Advertising is a tricky tool to use in the industrial automation space. The audience is small compared to other B2B audiences. They spend less time overall in front of their computers than many other similar audiences, so targeting them through traditional digital channels can be challenging. The search universe is minuscule, and skews heavily towards branded search, so even retargeting can be difficult to prove effective.
When my clients want to try advertising, I recommend two things:
Prioritize creative quality. Clicks may be difficult to generate, but every impression should make an impression. The value of someone who remembers your brand at a trade show because of a clever ad they saw two months prior is impossible to quantify, but ask your Sales team how much easier those conversations are.
Be willing to experiment. Understanding what works, what doesn’t, and why is critical, as is exploring channels you might not have considered before. Trying something new, showing up somewhere your customers are, but your competitors aren’t, or telling a story that surprises your audience can often deliver results you never expected.
I’m proud of the work I’ve done in this category because of how unique it is, rather than the results it generated.
