critical shows per year. Finally, analyze your exhibit and staffing requirements. Are there ways to maximize branding and audience impact, while reducing costs and resources required? Consider things such as: All of these factors can help you reduce costs at the tradeshows you have selected to attend as an exhibitor. Host Your Own Events So, you have analyzed your trade show schedule and have determined that you will exhibit at one major market show this year––a show that is still putting up good attendance figures and generating a high volume of good quality leads. Now you have a challenge. Your sales managers are concerned that cutting four regional shows from the schedule will reduce opportunities to get in front of your customers on a personal level, and they are right. One option? Host your own events. Building a program of customized events around select, high-quality target audiences can be very effective. Hosting customized company events such as lunch and learn sessions, customer-specific product launches and demonstrations (by invitation), specialized training classes, panel discussions, and industry seminars give you critical face time with customers and prospects while demonstrating your organization as a “thought leader.” Plus, hosting your own event gives you greater ability to control costs, resources, locations, and logistics. Most importantly, hosting also gives you greater control of attendance and lead quality––you’ll be personally marketing to and inviting the customers and prospects you want to see. Take Your Show on the Road A second option for replacing tradeshows is to take your custom presentation direct to the customer’s site. For example, companies are reporting great success with events such as “vendor days.” This is an event where a customer will provide space on site and host several vendors for the day, giving each vendor time for a brief presentation of their products and services. This type of cooperative event is a win-win for both host and invited suppliers concerning staffing, costs, and efficiency: the host company benefits by introducing their employees to key suppliers and new technologies, and the supplier team benefits from a day in front of key decision makers at every level. Plus, neither company must send large numbers of staff to a tradeshow for three days, at considerable cost, while critical work backs up at home. Our trade show marketing experts can help you develop the right tools to help you achieve your goals. Communicate and Promote for Success What if I hold an event and no one comes? Don’t let this happen! “If you build it, they will come” does not work in business or marketing. You have to tell your audience about your event and what benefits it will provide. And you have to tell them consistently, frequently, and in a variety of ways. While one can argue that the Internet and today’s digital marketing are factors in the decline of tradeshow participation and attendance, digital communications are wonderful for promoting events too. Online newsletters, email blasts, and social media are proven, practical ways to get the word out to your audience. What’s more, integrating digital media with traditional direct marketing, such as a personal letter or postcard campaign, can increase the reach and response to your event promotions. Finally, in developing the event itself, make sure it is well supported by knowledgeable staff, brand graphics, presentation materials and multimedia, and hospitality items. While these components do add costs, they will improve the audience’s experience

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B2B Marketing Agency Services: 5 Reasons to Outsource

Lead Gen Tactics, Marketing Campaigns /

The time may come when you consider outsourcing specific marketing needs to an experienced agency. As advertising and marketing become more complex, utilizing B2B marketing agency services, and establishing a relationship with trusted experts, can reap many benefits for your organization. With the rise of digital marketing, the growing sophistication of inbound and outbound content creation, and the complexity of budget planning and shifting increasing, knowing you have the support of expert B2B marketing agency services can help you plan for success. If you’re working to gain internal support to retain B2B marketing agency services, here are a few benefits you can share with your team: 1. Working with Experienced Marketers   Your organization’s team members may not have the unique resources needed to fully execute various parts of a marketing strategy. When you employ B2B marketing agency services with a firm like Stifel Marcin, you collaborate with experienced specialists. Keeping up with changing digital trends and requirements, and complex search engine and social media algorithms is really a full-time job. Every day our team is researching changes, remaining current on the trends, tools and issues impacting marketing today. Our integrated and multi-disciplined team collaborates to help you develop goals, KPIs, and optimize budgets, determining the best marketing strategy that is unique to your business. 2. Reducing Your Team’s Workload We often hear from clients about the difficulties in keeping up with changing technologies, or not having enough time or resources to execute on-going tasks like content development or social media marketing. Investing in B2B marketing agency services lets your team focus on the tasks they do best and collaborate more effectively and efficiently with their internal teams, ultimately saving time and money. At Stifel Marcin, we see ourselves as an extension of your team, with a flexible structure that allows us to function like an in-house marketing department, while providing the expertise of a full-service B2B marketing agency. 3. Accessing Better Marketing Technology Modern marketing relies on many digital tools and software such as analytics tools, creative software and research platforms. For digital marketing strategies like SEO and paid advertising, they are essential. These tools can be very expensive and knowing how to leverage the detailed and specific features means we can evaluate data, set up tracking metrics, identify changes, anticipate trends and more with expertise and a strategic finesse. Working with an experienced agency like Stifel Marcin will ensure you are benefitting from the best technology services and tools to generate leads, sales and returns. 4. Discovering a Unique Point-of-View While you know your products and services best, engaging B2B marketing agency services can provide fresh perspective on your marketing goals, current approaches, and future needs. Your ideal agency partner will work to understand your business and your audience(s) thoroughly, evaluate the competitive marketing environment and collaborate with you to develop strategies promoting your unique benefits that help your company stand out in a crowd. Every day at Stifel Marcin, we work with technical content and complex concepts, creating engaging messaging and visuals that create attention and inspire the right customers to act. With more than two decades of experience, we know that fresh eyes on your brand and a cooperative partnership can take your marketing results to the next level. 5. Optimizing Budgets When you leverage the benefits of an integrated agency, you can review tactics, spend and ROI across the full channel of marketing opportunities. Some organizations opt to hire companies they feel are “specialized” in one area or another (perhaps a digital company, a PR company, etc.). This, however, can sometimes have the opposite effect. Instead of one collective evaluation of tactics from your single B2B marketing agency partner, you can find conflicting opinions, differing tracking methodologies and even recommendations made based on one agency’s personal interests. Additionally, as subject matter experts across a wide variety of marketing applications, when you utilize the B2B marketing agency services like we offer at Stifel Marcin, you benefit from expertise on how to optimize spend on every channel. We understand how to best plan media buys, bidding strategies and negotiate with third parties to achieve the best results. It’s in our best interest to make the biggest impact, ensuring we can make your brand as visible as possible. B2B Marketing Agency Services That Power Results If your agency is considering outsourcing some or all of your marketing needs, we can help. Check out our tips on how to outsource B2B marketing services and then contact us. Together, we can help determine what services may be right for you. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you have questions about outsourcing your marketing to maximize returns, let’s talk.

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Just Say No: Why Your Business Should Not Buy Social Media Likes or Followers

Lead Gen Tactics, Social & Video /

If you’re on social media, you’ve likely seen comments in posts or ads in your feed touting the benefits of buying likes or followers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms. “Grow your following instantly!” “Get 1,000 real followers affordably!” As the old saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And this is no exception. While the lure of a higher follower count with the click of a mouse can be tempting, we’re here with six reasons why your business should not buy social media likes or followers: 1. Your Engagement Rate Will Suffer At the end of the day, it’s not your follower count that matters most. Rather it’s the quality of engagement with your followers that’s critical. If you purchase followers, yes, your follower number will rise, but the vast majority will be fake or bot accounts. Social media is meant to be a two-way street. Genuine engagement helps your business determine what your potential and current customers need and want, what their interests are, and how you can be of service. Lots of followers but little engagement skews your data. And if your data isn’t reliable, how can you tell what your real followers are doing or what they need? Fake accounts will not interact authentically with your brand. They will not share posts with their networks, they won’t leave meaningful comments on your feed for you to respond too. Offline they won’t be telling friends or family about your brand because they are in fact fake. There are services that offer to connect you with real followers. But what good is “real” follower if they have no interest in your brand and its offerings? They still won’t engage with your posts, which means your overall engagement rate lowers and your posts risk not showing up on newsfeeds or in discovery feeds to the people you really do want to reach. The takeaway: lots of followers but no interactions can mean the platform algorithm will actually penalize your future content, limiting organic reach. 2. It Lowers Credibility Social media users today are savvy and want to know they are interacting with a business who has their best interests in mind. Many followers are quick to notice an account with thousands of followers but little to no engagement on posts (or lots of spam…more on that below). Organic growth happens because of trust, credibility and a belief that your content is valuable. If followers can tell you buy social media likes and follows, your once loyal followers may jump ship for another brand’s social accounts. 3. Your Account Could Be Banned All social media platforms have terms of service agreements, and as a business/user, you agreed to those terms when you set up your account(s). If you buy social media likes and followers, you are likely in violation of their community rules. Facebook, Instagram and others are cracking down on fake accounts. According to Statista, Facebook took action against 1.7 billion fake accounts (yes, read that again…1.7 billion fake accounts in one quarter alone). If they feel your site has broken its rules, real consequences, like your account being suspended or even banned, can occur. It’s simply not worth the risk. 4. No One Likes Spam We’ve all seen the spam comments that flood social posts, leading to a very irritating scroll if you’re genuinely interested in the real comments. In many cases, these are bot comments from fake accounts. If your actual followers continually see nothing but a bunch of statements like “The first five people to message me wins $5,000!” or “I’m paying $100 to the first 10 people to DM me,” you may just lose them. If you buy social media likes or followers, be prepared for the spam that comes with it. 5. Think about Account Safety This is an important consideration that should not be overlooked. When you buy social media likes or followers, you have no idea who is behind the actual accounts or their intentions, leaving your social media handles open to hacking or viruses. Having an account hacked is the nightmare that keeps any social media manager awake at night. It can take weeks, even months, to reclaim an account and in the meantime, your real followers might be seeing fake content with your brand name and image or perhaps nothing at all, as your account may just go dark. 6. It’s a Waste of Marketing Dollars While follower services will promise big returns for very little money, in the end it’s a waste of money if those new “followers” bring no value to your community. There are far better ways to earmark your marketing budget for social media, such as targeted paid ads, strategic content marketing and more, that will pay dividends in engagement, brand loyalty and yes, organic growth. When you work with a social media marketing agency like Stifel Marcin, you can leverage the full capabilities of different platforms to connect with customers, growing your influence and your sales. Grow Your Following the Right Way Organic growth takes time. And that’s okay! It’s better to have 500 truly interested and engaged followers than 50,000 who don’t care about your business and its products/services at all. Don’t focus just on vanity metrics. Instead of buying followers, think first about how you can provide value to your potential audience. What solutions can you offer to help solve their problems? Engage and then engage again. Check out our posts about B2B social media best practices and 4 tips to leverage social media to increase your sales pipeline and brand loyalty for more ideas about how to grow your social media presence. Connect with Customers As a B2B social media marketing agency, we’ll work with you to develop comprehensive social media plans that tell your unique story, offering value to your customers and growing loyal brand followers. Contact us and see how we can power up your social media strategy. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that

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Recruitment Marketing Videos: Effectively Attract and Retain Talent

Lead Gen Tactics, Recruitment Marketing, Social & Video /

While Zoom and other video conferencing apps have become a part of everyday life, valuable lessons continue to be realized regarding recruitment marketing videos and the impact on finding and retaining quality employee talent. With a large pool of job seekers, including new Gen Z talent, and employees feeling the strain of pandemic life, video marketing is proven to be an effective tool in a company’s marketing (and human resources) arsenal. Stats You Need to Know: • According to Careerbuilder, “users who embraced the power of recruitment marketing videos achieved a 34 percent uptick in application rates.”• Properly optimized and disseminated, video can drive organic search by nearly 160 percent, helping you to reach qualified candidates.• Sharing video on social platforms can exceed text/image sharing by nearly 120 percent, providing powerful opportunity to reach additional talent. Increase Your Recruitment Funnel and Improve the Application Process Standing out in a competitive hiring marketplace is a critical first step to leverage video content. A recent survey found that nearly 31 percent of HR professionals find it challenging to tell interesting stories about “boring topics,” including writing compelling job descriptions and postings. Recruitment marketing videos can help change the narrative quickly from “boring” to “intriguing” if a candidate is able to hear directly from a manager, team lead and/or recruiter – or if they can see what your workplace environment is like. Grab a candidate’s attention using engaging video content that makes them think “I want to know more about that organization.” Remember that a smart digital marketing recruitment campaign will already be targeting those who match your ideal candidate criteria. So, when your ad does serve to that audience, make sure you get their attention. Savvy job seekers will also be searching your website and social media channels to learn more about your company and culture. Use video to showcase employee testimonials and information important to today’s candidates like corporate commitment to diversity, benefits, and company values. Pro tip: make sure your recruitment marketing videos are optimized for mobile devices. Consider further enhancing the candidate experience by using video communication during the application process. A pre-recorded video to thank a job seeker for reaching out, or a video to communicate about next steps in the hiring process after an interview, especially to a final candidate, can go a long way to make your company stand out positively. Enhance the New Employee On-Boarding Experience Once an employee joins your company, the recruitment process has not ended! Video from HR, company leaders and division/department team members can help employees quickly learn more about their new professional environment. Remember, some employees may be working remotely, so opportunities to “chat around the watercooler” decrease. Cue the stat above about “boring topics.” While a new employee can easily become overwhelmed by long employee handbook content, new HR policies and more, video can help distill the information into more entertaining and easily digestible bites, helping new hires acclimate more quickly. And those videos that you added to your website about company culture, benefits and more (see above) do double-duty here! Videos can help remind your workforce exactly why they work there, and how. Champion Company Culture and Stewardship With a hybrid of remote and in-person work likely here to stay, video is a great way to stay connected to employees across the organization. Use videos to: • Keep employees informed about latest company updates (weekly or monthly).• Highlight employee milestones like anniversaries and awards.• Showcase the good work of employee volunteerism and activism.• Involve your employees by asking for video testimonials for use on your web site and/or social mediachannels. They will be likely to share the content to their own network, expanding your company’sreach to new, potential talent. We are Ready to Power Up Your Recruitment Marketing If you need some help developing a plan of action for how to begin or improve your recruitment marketing practices, we are here for you. Call (860) 659-0777 or contact us HERE. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you’re looking for a trusted agency partner to help elevate your recruitment marketing videos or overall strategy, we want to talk. Reach out today.

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Social Media for Manufacturers: Four Tips to Increase Your Sales Pipeline and Brand Loyalty

Lead Gen Tactics, Social & Video /

While many B2B product and service organizations have embraced social media as part of their marketing plan to build brand awareness, organizations often struggle to move beyond organic awareness building (talking just to their current followers) to forming a social media strategy that builds a targeted audience, generates leads and sales. Consider: 1. Provide Value When developing a social strategy, start with your audience. What demographics do you want to reach? What are their potential interests? A 2020 B2B Buyers Survey reports that “sixty-one percent of B2B buyers now involve more people in their purchase process than in years past.” With more potential eyes on your social media content, building a variety of customer personas is a valuable exercise. When developing content, many B2B companies go straight to selling mode, posting frequently about their products and services without much thought to WHY the reader should care. Often potential buyers and/or general searchers are looking to find information on a problem they need solved. Promotional posts serve a purpose, but don’t forget to offer your audience your unique views on HOW your product or service can solve their problem. When in doubt, ask yourself “is this content providing the reader value?” Looking for value-add content ideas? Turn to your blog posts, industry news, posts from thought-leaders, and web site articles.Consider the 80-20 rule: 80 percent of your content should inform/educate/entertain versus 20 percent being more sales/promotional focused. 2. Diversify Your Content GIFS, video and infographics…and more! When it comes to B2B marketing, many will argue that the subject matter can be dry. With two decades of B2B marketing experiences, we know that thinking is totally wrong, but it’s still important to come up with creative ways to present what is often technical, detailed information. Think of ways to visually make the content more appealing. Utilize video featuring subject matter experts or voice-over, use infographics to present data, and don’t be afraid to experiment with GIFS to “stop the scroll.” A potential buyer might be coming to your LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter page and scrolling through recent posts, so diversified visuals help tell your story and make for a more interesting user experience. 3. Engage, Engage, and Then Engage Again To seek out new potential leads and to begin the process of long-term relationship building, engage beyond “likes” and shares on your own profiles. Community management is critical (80 percent of customers expect a business to respond to their social media posts within 24 hours). Go where your buyers are and engage in conversation. Join groups and follow hashtags on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn and converse with those posting about like-minded topics. 4. Utilize Organic and Paid When developing your social strategy, consider paid posts as well (via boosting an organic post or developing an ad). While organic posts will reach a percentage of your followers, paid social media marketing allows for audience targeting (think location, demographic, interests). Additionally, A/B testing of paid ads – to see what content and images resonate with your target audience – can be useful before launching campaigns on a larger scale. Power Up Your Social Media As a marketing agency focused solely on B2B markets, we understand how to maximize B2B social media opportunities for clients. We can tell your story, reach a new audience, help support workforce growth and use Big Data to speak to those customers you have never been able to reach. Contact us today and let Stifel Marcin power up your social media. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. Our experienced team can help increase the effectiveness and value of your social media marketing. Fill out our contact form above and let’s talk.

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Digital B2B Advertising Platforms: Which Ones are Right for Your Business?

Advertising & Media, Lead Gen Tactics, Social & Video /

With Americans spending an average of 10+ hours a day logging screen time (4+ hours of that on a mobile device), savvy marketers have increased digital marketing tactics, serving their messages to prospective and current customers on those screens. As pay-per-click (PPC) advertising grows, your strategy not only needs compelling messages and stand-out visuals that grab attention, but thoughtful decisions about when and where those ads should appear. With several B2B advertising platforms to choose from, you may be wondering which networks will best fulfill your marketing goals. Let’s explore the most popular B2B advertising platforms and their benefits: Google Ads® Without a doubt, Google is the most popular search engine in the world, making it a likely choice among B2B advertising platforms to include in your overall PPC strategy. Google offers a large range of targeting options to help ensure you’re reaching your right audience, including, but not limited to: · Demographics· Search history· Interests· Life events Along with these targeting options come types of ad choices as well. Depending on your business’ overall goals, either of these ad types (or a combination of both) can be beneficial: Google Search Network serves text advertisements that include a URL link, title and description at the top or bottom of search engine result pages (SERP) based on the keywords of a user’s query. For instance, a Google search of “online car sales” displayed this ad for Carvana® at the top of SERP results. Ads can appear across multiple Google sites, including Google Play, Google Shopping, Google Images and more. Utilizing Google Search Partners, your ad can also show on a number of Google/Alphabet-owned websites when a user conducts a related search. It’s important to note that these ads only show to users who are searching for a particular product/service or looking for an answer to a specific question. Google Display Network showcases visual “display” ads as opposed to text-only advertisements. Unlike search ads that only show on SERP, display ads can be served across Google sites, on social media, within email and on millions of webpages. When working with a skilled agency partner like Stifel Marcin, you will know your display ads are highly targeted, based on parameters mentioned above, serving to target audience personas more effectively. While running an ad on Google can seem simple, effectively advertising and monitoring campaigns, optimizing results and ensuring ROI is not. B2B advertising platforms like Google benefit (i.e. profit from) increasing advertisers, and driving up a company’s spend. Making it seem simple to set up a digital PPC campaign launch is in Google’s interests. As a certified Google Ads agency, our team has expertise in Google Ads marketing for the B2B market. See how our Google ads management service experts can craft a strategy for your business that meets your goals and maximizes ROI. Microsoft Advertising® (formerly Bing Ads®) With the visibility of Google, some marketers have overlooked Microsoft Advertising. While each business has unique needs and goals, we believe that in many instances, the thinking shouldn’t be “Google OR Bing,” but rather “Google AND Bing.” As a typical rule of thumb, B2B customers are on Bing. Consider that most employees use a company-issued PC that uses MS operating systems (including Bing as the default search engine). If your targets are people at these companies, you may find this search engine is a smart place to make an investment. Major benefits of Bing/Microsoft Ads include: · The ability to run a campaign not only on Bing, but on other Microsoft ownedproperties like AOL and Yahoo· Many targeting options, including location, demographics, time of day anddevice type· Less keyword competition, typically making the platform a more budget-friendly choice· Remarketing messaging to drive potential customers back to your website· A variety of advertising formats, including expanded text ads, multimedia adsand product ads· Leveraging LinkedIn data to help with targeting (Microsoft owns LinkedIn) If it aligns with your business goals, our Bing Ads management service can help you reach more users. Also, check out our article “Five Considerations for B2B Marketers Debating “Bing Ads vs GoogleAds” for more information. Native Ads Think of native ads as “non-disruptive” advertisements that blend in with the flow of the website page on which they appear. Often they have a more organic feel in the overall space, vs a traditional display ad that would appear at the top of a search or in a sidebar. In many cases the ad may look like editorial content. On a social feed, that may look like a sponsored carousel post. If you notice content that states it is “recommended” for you, you’re likely looking at a native ad. Native ads are a hot topic as marketers prepare for a cookieless world. B2B advertising platforms offering native advertising promote the ability to target audiences based on subject matter. Simply put, this approach would serv an ad with content related to the article. So, in the above example, if Carvana wanted to serve native ads, they might select a series of articles related to automotive topics. Social Media B2B Advertising Platforms Social media is increasingly critical to an integrated marketing plan. When used as part of a holistic, strategic plan, social media advertising can reap rewards in increased brand awareness, web traffic and leads and is a proven part of the B2B buyer journey. The ability to A/B test ads also offers insights into customer needs and wants. Of note – 75 percent of B2B buyers and 84 percent of C-level executives are influenced by social media when making purchasing decisions. Targeted social media advertising can position the right messages to the right audience at the right time. The B2B advertising platforms offered by social media sites are robust. And as we prepare for a cookieless future, they also provide marketers with a variety of valuable interest and profile data that can be used in targeting. Facebook® Facebook is one of the most widely used social media platforms, with an estimated 89 percent of U.S. B2B marketers using it for brand awareness, lead generation and more. With

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Six Tips When Considering B2B Influencer Marketing

Lead Gen Tactics, Marketing Campaigns /

Since 92 percent of customers trust recommendations from individuals over businesses, influencer marketing has become a unique strategy for B2B marketers to share their products and business solutions. But what is influencer marketing exactly? In its most common form, influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing utilizing endorsements and product mentions from individuals who have a purported expert level of knowledge or social influence in their field. Choosing the Right Influencer Finding the right influencer can seem like a daunting task. Here are six things to consider when developing a B2B influencer marketing strategy: Tip 1: Especially valuable for B2B, think “industry expert”. While some businesses search outside the organization for that person, it’s important to consider that the perfect influencer may be within your own network, including an employee, customer, or business partner already talking favorably about your company or product online. Partnering with experts in your field who can more deftly incorporate your company’s products/capabilities into their content is a winning strategy. Tip 2: Look beyond vanity metrics. While that paints a picture, their content and style should align with what your audience is looking for. Many companies are seeing the value in partnering with micro-influencers – social content creators with 5,000-100,000 followers. Micro-influencers are typically viewed as experts in their respective areas (engineering, hydraulic repair and maintenance, financial investment, to name a few). Their “smaller” following tends to generate higher engagement with their audience, as they connect more personally and provide value to their followers, whether through social posts, podcasts, blogs and more. Tip 3: Lean into your company values. It’s important to fully vet possible influencers for possible conflicts of interest. Consider what kind of “personal” content they may be posting (think politics, social awareness, etc.). You’ll want to consider individuals whose values align with your company. Tip 4: Identify where your content should live. If your brand is trying to grow its presence in a specific demographic or audience segment, consider the best platforms for that demo and find influencers there. But remember that it’s not as simple as “young people are on TikTok.” Tip 5: Be transparent. Be clear about your goals and what you hope to accomplish with the partnership. Selecting the right partner should include honest conversations to be sure you are like-minded with similar audiences and goals. Tip 6: Have fun and be creative. Working with an influencer means strategically working with your partner to identify mutually beneficial content. Influencers want to bring quality information to their followers. Together, focus on compelling visual content to hold followers’ attention. Creativity isn’t exclusive to B2C marketing! Why Work with a B2B Influencer Agency Developing and executing a B2B influencer marketing strategy involves many steps. Finding influencers, vetting them, researching their endorsement history, arranging contact and initial introductory meetings can be a lot of work. Your agency partner can be a critical resource to identify content and ways it can be produced, strategize about smart ways to align your brand’s goals with those of the influencer and navigate important process steps like expectation alignments, contract negotiations, follow through and results reporting. Ultimately, the cost of working with influencers is expensive – and it should take a lot of time and effort to make sure you’re aligning with the right partner to provide value to the right audience. Working with the right agency with expertise in developing a B2B influencer marketing strategy can make a big difference in the success of your campaign outcomes. We Can Help Create Your B2B influencer Marketing Strategy If you’re looking to add an influencer strategy to your B2B marketing mix, we’d like to talk. Check out our portfolio page about a recent brand awareness campaign featuring industry influencers and then fill out our contact form on this page or reach out via phone or email. A Stifel Marcin team member will be in touch soon. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you want to learn more about the benefits of influencer marketing, we can help. Contact us today.

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Leveraging Geo-Targeting for Account-Based Marketing

ABM, Lead Gen Tactics /

Geo-targeting for account based marketing (ABM) is a strategic and effective way for B2B organizations to focus marketing resources on key customer groups while generating leads from only the highest-value customers. In today’s changing business environment – without trade shows, conferences and in-person events – reaching high-value target prospects is critical. Reaching Customers Using Account-Based Tactics A properly-developed ABM campaign leverages a variety of profile information – job titles and roles, interests, affinities, education, connections and more. In digital ABM campaigns, this data (which is gathered by 3rd party data aggregates), helps marketers serve ads to those who match ideal customer target profiles. With geo-targeting we can refine that focus even more. Geographic limiters can be effective when targeting larger organizations – those with thousands of employees spread over multiple campuses – as well as smaller companies with localized footprints. From zip codes to regional circumferences to the physical “walls” of a building, geo-targeting for account based marketing can help isolate key prospects. Different Approaches to Geo-Targeting for Account Based Marketing Many large companies have defined functions within their facility network. The structure can be by purpose – where one location provides manufacturing services, a second location is focused on procurement, a third on R&D, etc. Or the organizational structure can be by application – perhaps a location focused on automotive is based in Michigan, where the group focused on medical applications is in California. Through careful research about facility clusters, combined with well-crafted target customer profiles, we strategize our geographic focus. We can allocate spend according to customer value, as well as eliminate serves so we don’t waste budget on geographies that are unlikely to convert. Also, we can customize the ad content to that geography. So, in the above example, the ads served in Michigan could be created for an automotive audience, and slightly different, medically-focused ads would run in California. Reaching Targets & Marketing During Remote Operations While we can focus on the walls of a building, in today’s environment – where remote work is common – we often extend the target area to include a commutable distance to that company location to reach people at home. This is often based on specific research, since we know that people in more developed regions and urban areas can have higher commutable distances, and different companies have different operating trends regarding work from home. Maximizing ABM Spend Allocation It’s important to remember that any paid digital campaign is about refinement and optimization. There will be some targets that we will miss – maybe a small R&D department in a facility outside of our target, or perhaps someone who works outside of our commutable distance target – but paid campaigns are about controlling and focusing spend on the best prospects. We want to allocate the most resources to the targets that are most likely to match our target profiles. And most likely to become high-value leads. With a digital ABM campaign, we can build key touchpoints, control the ad messaging, and drive people into our marketing funnels. Then we leverage a well-designed website and strong remarketing campaigns to help turn those prospects into sales. Powering Up Your LeadGen Plan Building brand visibility in today’s climate is critical. Prospects require an average of 6-8 brand touchpoints – meaning a target will see your brand multiple times before they will become a lead. People are also increasingly digital, and often working remotely. There are fewer opportunities to create touchpoints with one-on-one interaction. The need to show your company’s leadership, quality, service and reliability is imperative. Digital campaigns built using strategic geo-targeting for account based marketing tactics can create in-roads and opportunities. From building brand visibility to creating valuable customer touchpoints, these ABM campaigns deliver your message and promise to prospects with the highest sales value. Learn more about our ABM solutions, or schedule a free consultation to review your marketing strategies. For two decades we have helped companies Power Up their Marketing, and we are ready to deliver results for your B2B organization. Contact us today to learn more. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you have questions about our ABM services to maximize results, let’s talk.

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Marketing Monthly Retainer: 5 Benefits & Considerations

Lead Gen Tactics /

If your business is thinking about outsourcing some or all of its marketing needs to an experienced agency like Stifel Marcin, you may have heard the term “marketing monthly retainer” and wondered if this type of agreement is right for you. Typically, businesses will enter a marketing retainer with an agency partner when considerations such as cost control, budgeting, ease of work, quick response from a dedicated team, and more, are paramount. At Stifel Marcin, while we can work on a per-project basis, we find when we develop on-going relationships with clients, we are able to optimize services and provide continuous advice to help you achieve your goals. Working with an agency that understands your business specifics, is aware of the assets available, and is already up-to-speed on your marketing strategies and goals can help efficiencies and results. A marketing monthly retainer establishes that partnership and defines the terms. And for busy marketing, sales and HR teams, knowing that an outside marketing agency is ready and able to assist can be crucial.  Marketing Monthly Retainer Agreement Benefits There are many advantages when entering into a marketing retainer agreement with your chosen agency partner: 1. Clear Budget and Scope of Work  Under a retainer agreement, a client will typically pay a fixed monthly or quarterly fee. The retainer will also define the number of hours dedicated to the client per month, with both parties agreeing upfront regarding identified needs and expectations. Think of this as budgeting made easy. You’ll know what you’re paying each month and your agency will develop a clear plan of action that stays within that budget. Your expert partners should understand how to optimize spend across every channel, increasing your ROI while achieving the best results. You also won’t need to go through contract creation and approval each time you need outside support. 2. Increases In-House Team Efficiencies  Clients who outsource B2B marketing services often find that their internal team operates more effectively. If your company has engaged in a marketing retainer agreement, your staff has a clear understanding of what the agency will accomplish, typically with a clear plan of action established, freeing them to focus on the tasks that they do best. Collaborating with experienced specialists often saves both time and money, as your organization does not have to invest in more internal staff or tools to achieve results.  3. Access to Resources We often hear from clients about the challenge of keeping up with changing technology that marketing in 2022 requires, and their limited internal tools and budgets. Modern advertising and marketing have undoubtedly become more complex. There are more digital solutions to track customer behaviors and increasingly diverse touchpoints required in the B2B sales cycle. Working with a skilled partner like Stifel Marcin allows your company to benefit from the latest resources and tools, and the expertise needed to use them effectively, to generate leads and sales. When you have contracted with an agency using a marketing monthly retainer, you and your agency partner will have planned and budgeted, ensuring you have the right technology and resources for the full scope of work. 4. Collaborative and Consistent Support Working with a marketing agency on retainer provides regular access to experts (even when you might need them unexpectedly). This cooperative relationship allows the agency time to thoroughly get to know and understand your business, its goals and any changing needs and priorities over time. Your agency partner will take their deep knowledge of communications techniques and marketing trends to customize a plan that is unique to your needs and goals. With a consistent relationship comes increased understanding, efficiencies and support. Here at Stifel Marcin, we believe that collaboration drives successful results. Together, we can generate more ideas and solutions that help your brand grow. 5. Transparent Reporting  Reporting is an important factor in building a trusted partnership. Certainly, as the client paying the monthly fee, you’ll want to understand how your budget is being spent and what results are being generated. Scheduled and detailed reporting allows for candid conversation about what is working, opportunities for improvement, suggested adjustments when necessary (based on data) and continued strategy planning. What Might a Marketing Retainer Cover? A marketing retainer agreement with an agency like Stifel Marcin may include services such as:  • Marketing strategy• Search engine optimization (SEO)• Social media marketing• Content marketing• Paid advertising (PPC)• Email marketing• Web development• Performance analysis and more. Our integrated services help you plan and deploy effective marketing strategies and campaigns with the future of your business in mind. In many cases, we will artfully combine a variety of methods to meet your unique KPIs.   When is a Marketing Retainer Not the Best Option? A marketing monthly retainer agreement is not the only possibility when partnering with an agency. A different contract agreement may be a better option if: • Your business has specific project-based needs with a specific timeline/completion goal, for instance the development of a new website. • Your organization does not have on-going/monthly marketing requirements or a sustainable budget. This is often the case for companies starting new marketing efforts that are working to build a core archive or marketing assets. • There is a budget for a specific spend/activity. If your budget is constrained to a particular marketing tactic, then a marketing retainer might not be for you. • You are not ready to make a full commitment. If it is the first time you are working with an agency partner or outsourcing services, a project-based contract with a defined timeline can be a better option to get to know the agency and evaluate the partnership. Read more about how to outsource B2B marketing services and ask questions about various agreement options during your agency research/RFP.   A B2B Marketing Agency Partner Dedicated to Your Success   When you work with Stifel Marcin, you are working with a team whose full-time job is to understand and reliably execute integrated strategies, including the services listed above. If you are considering working with a marketing agency for the first time or have questions regarding a

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