In this information-saturated world, it can be even harder to catch a consumer’s attention with your content. This challenge is even substantial for B2B marketers. Achieving organic reach is always a great option. But, for many companies, a paid boost is necessary to gain visibility against their competitors and ensure targeted reach.

The utopian scenario is the following one: with the right message, oriented toward the right audience, you can get plenty of interesting prospects that will help you score a high ROI.

Outbound vs. Ads

In this article, we will together review the benefits and disadvantages that you should always keep in mind when using ads (Google and LinkedIn) versus the Outbound approach. The foundation of this Outbound vs. Ads battle starts with being aware of the audience you want to target.

You should ask yourself the following questions:

1. Who are you trying to reach?
2. What can you do to engage them?
3. What will you do to stand out from the crowd?
4. Would you like to automate the lead generation process?
5. Or, you will try picking your leads manually in order to make sure that they are the most high-quality ones?

How the Pros & Cons of using LinkedIn and Google ads in comparison with Outbound marketing, can affect your B2B campaign.

Pros of using LinkedIn Ads

• You can create detailed B2B campaigns targeting an industry you are looking to break into;
• Also, you can use the Job title or seniority level targeting to refine your target demo to the decision-makers;
• You have Sponsored InMail as an option. It comes with a price, but it puts you in the inbox of those you target.

Cons of using LinkedIn Ads

• The Campaign Manager (where you create and manage your self-serve ad campaigns) is full of bugs and doesn’t have a good flow;
• Most of the useful features on LinkedIn are hidden unless you have a dedicated monthly ad spend.
• Campaign Manager can be a nightmare to navigate. It takes 2-3 different screens to get to the actual Campaign Manager.

In comparison with LinkedIn ads, marketing experts state that Google PPC Advertising is leading the paid ads game. Google PPC allows you to get in front of customers when they are searching for businesses like yours on Google Search and Maps.

How would they know that your brand exists? Let’s stop for a moment and review Google Ads Pros and Cons.

Pros of using Google Ads

• You can reach a large audience by going where your audience is;
• Using the Google AdWords keyword tool, you can determine the keywords you want your ads to show up for when someone searches;
• Demographic targeting helps you reach the desired audience;
• Google AdWords only charges advertisers when a prospect clicks on the ad.

Cons of using Google Ads

• People trust natural results over ads and usually click on them at higher rates than the PPC ads;
• You are competing against every other brand interested in your keyword (and it often becomes mercilessly;
• It takes a lot of time and energy to get familiar with the Google AdWords platform;
• It’s an expensive game, especially if you are not careful in the early days when you are still learning the ropes of what works for you.

The outreach process we at BizzBee use the most, is explained in our FREE e-book on SMEs’ Shortcut to Quick Growth, make sure you check it out. 🙂

What is the alternative here?

Paid ads can, therefore, get pretty expensive and they are also not considered a suitable replacement for outbound marketing.

Moreover, paid advertising can be a good way to help people learn about your brand. Furthermore, they can visit your website for the first time. Also, it won’t necessarily do the work of educating your prospects or building the sort of relationship that leads to conversions.

It can bring you leads into the pipeline, but someone should move them through, right?

Check out these numbers:

• According to a recent study by HubSpot, when you acquire a lead through paid ads, it is on average 61% more costly than acquiring a lead through outbound marketing;
• Less than 10% of internet clicks are generated through paid marketing, whereas over 90% are generated through inbound and outbound marketing.

Buyers nowadays can sometimes be lazy to discover things by themselves. Instead, they want all the info served in front of them. Moreover, B2B companies are becoming even savvier. They don’t want to be distracted by ads. Thus, ads are usually being avoided.

Recently, many Face-blocking techniques were developed. This helps consumers ensure that they won’t be exposed to ads marketing, such as blocking online adverts and pop-ups.

Pros of using Outbound Marketing

This is the part when the Outbound marketing comes out of the lights:

• It helps you build a relationship between the product and the client;
• Less expensive approach (almost free);
• Drives a better Return-On-Investment (ROI) – it can go up to 80%.

Cons of using Outbound Marketing

• It takes more time and energy to conduct an outbound campaign;
• The bad reputation of the old kind of outbound still remains;
• Constantly nurturing consumers and persuading them to choose your B2B solution over others can be an exhausting and overwhelming task.

Final Words

Don’t get me wrong – Google and LinkedIn ads can still be an effective marketing technique for B2B companies. However, more and more companies are investing in outbound marketing because they find it more cost-effective.

Last, but not least, you cannot always count on Google or LinkedIn ads to do the work. But you can always rely on our 3-months Outbound Growth Strategy.

Check it out: https://www.bizzbeesolutions.com/outbound-growth-strategy