Ready Your Business for 2020 Success and Sales

Conventional wisdom says there’s no point targeting B2B audiences outside of business hours, particularly during the Christmas and New Year holiday period. However, our research has found that conventional wisdom is wrong — and you may just be missing out on an opportune time to engage a wider audience for less.

Would you like to get the most out of your advertising no matter the season and reach more of the right audience for less? Most B2B marketers are concerned about two things:

• Increasing the click-through rate (CTR)
• Lowering the cost per click (CPC)

While the end goal for your digital marketing efforts may be to move the needle in terms of engagement, clicks and revenue, it comes at a cost. So finding ways to maximise your advertising budget is crucial.

LinkedIn users engage with content all year round

Despite the common misconception that LinkedIn activity declines in December and January, our research shows that a significant majority of your audience continues to engage with content during this period.

So rather than winding down your marketing efforts, this could be a great opportunity to engage your audience at a lower CPC and reap a greater return on investment — particularly if your competitors have slowed down or completely stalled their own content creation and distribution.

When comparing January 2019 to the average of the previous two months, we discovered a 9.2% increase in engagement among LinkedIn members and an 8.8% increase in CTR, which coincided with a 27.1% decrease in CPC. In fact, it’s the last week of December and the first couple of weeks in January that offer the best CPCs.

Furthermore, third-party data from Comscore has found that cross-platform activity on LinkedIn is consistent throughout the year, which puts paid to the perceived notion that professional audiences don’t engage with content when they’re out of the office during the Christmas and New Year period.

And remember, CPC is market-driven. So if it’s in decline, there’s a very good chance that your competitors aren’t targeting your audience, which can mean that either their budget is depleted for the year or that any spending has been paused until later in the first quarter.

Make the most of this time by using it as a chance to build your pipeline, raise brand awareness and grow your remarketing lists to reach new customers. Here are three reasons why always-on is always better when trying to reach a B2B audience:

1. The B2B buying cycle is long and complex

It can take B2B buyers up to a year to make a purchase decision because they need to first identify pain points they face while performing their role day to day, investigate what solutions are out there and then get approval from higher-ups to proceed. The B2B buying cycle is also not a linear journey. It typically involves three distinct stages: awareness, consideration and conversion. Optimising your advertising strategy makes it possible to surround your target audience throughout the entire buying journey.

2. B2B purchase decisions are almost never made by one person

You’re not just trying to reach a single person within a company — B2B buying decisions are often made by a team of people, all with buying power. And at any point during a buying cycle, any one of those people might seek to understand what solutions are available to them by researching content online. An always-on approach to marketing will help to ensure that it’s your content that they find.

3. B2B decision-making needs more consideration and research

According to our research, 73% of B2B decision-makers research products during the evening and 51% during weekends. What that tells us is that they are always seeking the knowledge they need to make their purchasing decisions, whether that’s during business hours or in their own free time. So, with more time off work during the Christmas-New Year holiday season, there’s a good chance that they’re looking to LinkedIn for content, providing you with the perfect opportunity to attract their attention and pique their interest.

Ultimately, you want your target audience to view your company as an expert or thought-leader in your area — that you own the conversation. And you can only do that if you are pushing out a steady stream of compelling content that keeps the B2B buyer engaged. To ensure you reach the right people at the right time (and beat the competition), it’s vital that you take advantage of higher engagement rates during the Christmas and New Year period by continuing your content marketing efforts.

Ensure sales success in 2020 and visit LinkedIn Campaign Manager today.