Exploring B2B Advertising Options: Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and Facebook Ads

In the digital age, Business-to-Business (B2B) marketing has undergone a significant transformation, with businesses having many advertising platforms at their disposal. Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and Facebook Ads are three prominent options for B2B marketers. In this article, we will delve into the pros and cons of each platform to help you make an informed decision for your B2B advertising campaigns.

Google Ads:

Pros:

1. Vast Reach: Google is the world’s most popular search engine, making it an ideal platform to reach a massive and diverse audience.
2. Keyword Targeting: Google Ads allows precise keyword targeting, ensuring that your ads are displayed to users actively searching for products or services related to your B2B offerings.
3. Declaring Intent: When a customer or prospect enters a search in Google, they declare their intent to find information or a solution; therefore, they are more likely to be at the bottom of the funnel and more likely to convert to a lead.
4. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Model: With Google Ads, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, making it cost-effective and easy to manage your budget.
5. Conversion Tracking: Google Ads offers robust conversion tracking tools, helping you measure the success of your campaigns and optimize accordingly.

Cons:

1. Competition: As a top-rated platform, Google Ads can be competitive and expensive, especially for competitive keywords.
2. Complexity: Setting up and optimizing Google Ads campaigns requires time and expertise to achieve the best results through trial and error and proper setup and messaging.
3. Declining Results:  We’ve seen declining results from Google Ads for B2B companies. This trend is likely because B2B decision-makers often turn to peers for recommendations on companies that can solve their problems instead of relying 100% on Google.
4. Not Enough Clicks: You are buying clicks for Google Ads or Pay Per Click.  The problem is that the ad clicks available to buy for some terms can be small, especially for a niche business.  If the universe of clicks is small, it will be hard to get results.

LinkedIn Ads:

Pros:

1. Targeted B2B Audience: LinkedIn is a professional networking platform, making it an ideal choice for B2B advertising. You can target users based on job titles, industries, company size, and more.
2. Sponsored Content: LinkedIn offers sponsored content options, enabling you to promote articles, posts, and videos to a highly engaged professional audience.
3. Lead Generation Forms: You can capture leads directly through LinkedIn with lead generation forms, streamlining the conversion process.
4. InMail Advertising: Send personalized messages directly to the LinkedIn inboxes of your target audience, creating a more direct and personalized approach.

Cons:

1. Cost: LinkedIn Ads can be relatively expensive, especially when targeting specific professional demographics.
2. Limited Audience Size: LinkedIn’s audience is highly targeted, but it may not be as extensive as platforms like Google or Facebook.
3. Not Ready To Buy: People on LinkedIn may not be ready to buy at the bottom of the funnel. Therefore, a re-targeting approach (follow-me ads) may be necessary to stay in front of them once they visit your website.

Facebook Ads:

Pros:

1. Massive User Base: Facebook boasts over 2.8 billion monthly active users, providing access to a vast and diverse audience.
2. Precise Targeting: Facebook Ads offer detailed demographic, behavioral, and interest-based targeting options, enabling you to reach the right B2B audience.
3. Visual Ads: Visual content, such as images and videos, is highly engaging on Facebook, allowing for creative and visually appealing B2B ad campaigns.
4. Budget Flexibility: You can set daily or lifetime budgets, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes.

Cons:

1. B2B Engagement Challenge: While Facebook has a massive user base, it’s primarily a platform for personal social interactions, so getting B2B audiences to engage with your content can be more challenging.
2. Ad Fatigue: With many businesses using Facebook for advertising, users may experience ad fatigue, leading to reduced engagement with sponsored content.
3. Not Ready To Buy: When people are on Facebook, they may not be ready to buy at the bottom of the funnel. Therefore, a re-targeting approach (follow-me ads) may be necessary to stay in front of them once they visit your website. 

In conclusion, choosing Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and Facebook Ads for your B2B marketing efforts depends on your specific goals, target audience, and budget. Google Ads are great for actively reaching a broad audience searching for products or services. LinkedIn Ads are perfect for precise B2B targeting but come at a higher cost. Facebook Ads offer access to a vast audience and creative freedom, though B2B engagement can be more challenging.

The most effective B2B advertising strategy often involves a combination of these platforms tailored to your unique business needs. Doing it right also requires a minimum level of investment to see results. You can’t spend $100 and expect leads to rain from the sky. If you are confused about where to start with B2B advertising options, we can help by starting with a complimentary website assessment that answers three simple questions.

About the Author

Todd McCarty, WSI, has over 25 years of experience in Marketing and has worked for some of Atlanta’s leading companies in marketing leadership roles.