If you are someone who is working in the Digital Marketing world, then you might be familiar with B2B and B2C business types. But you might not be familiar with B2B and B2C marketing strategies and which AD platforms are the most preferred when it comes to implementing these marketing strategies.
We all know that digital platforms are now a leading source of marketing your business, and there are several platforms that a marketer can choose for their B2B or B2C marketing strategies.
It is no surprise that there are a number of advertising channels out there. Everyone seems to want to get in on the Ad network, from Google and Instagram to other social networking channels aimed at niche audiences. The question is, which of them is best for B2B and B2C business models? Before we delve into the topic and start listing the top Ad platforms for B2B and B2C, let us first understand what is B2B and B2C business?
What is a B2B business model?
B2B stands for business to business, and it is a form of transaction that takes place between businesses. For instance, a transaction between a manufacturer and a wholesaler or a wholesaler to retailer refers to a B2B model. So, in simple words, a B2B refers to a business that is conducted between companies rather than a company and an individual consumer. You can come across B2B transactions more commonly in a supply chain.
Now, what is B2B advertising? As the name suggests, B2B advertising is marketing the products and services of a business to other businesses rather than a consumer.
What is a B2C business model?
B2C stands for business-to-consumer, and it is a form of transaction or retail model that takes place between a business and the end consumer. In this type of business model, the products and services move directly from the business to the user purchasing the products or services. For instance, a transaction between retail stores and consumers or B2C marketing companies such as Amazon and the end consumers refers to a B2C model.
Similarly, B2C advertising refers to the companies or businesses promoting their products and services to the end consumers for B2C lead generation.
Top 5 Ad platforms for B2B Business
Here is a list of the top 5 Ad platforms that B2B businesses can promote their products and services to other businesses.
1. Google Search Network
Google search network is one of the best B2B advertising platforms. As the name suggests, Google Search Network is a group of search-related websites on the search engine result pages. In simple words, it is the ad space that is available through Google search. B2B businesses can pay to have the ads displayed on the ad spaces for lead generation. For instance, if one of your keywords is ‘commuter bikes Delhi’ and if someone uses the keyword ‘where to buy good commuter bikes in Delhi,’ your ad can show up.
Using Google search network is simple, B2B businesses create an ad, Google displays the ad on top of search engine result pages as well as apps and websites when someone types a related keyword, and the entire process will potentially generate leads.
If you have a B2B business, you can advertise on the Google search engine as it is a form of PPC advertising, which means you only pay when someone clicks on the ads.
2. Google display network
Google display network is a group of websites, which includes YouTube and Gmail. Display ads are great for initiating a broad appeal, but they might not be as effective as GSN when it comes to targeting. However, the Google display network is still one of the popular B2B marketing platforms because of the ability to use visual ads rather than text-based ads. Moreover, displaying ads on the Google display network is cost-efficient with a low cost per ad click.
3. Facebook
Facebook is perhaps the most obvious on our list, considering the enormous potential for B2B advertising. Facebook has an active user base of around 2.89 billion users every month as of 2021. Every day, Facebook is growing in terms of the user base, and it is becoming one of the best B2B advertising platforms.
In B2B advertising, one of the important factors is an active community in your industry. Facebook is providing an advertising platform where businesses can promote their products and services to other businesses.
Facebook gives ample opportunities to B2B marketers for generating business leads, such as the ability to create Facebook business pages to drive brand awareness, using Facebook groups to post about the company’s products and services, creating paid ad campaigns, etc.
4. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social networking platform for business. LinkedIn is probably the king of all B2B marketing platforms when it comes to B2B ad platforms because it will allow businesses with a B2B business model to effectively target other businesses. After all, LinkedIn profiles involve a lot of relevant personal information and data. Businesses can use the given personal information to better target and get in touch with relevant companies based on seniority, business type, experience, and more.
Moreover, LinkedIn has a Matched audiences feature that allows businesses to find similar companies dealing with similar products and services. LinkedIn is thereby an effective platform for B2B marketers considering an enormous user base of more than 630 million professionals.
5. Twitter
Regardless of many new social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram, Twitter remains to be one of the oldest, and it does not seem to be fading any time soon. Twitter has a user base of more than 199 million as of 2021, and it is presenting an opportunity for B2B services because almost every business has a Twitter account presence.
B2B markets have the option of using paid advertising campaigns to generate successful leads over the platform. Additionally, paid ads will show up and blend on the user’s feed, encouraging more engagement.
Top 5 Ad platforms for B2C business
Here is a list of the top 5 Ad platforms that B2C businesses can use to promote their products and services to consumers.
1. Instagram
Instagram is the hub for most teenagers and millennials around the world. Instagram is on the top of our list when it comes to B2C marketing companies. Instagram has over 900 million active users worldwide. Instagram is a great platform to reach a wider number of consumers. According to stats, about 41% of the users are 24 years or younger.
Moreover, about 14.8% of global Instagram users are women between 18-24, which makes Instagram the most beneficial for fashion and beauty brands to promote their products and services.
B2C businesses have the opportunity to create a social presence for high user engagement. Moreover, B2C businesses can invest in paid ads or collaborate with influencers to promote and advertise their products and services.
2. Facebook
Facebook is another social media platform where businesses can reach a wide target audience. Facebook has around 2.2 billion monthly active users. The staggering number of user base makes it a popular platform for B2C lead generation. Facebook has endless engagement opportunities for businesses to promote their products and services via paid and organic ads.
Businesses can leverage various posting options such as images, videos, carousels, etc., that link back to the official business website. Facebook also allows B2C marketing companies to serve high-targeted ads to consumers on the basis of specific demographics, location, interests, and more.
Moreover, in addition to improving user engagement, brand reach, and awareness, Facebook also provides valuable insights on the campaign performance. This makes Facebook the most used platform for B2C marketing campaigns.
3. YouTube
YouTube is known as the home for videos and is one of the largest online video platforms globally, with around 1.5 billion users. YouTube has become a popular video marketing channel where a staggering number of marketers use it to promote their B2C brands. Businesses leverage YouTube by posting a variety of content such as “how-to” videos, advertisement clips, promotional videos, video blogs, etc.
Moreover, B2B businesses can engage consumers via paid ad campaigns and other forms of promotion. Therefore, through well-designed video advertisements, B2C marketing companies can engage consumers and convey much more than the typical sales pitch.
4. Pinterest
Another successful ad platform for B2B business is Pinterest, which is an independently launched website and mobile app to reach around 10 million unique monthly visitors and has a user base of over 400 million monthly active users. Pinterest is the ideal advertising platform for promoting brands related to fashion, art, cooking, DIY, beauty, design, home decor, or even travel.
Pinterest is mostly more popular among B2C businesses with a predominantly female target audience. The best way for B2C lead generation on Pinterest is by creating multiple Pinterest boards and sharing relevant content consistently. Using high-quality informational images or infographics can help consumers reach back to the brand.
For instance, a shopping website on Pinterest called Luxury, and vintage Madrid has about 353.3k followers with millions of monthly user visits. The shopping website is promoting its products and services through aesthetic images.
5. Snapchat
Although Snapchat may be fairly new in the social networking space, it is still gaining the attention of B2C marketing companies because it allows businesses to connect with consumers. Snapchat has a whopping more than 250 million daily active users. This social networking platform allows B2C businesses to connect with consumers and share real-time experiences without passing through various filters or stages. Moreover, Snapchat also allows businesses to connect with consumers via live chats at a personal level.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that regardless of the business model, it is important for both B2B and B2C businesses to create original and high-quality content relevant to the target audience. Different Ad platforms can offer different benefits to the business to reach a wider audience. However, it is important for a business to adopt a strategic marketing strategy that works best for the brand.
The above-listed Ad platforms are widely used by B2B and B2C business models. Again it is important to understand that not all advertising channels are meant for all types of businesses, and businesses with a B2B or B2C model have to do their market research to find the ones that best fit their requirements.
