LinkedIn Versus Google Adwords for B to B Advertising

[Kingalan1]

Does anyone have experience with  LinkedIn and Google Adwords for B+B advertising? I own a commercial real estate agency in Manhattan. We aim to generate qualified leads of business tenants seeking to rent office or loft space. The advertising is not meant to build an image or branding.  Approximate total adverting budget is $3,000-$5,000/month.

LinkedIn appears to have the advantage in being able to target a particular demographic (industry, geography, job function, size of company). But I wonder if it is not geared towards branding rather than generating warm leads.

In terms of cost and quality of leads does anyone have insight as to how these two platforms compare?

Thanks, Alan Rosinsky

[irapasternack]

Hi Alan,

Ads on LinkedIn can certainly be focused on lead generation rather than branding, it all comes down to the focus of the ad. If you are using the ads to promote valuable resources (lead magnets), then LinkedIn can certainly be a good choice.

That said, you can actually use Facebook ads to do very similar demographic targeting, and these generally have lower costs and higher volume than LinkedIn. So, I'd definitely make sure to consider FB in your mix of possibilities.

The exact best approach will depend on variables such as the things that make you unique, and separate you from your competition; the things your competition is currently doing; and who your ideal clients are. After considering these variables, I'd work on creating a lead magnet, and then testing out ads on the various platforms.

Ira

[Kingalan1]

Interesting...

Can Facebook ads target, business function, industry, company size and geography?

If I seek to test both platforms, do you have a suggested minimum budget for each? How about comparing the two to Google Adwords in terms of effectiveness for B+B marketing and lead generation?

Thanks, Alan

[irapasternack]

Here is a good blog post on FB b2b targeting. Not sure about company size, but the other options as well as employer name and job title are options for sure. You can even hypertarget ads exclusively to people who work for a specific company, or if you know enough about an individual, target ads at a single person.

For testing, I would try a budget of around $250 each on FB and LI, and around $500 on AdWords. Then, simply compare you average cost per lead on each. And if possible, follow the leads through to evaluate quality as well as quantity of leads.

Hope this helps!

Ira