The do's and don'ts for a successful B2B branding campaign
How do you get the most out of a B2B branding campaign? It's not as straight forward as an action or product campaign where you can measure success by conversion. A branding campaign requires a long haul, where you must have a clear end goal. So, if you're ready: grab your pen (or laptop also good) and let's lay out a roadmap with the key success factors for branding campaigns!
Michael Horneman
Client & sales manager
The do's of your B2B branding campaign
Let me start with the do's. Above all, what should you do to boost your B2B branding campaign?
- Set realistic and measurable goals. The fact that it is more difficult to measure the conversion of branding campaigns is all the more reason to properly set your objectives in advance. Once you have your objectives clear, then make them measurable with a set of concrete KPIs, such as reach, CPM, view rate, CTR, etc.
- Be visible across all channels. A branding campaign requires an omnichannel approach. And then, of course, on the channels and websites where your target audience is (social, display, search, etc.). Make sure they encounter you every time they are online.
- Ensure consistency and recognition. With a multichannel approach, consistency is important. A consistent message and recognizability in imagery and style, creates brand recognition. And that's what you want! With every expression, your audience should be aware of your brand.
- Sell the dream, not the bed. Focus the content of your campaign on what your customers want to achieve with your solution, not on the features of your product or service. So don't tell them that your bed has four legs and is solidly built, tell them about the wonderful night's sleep your customer can enjoy for years to come.
What is good content for branding campaigns?
For your branding campaign to succeed, it is important to offer top of the funnel content. Content that is not about your solution, but about the customer's problem and the result to be achieved. Offer conversion opportunities where you collect first-party data. Think relevant white papers, checklists and case studies behind a download form. After all, a prospect who is high in the funnel is not likely to request a demo or schedule an appointment right away.
By collecting first-party data, you can continue to reach customers throughout their buyer journey. Especially with third party data soon to expire, this data is essential for a successful branding campaign. If you want to learn more about this, read our white paper A higher ROI in a cookieless era for B2B marketing. Immediately a great example of top funnel content 😉.
The don'ts of your B2B branding campaign
There are also some pitfalls in branding campaigns that you should definitely avoid:
- Tunnel vision. Day in and day out, you work for your own brand. You know your own brand and brand identity so well that you can no longer see it as an outsider. To avoid tunnel vision, it's important to keep looking around you and seeing what's happening in the market and what your competitors are doing. Check regularly to make sure your branding content and materials still meet the current needs of your target audience.
- 'Overfunneling'. When you have a limited budget, you have to ask yourself with every decision whether it fits with what you want to achieve. Suppose you have a budget of €1,000 p/m and you want to use social, display, YouTube and Google ads, I can already tell you that none of the channels will work. Don't have enough budget to be present on all channels? Then focus on a small number of channels that have the most impact.
- Conversion-oriented bidding strategy. Of course you want as many conversions as possible, even high in the funnel, but a branding campaign is not a conversion buster. In a branding campaign, you focus primarily on visibility and brand recognition. If you let your ad platform's algorithm optimize for conversions, it has too little data to let the algorithm do its job. Especially in automatic bidding strategies (smart bidding), this can also cause unnecessarily high costs.
- Short-term focus. Last but not least, branding campaigns require patience. Branding is a case of the long haul. Because it is not conversion-oriented, the effect is difficult to measure. YouTube does have a feature to measure the impact of branding: the Brand Lift. Very useful, but only available with high budgets. Not for everyone and even then, branding is a long-term strategy. Monitor and optimize your campaigns continuously so you do not miss out on conversions in the long run.
Dive deeper into B2B branding campaigns
I could literally write pages more about branding. But however you look at it, branding campaigns are indispensable for a well-filled funnel in B2B. And yes, it is a challenge to get sufficient results from your investment with branding in the long run. Channels, copy, bidding strategies: there's a lot involved! But with the right roadmap and a clear goal in mind, at the bottom of the funnel it does yield more conversions. Also on your other campaigns.
Curious how such a branding campaign works in practice? Check out the success story of Groendus, supplier of sustainable energy solutions for companies.