As you focus on crafting and distributing content that appeals to buyers’ emotions and, ideally, drives a sense of urgency toward realizing there’s a problem they need to solve, you must also remember that buyers are getting ads and content from competitors, too.
With so many messages in the marketplace, it can be difficult to stand out. You need to ensure that all key decision-makers not only remember what they read and the brand it came from, but how they felt while they read it, since connection is key to conversion.
Determining what content and messaging resonates loudest at each phase of the buyer’s journey can be difficult. The answer to overcoming these challenges is a data-driven, full-funnel account-based marketing (ABM) strategy to identify and prioritize key accounts, surround all buying committee members with relevant content and messaging that resonates with them, and measure and optimize your approach for higher impact and return on investment (ROI). This requires strong sales and marketing alignment on a unified outreach strategy and brand voice.
Distribution can be challenging, especially as buying committees grow larger and internal changes happen with more frequency. Understanding how to leverage each media channel allows you to quickly craft personalized nurture paths that urge decision-makers through the funnel and helps ensure that the right message reaches decision-makers at the right time in the right place.
The sales funnel consists of four main stages: awareness, consideration, decision, and retention. An effective multi-channel ABM approach proactively distributes content and messaging across the four channels where buying committee members spend most of their time: connected CTV (CTV), content syndication, display advertisements, and LinkedIn advertisements. We’ve built our marketing media mix placement strategy through looking at each stage’s goal to emphasize which channel and type of content will move them through the buyer’s journey faster. Here’s how.
Focus on Education Media at the Awareness Stage
In the awareness stage, your goal is to inform and educate your target audience about the challenges they face and the solutions available to solve them. Even if they haven’t realized they have a problem yet, you want to create familiarity with your brand awareness to stay top of mind when they’re ready to find a solution. Focus on channels and content that garners targeted outreach, drums up engagement in your top of funnel collateral, and sets the stage for deeper engagement in subsequent phases of their buyer’s journey.
According to Gartner, 80% of U.S. viewers use at least one streaming TV service overall. And with 86.7% of U.S. households expected to watch Connected TV (CTV) by 2025, now is the time to experiment with CTV as part of your multi-channel ABM strategy. Because of their reliance on Smart TVs and other streaming devices, your audience has already integrated this channel as part of their everyday life. They have an emotional resonance with whatever program they’re watching or service they’re using. Leverage CTV ads to drive awareness and generate demand by placing compelling stories and informative content, which will be received more receptively because your audience is already paying attention.
Content syndication stands out as another pivotal tactic to drive awareness. Distribute your educational content—such as analyst reports, infographics, white papers, and eBooks—across various platforms and websites frequented by your target audience. This method ensures your message reaches those actively seeking information about market conditions, industry trends, and solutions related to their business challenges, while effectively broadening your reach from solely your website or social platforms.
Additionally, incorporating display ads and utilizing LinkedIn can significantly amplify your exposure and reach. Display ads, when placed on relevant websites and platforms, reinforce your brand messaging and directs potential customers toward your product messaging and educational content. As LinkedIn is a social platform, it offers a conducive environment for sharing insightful articles, reports, and eBooks directly with industry professionals and decision-makers you wouldn’t be able to reach through other channels.
Implement More Detailed Product Information at the Consideration Stage
During this stage, your target audience is actively evaluating solutions, making it crucial to provide detailed product information that can distinguish your offering from competitors and within the marketplace. You need your media mix placement to reinforce your brand attributes and align your solution to specific pain points, all while urging buying committee members through the funnel. When you implement content syndication for deeper qualification, retargeting ads for sustained engagement, and email and events for direct interaction, you’re well on your way to paving more conversations and interactions that lead to higher conversion rates.
At the consideration stage, you want to build affinity and engage contacts with multiple touches. Content syndication focuses on generating higher interest from warm contacts as part of your nurture process. You can further qualify accounts and cement that you’re the partner of choice by sharing targeted content such as buying guides and in-depth blog posts to ensure your solution is front and center as prospects are comparing their options.
Retargeting becomes invaluable during the consideration stage. Display ads and LinkedIn keep your product top-of-mind, creating consistent touchpoints that accelerate engagement. Tailoring your ads to highlight demo videos or customer testimonials can significantly influence the decision-making process by demonstrating real-world applications and benefits. You can also use these videos as part of your CTV growth strategy, as videos on CTV have a 95% completion rate.
Email marketing is another powerful tool to establish ongoing communication. Drive event registrations for webinars or live events directly through email campaigns. These events provide a platform to showcase your product in action, offer valuable insights, and interact with potential customers in real time. A newsletter also offers valuable opportunities to boost engagement as you inform readers about new content on your website or product developments.
Provide Value for Decision-Makers with Comparisons and Testimonials at the Decision Stage
At the decision stage, it’s imperative to equip potential customers with comprehensive, digestible information that champions your solution as the optimal choice. Content needs to reinforce your experience and reputation, show your solution’s capabilities, validate your product’s value, and demonstrate your future outlook so decision-makers are confident with their purchasing decision.
Employing content syndication geared toward executive personas is a strategic move to expedite decision-making processes. Distribute comparison guides, product sheets, and white papers through channels frequented by these high-level decision-makers to underscore your product’s advantages over competitors.
You’ll also want to extend your brand’s presence through targeted display ads. These ads should deliver very tailored messaging to address key purchase questions or product benefits and differentiation points. Direct viewers to native ads that blend seamlessly with the platforms they’re hosted on, which keeps your solution top of mind while continuing to reinforce your thought leadership and positioning within the market.
Highlighting success stories and testimonials is crucial at the decision-making stage. Case studies that detail the journey and outcomes of similar businesses provide tangible evidence of your product’s value. This content not only reinforces confidence in your solution, but also encourages prospects to envision their success with your product. Deliver video testimonials to your audience via CTV, display ads, or LinkedIn, as these channels help keep you top of mind while further reinforcing your written case studies and other messaging available on your website that displays customers’ achievements and how your solution helped to drive effective results.
Use email and LinkedIn to promote webinars that feature live product demos, which you can reinforce with sending how-to guides to offer a hands-on understanding of your product. You want to allow decision-makers to fully grasp your solution’s utility and integration into their operations, and live events offer ample opportunity for them to visualize the use case for your solution and apply it to their everyday operations.
Engage Customers with Media that Supports their Goals at the Retention Stage
Retention is vital for any company, as it recoups marketing spend from campaigns. It’s also the stage where you can make the most out of your customers’ observations and feedback to optimize future campaigns. Your primary aim with your media mix placement is to bolster relationships with your customers by providing valuable support and information that aligns with their ongoing goals and needs.
Through content syndication, share enriching eBooks and whitepapers that delve into advanced product features, industry trends, and success strategies. These resources keep your brand top of mind while empowering customers with knowledge that fuels their growth initiatives.
Employ display ads and LinkedIn to distribute educational content such as tutorial videos, in-depth webinars, and training sessions. This approach not only reinforces the value of your product but also demonstrates your commitment to customer success and proficiency. Tailor these materials to highlight practical applications and advanced usage tips that encourage customers to leverage your product more effectively. You’ll also want to encourage sales and customer success team members to share these materials with any customer interaction.
Distribution of customer-focused email newsletters is crucial. These should be devoid of marketing fluff, instead offering a rich blend of case studies, invitations to exclusive customer events, and opportunities to participate in feedback surveys. You also want to create a customer advisory board (CAB) where you can gather insights from customers to create content that continues to answer their questions and provide deeper insights into how your company approaches market changes or product feedback. This content mix nurtures a sense of community and keeps your customers engaged by showcasing real-world applications and success stories, fostering a deeper connection with your brand and enhancing customer loyalty.
Resonate with your Target Audience and Customers Longer with Madison Logic
Achieving success with your media mix placement depends on many factors, but the sign that it’s working well is when your marketing, sales, and customer success teams feel empowered through a unified approach and understanding of your company’s messaging. Content drives conversations at every stage of the sales funnel—and Madison Logic can help you leverage your content so that your messaging rings loud and clear over your competitors.
ML Insights redefines your ABM strategy’s effectiveness. With our proprietary engagement and intent data at your disposal, you are empowered to target your account list with speed and precision. This capability ensures you’re not only identifying where buying committee members are most active, but also delivering content that genuinely educates and empowers decision-makers at every pivotal stage of their journey.
Madison Logic facilitates a seamless integration of data-driven insights into your marketing efforts, streamlining the process to focus on creating impactful, resonant content that fosters long-term relationships with your target audience and customers. The ML Platform is the only ABM activation solution to unify four channels into a holistic view to see and measure each channel’s performance, including content syndication to LinkedIn Ads, display advertisement to CTV. By understanding where your efforts will be most fruitful, you can confidently invest in media placements that drive higher impact and ROI, truly embodying a full-funnel, multi-channel ABM strategy.
Embrace the opportunity to elevate your marketing strategy by downloading the 2024 Full-Funnel ABM Playbook, which will help you understand how to leverage your data and build a more impactful ABM strategy. And if you’re ready to jump into seeing how ML Insights helps you place your marketing mixed media into a stronger alignment with your sales cycle, request a demo today.
