Meet your target market where they are
Building brand equity hinges on using the right communication channels.
In the business-to-business (B2B) sector, advertising is an important part of any media and communications strategy.
Magazines, websites and e-newsletters that cover the industries your business works in are key channels that allow you to connect with potential customers and showcase how your products and services can help them.
The impact of this element of your marketing will be significant, so it’s important to keep a few simple ground rules in mind when planning your media strategy.
- Reputation matters
For better or worse, where you are seen reflects on your company’s brand. When you advertise and appear in publications that are respected and trusted, it reflects favourably on your brand.
Conversely, advertising in publications that don’t have a solid reputation in the industries you work in isn’t a good look for your brand.
When planning a media schedule, make sure you’re including brands key decision makers are reading and that your industry values.
- Consider audience breakdown
It’s equally important to utilise media channels that have strong engagement with your target customer.
If your ideal buyers aren’t engaging with the magazines, newsletters and websites you’re advertising in, it’s money down the drain.
When reviewing publications, seek out data which shows who makes up the readership – such as breakdowns by title, state and industry sector – and also look to publications that have partnerships with industry associations your target customers are members of.
- Quality, not quantity
In B2B marketing, it’s often the quality of the audience that you’re reaching that is more important than the quantity.
There’s no point reaching hundreds of thousands of people if only a small percentage of them are target customers.
It’s much better to utilise a targeted media channel with a smaller audience – which will usually offer much better rates – over a mainstream, consumer publication with a larger audience.
Again, look to publications with partnerships with associations you’re aligned with. Also look to publications that have distribution through respected industry events.
These are both additional measures that publishers will take to ensure that their audience is ‘right-sized’ – reaching the highest number of relevant people, without targeting readers that aren’t a good fit.
- The medium is the message
The type of media you choose to advertise in is also extremely important.
In 2020, we surveyed more than 2,000 business leaders across 15 industries to understand the trust they had in different mediums including print, websites, emailed newsletters and social media.
Our research found that decision makers trusted printed media the most, with 57 per cent of respondents rating their trust in print media at four or five out of five.
Email newsletters and media websites followed closely at second or third respectively, at a very close margin.
Social media was ranked as both the least influential and least trustworthy form of media.
Building a media and communications strategy
Developing a full media and communications plan for your business, or for a particular campaign, can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.
On the advertising front, working with respected publications that have the right audience is the ideal starting point.
By leveraging print alongside other trusted communication channels, such as websites and email newsletters, you will not only reach decision makers, but create a lasting impression, ensuring that your clients trust and remember you when it comes time for them to invest.
The PCM Engine Room has 27 years of experience in B2B marketing and publishing, and every day we work with companies like yours to develop strategies that educate the market and influence outcomes.
If you’d like assistance with developing a tailored program to suit your needs, get in touch today – we’d love to help you!