Selling and marketing your IoT solution? For your prospects, implementing the Internet of Things is a company-wide decision. But individual stakeholders need to get on board, and they have specific pain points and challenges unique to their role. To win the sale, you need to address and nurture each buyer. That’s why targeted advertising is a winning strategy for IoT.
Targeted advertising lets you deliver specific, valuable messaging to key stakeholders. Value starts with an in-depth understanding of IoT buyers, such as:
If you start your IoT advertising project with this context, your campaigns will earn higher impressions, more clicks, and a lower cost-per-lead than if you go in blindly. So where does this context come from? Sales teams are rich with knowledge about target buyers. They know about their obstacles, goals, current systems, and exciting value points. Interview sales reps and customer experience or success teams and document the findings. Use the findings to craft “value snippets” that you can use to test in advertising.
Also look to past data. Which pages or blog posts are your buyers reading on your site? Which email topics do they respond well to? If you’re not sure, look for third-party data from Statista or another trusted source. There are plenty of resources available on the IoT opportunity, such as from McKinsey & Co.
Read more: Internet of Things Market Analysis: 20+ Statistics on the IoT Opportunity
Advertising campaigns are only as good as the messaging and the content they offer. No matter how much money you pour into a campaign, you’re limited by the impact of your campaign. Most ad platforms will stop serving up your ad if it’s not earning clicks and/or conversions. So follow these examples to be targeted and not generic.
Targeting can be based on different lead factors such as:
Each factor can be a launchpad for a campaign angle. For example, your ads for small startups should read much differently than for enterprises. And an ad to sell agricultural IoT solutions will look different for California than Texas. Targeting is a two-way qualifying tool: Buyers will qualify themselves by clicking only relevant ads. So speak specifically to the people you want to attract, with clear language that makes them think, “Hey, that’s me!” If you’re targeting two or more kinds of buyers, consider breaking into separate campaigns to keep your messaging and analytics clear.
Read more: 5 Major Considerations for Your IoT Marketing Strategy
All aspects of your ad campaign should speak to the target buyer. This means your ad copy, call-to-action, and content offer (if you’re advertising content or a lead conversion) should revolve around this persona. Strong content is often the backbone of a successful targeted ad campaign for IoT lead generation. Most ad platforms are not successful for bottom-of-funnel conversions, for example: product demos, “contact us” forms, or custom quotes. It’s understandable, because new buyers need more context and education before taking such a big step.
For that reason, educational content is more successful for brand new advertising campaigns. Ebooks, explainer videos, information graphics, statistical reports, checklists, and case studies are perfect to launch your first targeted IoT campaign. Especially if the content offer is tailored for your buyer based on all the criteria we laid out earlier.
Research the major setbacks to IoT adoption in your space and speak candidly to those. Some common concerns include security, lack of understanding or education, operability with their existing solutions or legacy system, and more. If you can get ahead of problems in your ad campaign, you’re closer to a sale.
Notice how each of these speak to the who, the what, and the why of the solution. There is no question who that ad or content offer is for. And content is enticing, because most IoT buyers are looking for more education about the possibilities and challenges. If you can be that educational partner, you’ll gain a trusted new contact.
Your advertising goal can be to capture leads (with a “download” or “access now” call-to-action and a form) such as with LinkedIn’s lead capture, or your goal can be brand awareness and demand generation, like sharing video ads through Google’s YouTube search tools. For lead generation, ask smart questions of your leads to further identify pain points, value, and differentiators for them. Make sure to follow up with equally targeted emails, content, or sales outreach.
No matter your strategy, set a clear KPI for success. Then keep a close eye on metrics and data insights so you can refine your campaigns. Your messaging is something that evolves as you run more tests — especially in the IoT market, which is constantly evolving. It’s a hands-on process that leads to better leads and more sales conversations, with a lower cost-per-lead over time.
Read more: Marketing Data is the Next Big Opportunity for IoT. Here’s Why.
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