Targeted advertising for IT

Targeting does not sell, but provides entry points, attracting potential customers and explaining why an IT solution, product or company is good. If a customer is interested, takes the first step that ultimately leads to a purchase, targeting advertising has worked. Brand awareness in a segment where the product is expensive and complex, and the decision to buy is not made instantaneously, ultimately works on the reputation and image of the company.

Targeting does not work separately from other marketing tools. It brings maximum effect only with comprehensive promotion and quality tuned analytics.

Why is targeting important?

Effective targeting setup for an IT company helps to quickly find its audience, based on given criteria, create relevant ads for each target audience segment. As a result of using this marketing mechanism, the conversion rate of the ads increases.

The search for interested visitors, who can turn into customers, is launched with the help of targeting in social networks. Due to the information about the interests of users, there is an opportunity to scale the target audience, achieving the goals set in the advertising campaign.

It is more difficult to launch targeting advertising for IT because it is not a particular user that needs to be targeted, but to satisfy the needs of a diverse target audience. Therefore, targeting in the B2B segment always requires patience and a solid budget. Achieving recognition by free methods will not work.

For the IT-sphere it is necessary to segment the potential customers for specific positions, basic interests and behavioral reactions. It is possible to study and collect the target audience, relying on the accounts of competitors. Make the search easier with special services for parsing, looking for users automatically according to specified parameters.

As promotion of IT-companies is difficult without participation in online and offline events, which replenish the base of contacts of future customers. If a person has once expressed interest, he should be found in a social network, set up ads for him, as well as on the principle of look-alike to select similar audiences. The need to build up the CA is caused by the fact that narrow groups of customers lose interest in products or solutions for a while (especially when they have already purchased them).

The advantages of targeting for advertising IT products and companies:

• attracting not only “hot” but also “cold” CA;
• a wide coverage of the target audience in different (not duplicating) social networks, getting target subscribers;
• attracting leads from social networks without going to the site;
• Increase of traffic on the site, landing page, blog, online store;
• increase in coverage of publications at the expense of installation of targeting advertising on a publication;
• Increased brand awareness, because the more often and for longer users see the logo, name, products, and encounter mentions of the IT-company and its solutions, the faster trust develops.

You can use targeting to find clients, gain an audience for a webinar (conference), engage in training, close complex vacancies, and find partners for joint projects.

In order for targeting to work, a number of conditions must be met:

• The products that are in demand should be advertised (this is difficult for the IT sphere);
• The company has already established a good communication with its clients and is quick to respond to any interest in the product, received through any channel;
• there is a detailed portrait of the target client, segmentation of the target audience is known;
• There are significant, including third-party databases of contacts, for example, from the CRM, through which you can quickly segment the CA;
• The platforms are known and there is experience in creating ads that take into account the specifics of the IT sphere and competitive advantages.

Targeting in social networks

Targeting is a spot advertising campaign that acts selectively. Settings relate to the audience, created advertising posts, blocks, and KPIs set.

Targeting in social networks is justified in the following cases:

• searching for customers for an IT product (service) or a ready-made solution;
• is gathering an audience for a webinar;
• training is being held;
• a complex vacancy is being closed;
• looking for business partners for complex IT-projects.

The end point where advertising brings users is:

• a website (a landing page);
• an application form;
• registration form;
• mailing list subscription;
• community (group) in the social network.

The advantage of social networks is the ability to build communication, making users loyal, experimenting with formats and reaching new audiences. Targeting strengthens organic presence and accelerates the growth of subscribers.

To run targeted ads, you need to consider the specifics of social media. The same ad can be placed on different social networks in order to compare the effectiveness and choose the one with the highest effectiveness.

How to set up targeting advertising for IT?

Advertising in the IT market has its own nuances: products are chosen by specialists, and the decision to buy is made by executives. Advertising should impact IT people in combination with content marketing, online and offline events, personalized communication and other marketing tools.

To target effectively, you need to:

• Figure out who the ads are aimed at, who is making the decision and paying for it, and what problems should be solved through the purchase of an IT product.
• Take into account geo-targeting, super-geo-targeting, pixels, collect the database of companies interested in the product, and set up targeting specifically.
• Participate in relevant events (webinars, conferences, mitaps), the participants of which may be interested in the product.
• Using the existing client base as a basis, work on reaching new users with similar interests and behavioral reactions.
• Develop and test variants of interaction chains from the moment of displaying an advertisement to taking a targeted action.

The adjustment algorithm is as follows:

• Study of target audience, identifying key parameters. Segmentation of “his client” on social networks and devices used.
• Preparation of the landing page, the band, the group in the social network, application forms. The landing page should be understandable, attractive and all the buttons should be clickable. A mandatory condition is the availability of a mobile version. The client should get the most convenient way from the first click to the purchase of the product.
• Setting up ads, creating texts, catchy headlines, the selection of visuals. All the parameters of the audience to show ads should be set up in detail!
• Testing of the advertising campaign, selection of the most effective ads with a lower cost per bid for further work. The offer should be better than the competitors, otherwise it will not be noticed.
• Performance assessment with the help of analytical tools, conversion and traffic analysis by CTR, ROMI, CPC, CPL, CPO. Only having web analytics connected and correctly set up is it possible to achieve the maximum effect from the launch of an advertising campaign.

Options for setting up targeting advertising to promote IT companies can include:

• audience look-alike through the site pixel;
• area of professional interest (interest in software development or the use of software to achieve business goals)
• positions held;
• preference for telecommuting or office-based work.

Each promotional post should include a link leading either to the IT company’s website (landing page) or to an application form, event registration, or newsletter subscription.