What is paid advertising and why you should use it

The interview was conducted by our senior copywriter Ben Gambach.

It's great that we can discuss paid ads here today. Before we get into the details, can you define paid ads? I noticed that online activities are usually lumped together under the name of paid ads, but that's not the case.

Severine: Yes, that does happen a lot. I define paid ads or paid advertising as any form of paid advertising on the Internet. There is extensive and diverse range of paid ads.

Do you have an example?

Severine: The best-known paid ads are certainly Google Ads or Microsoft Ads, i.e., advertisements in search engines. Then there are the so-called social paid ads. This term is used to describe all adverts on the major social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram, but of course also those on platforms such as Reddit or Spotify. Display advertising with image or video formats are also paid ads, as is native advertising, i.e., content that is difficult to distinguish from editorial content.

Does it make sense for companies to use all types of paid ads?

Severine: No, not at all. Every B2B company should conduct a detailed target group analysis before using paid ads. For example, you should create touchpoints based on your customers' locations because it only makes sense to invest money where you are sure to find your target group. Doing so effectively avoids unnecessary spending and wastage.

Thinking about our clients, can you recommend platforms where paid ads always work in B2B?

Severine: I can't give a general answer to that. There is no standardised template that can be applied to all companies. LinkedIn is undoubtedly more suitable in the B2B environment than Facebook or Instagram. Recruiting topics are an exception: Applicants can be more easily persuaded on social media channels for personal entertainment or communication.

Google Ads search campaigns are very often effective. Some preliminary work is required here, too, including a thorough analysis of possible keywords. Preparation saves on costs and limits the search volume.

We know that our customers are as unique as their target groups. That's why we don't have a one-size-fits-all solution. We prepare paid ads campaigns carefully and consider, for example, that each platform starts at a different point in the customer journey and the sales funnel.

Can you explain this in a little more detail using an example?

Severine: Gladly. Let's compare LinkedIn Ads and Google Ads search campaigns. Generally, both platforms have the same goal and aim to generate leads. One key difference is that the adverts will address users at different points in their customer journey. With Google Ads, the customer is actively searching for a product or assistance, i.e., they are more ready to look at advertising.

LinkedIn ads, on the other hand, are different. Here, it's the TOFU – Top of the Funnel. The advertisement actually "disturbs" the user because the ad interrupts their actual user behaviour. That is why it is essential that LinkedIn ads do not attempt to sell directly but rather aim to create awareness for the company or the product. If ignored, it will lead to the high costs mentioned above. As decision-making and purchasing processes in B2B usually take a long time, we always take this into account.

Placing paid ads is associated with high costs - at least, that's a common sentiment. Is this a bias, or are the costs for paid ads higher than those of other advertising media?

Severine (laughs): The question is: What is considered high - and what do you get for it? What I can say for sure is that the CPC (cost-per-click) varies depending on the portal. It can range from a few cents to double-digit euros.

Hence, the cost factor. Is there a reason for this wide range?

Severine: As I said earlier, Google Ads are not the same as LinkedIn Ads. Google Ads ads have been around much longer than LinkedIn ads. I often hear that the CPC for Google Ads is much lower than that of LinkedIn. I find this understandable because customers who come to the company website via a Google Ads advert are already searching specifically for the right company or product for them.

That is one reason there is a tendency to generate lower CPCs here - you catch the potential customer in a ready-to-buy phase. On LinkedIn, on the other hand, you are lucky if the user interacts with the advert at all. And it also depends on whether you play hard-core sales topics or relatively soft content topics. The target group addressed on LinkedIn is also decisive in terms of costs, as CEOs and managing directors are significantly more expensive in terms of CPC than, for example, employees in marketing. All these factors influence the level of CPCs.

So if I analyse my target group and address them in the appropriate phase of the sales funnel with the right ads, e.g. "Awareness" or "Sales", can I minimise advertising costs?

Severine: That's definitely a step in the right direction. But there's more to it than that. It's also important to regularly and closely monitor and follow up the adverts after they go live. Setting up the campaigns and then letting them run is not enough. Especially in the first few weeks, this step is particularly crucial to optimise the ads. However, it is also essential to regularly update and optimise the advertising campaigns in the long term so that they are successful and lead to the desired leads. For example, we continually monitor our projects for four to eight weeks, depending on the platform, to ensure optimal implementation.

So there's also a lot of work involved in the backend. Do you have any final recommendations for our customers?

Severine: Paid ads, in all their forms, are essential for B2B companies today to build brand awareness and generate leads. Nevertheless, you must be extremely well prepared when selecting target groups and relevant keywords. If a strong foundation is set, paid ads are a powerful tool in the B2B marketing mix.

Display Advertising
Display advertising refers to ads displayed on websites or apps using graphic advertising media such as images, videos or animations.

Native Advertising
Native advertising refers to advertising campaigns or adverts that are visually and functionally adapted to the media format in which they are displayed. Display ads with images and videos are frequently used. This can also include acoustic advertising on the radio or in podcasts, for example, when the presenter or podcaster speaks the advert themselves in an editorial context.