Behind the Ads
Behind Firefish Software’s Paid Media Strategy
Hey everyone 👋
I’m Campbell Nelson, Marketing Director at Firefish Software, a CRM designed for recruitment agencies.
Over the last 12-18 months, I’ve led Firefish Software’s transition from a traditional lead gen strategy to a demand gen approach, which has helped us significantly increase both pipeline and brand awareness.
I’ll be breaking down our entire paid media strategy & sharing my learnings below👇
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background
Last year, we made the transition from lead gen to demand gen for the following reasons:
1. While we were generating a ton of MQLs, our lead to opportunity and opportunity to closed won conversion rates were poor. We hypothesised that by going ungated, we could build more trust and increase conversion rates.
2. New clients acquired through lead gen campaigns had a relatively low LTV and were problematic when it came to stickiness, which seemed to indicate a lack of brand affinity. By switching to a demand gen approach, we believed that we could solve this issue and increase retention further through the lifecycle.
3. In the CRM space, buying cycles are dictated by contract renewals which can sometimes run for up to 4 years, meaning that most prospects are out of market. By shifting to ungated content, our goal was to maximize distribution and increase long-term mental availability, which would be crucial for predictable growth.
4. When attending conferences and expos, a lot of prospects mentioned our blog but had no idea that we were a CRM software – this was indicative of a lack of product awareness. We decided that ungated content would be necessary to distribute our value propositions more widely and be in the consideration set when prospects entered the market.
So far, this shift has been highly successful. Since going ungated and removing lead gen forms, we’ve seen a 40% year-on-year increase in opportunities from direct and organic branded search channels. Further down the funnel, we’ve seen a 50% increase in closed-won revenue from branded organic search and each quarter we are seeing incremental improvements in our win rates from each demand focussed channel – all associated with increased awareness.
Our Strategy
Here’s the full breakdown of the paid media strategy that has led to our success👇
30% of our LinkedIn budget goes to content. These are typically playbooks and other resources that will help recruiters (key members of the buying committee) become better at their jobs. If everyone in the buying committee trusts us and has an awareness of our value, we know that they’ll champion us and push deals over the finish line.
50% of our budget goes to product ads, aimed at our key decision makers (C-suite, VPs, Directors). These ads are all related to our main value propositions, and they clearly articulate how we can solve their biggest problems.
By consistently highlighting these pain points, we know that we’ll be top of mind when decision-makers start actively searching for solutions.
Finally, the remaining 20% of our LinkedIn budget goes to social proof. We show these ads to both champions (recruiters) and decision-makers (VPs and execs) that have entered our remarketing audience, either by visiting our website or engaging with other ads in some capacity.
The goal of these ads is to continue to build trust and increase the likelihood of a conversion.
YouTube
While most of our spend happens on LinkedIn, we also run YouTube Ads to stay in front of prospects across multiple channels.
All of these ads clearly highlight our value propositions and show exactly how our product works.
To minimize wasted spend, we run these 30-second video ads to our warmest audiences:
1. Remarketing, staying in front of people who have already visited our site
2. Prospecting, targeting people who have searched our dream product-related keywords on Google (doing this via YouTube is great because we can get in front of high-quality prospects without paying Google’s insanely high CPCs)
Lessons Learned
By leading Firefish Software’s marketing and implementing this strategy, I’ve learned a lot of important lessons – here are the biggest ones:
1. It’s okay to make mistakes
You’re not going to get everything right the first time around. Sometimes your message won’t resonate and your ads will flop, and that’s okay. Marketing is all about failing, learning from the failures, and trying again.
2. Nail down your value proposition
This is something that so many B2B SaaS companies get wrong 😢
In the early days, we were testing a lot of different messages in our ads, but we hadn’t clearly outlined our value proposition or the problems we were solving with our product.
Now that we’ve clearly outlined our core value props, all our ads highlight them in some capacity. Also, most of our content now relates to these value props as well, so we can easily repurpose it for our ad campaigns.
Ultimately, having alignment across your entire marketing department on overall messaging is essential to maximize your ROI and return on effort.
3. Create a memorable experience
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of copying exactly what’s already being done in your industry.
But by doing this, you’ll likely end up with vanilla B2B ads that your prospects won’t remember. I know we definitely fell into this trap, running generic ads with boring “click here” CTAs 🥱
No matter what type of ads you’re running – product, content, social proof, etc. – the most important question you should ask yourself is:
Are my ads memorable?
If they aren’t, prospects probably won’t think of your brand when it’s time to buy.
4. Figure out attribution
If you’re switching to a demand gen strategy, you need to get good at stakeholder management and bring your CRO/CFO along on the journey – otherwise, they might be alarmed by the sudden decrease in leads.
To prove that your strategy is working, I highly recommend using an attribution tool like Dreamdata or HockeyStack (Dreamdata has a free version that you can get started with) to demonstrate that certain touchpoints are having an impact on pipeline.
In addition to this, it’s a good idea to set up microconversion events, such as engaged visits, to demonstrate that your ICP is finding value in your content.
Finally, make sure you’re also tracking positive comments and mentions of your ads in self-reported attribution – showing these to the leadership team will increase their confidence in your new demand gen approach.
5. Have fun
We often forget this in B2B, but marketing is supposed to be fun.
It’s supposed to be about creativity and testing new ideas, not just measurement and graphs. If you’re having fun, your prospects will take notice, and will likely be more interested in working with you.
Hope you found this article helpful!
Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn with any questions about paid media or B2B marketing.
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People Also Ask
How can transitioning from a lead generation to a demand generation approach impact the quality of leads and overall customer retention?
Shifting to demand generation focuses on creating awareness and interest, potentially attracting more engaged prospects who have a genuine need for your solution, leading to higher-quality leads and improved customer retention.
What are the key considerations when deciding to ungate content in a B2B marketing strategy?
Consider the trade-off between lead quantity and quality. Ungating content can enhance trust and reach, but it’s essential to have alternative methods for capturing prospect information and nurturing leads effectively.
How can a company effectively measure the success of a demand generation strategy compared to traditional lead generation?
Evaluate metrics such as brand awareness, website engagement, lead-to-opportunity conversion rates, and customer lifetime value to assess the effectiveness of demand generation efforts.
What challenges might arise when shifting from a lead generation to a demand generation model, and how can they be addressed?
Challenges include aligning internal teams, redefining success metrics, and adjusting marketing tactics. Address these by providing training, setting clear goals, and maintaining open communication across departments.
How can a demand generation approach be tailored to accommodate long buying cycles, such as those influenced by multi-year contracts?
Implement strategies that maintain ongoing engagement with prospects, such as regular content updates, nurturing campaigns, and staying top-of-mind until they are ready to make a purchasing decision.
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