The Best Media Formats to Use for B2B Lead Generation

Clarity recently hosted a webinar in collaboration with FINITE, a community of B2B technology marketers. They discovered that 94% of its members face challenges in lead generation! 

So, we enlisted two of our experts in Intelligence and Creative to share tips on creating more effective performance marketing campaigns. 

Alex Judd and Marie Banks gave an insightful presentation on how to infuse messaging with creativity, and which are the best media formats to use for lead generation. 

Here are the key takeaways from the second half of the session. If you’d like to read the key takeaways from the first half of the session, and to better understand messaging, head here. 

1. Embrace Sound-First Marketing

Audio ads have traditionally been rushed, cramming too much information into a short span. Instead, marketers should use ad time for sound design and original music. 

Creating mnemonic branding can result in a bank of brand-specific sounds, leading to greater efficiency and higher performance metrics, such as click-through rates. Marie’s B2B clients saw significant improvements when adopting this strategy on platforms like Spotify. 

Think of sound as you would other branding elements like logos or fonts. By creating a set of mnemonic sounds and storing them in a brand library, you can ensure consistency across all auditory touchpoints. This practice has shown to increase brand recognition and improve retargeting effectiveness.

2. Strategize Short-Form Video Content

Short-form videos are often perceived as low-quality because they are hastily produced. With the growing trend towards short-form content, it is important to ensure quality doesn't suffer.

Marie-Louise recommends a more organized approach. By capturing high-quality footage during key events like conferences, you can generate multiple content pieces—from elevator pitches to customer testimonials—to be used across different platforms. This ensures your short-form video content is both impactful and professional.

Events are rich with opportunities to create diverse content. By deploying a video production crew to an event, you can capture event reels, CEO pitches, customer testimonials, and live FAQs. This multi-faceted approach can enhance your content library, making future marketing efforts more targeted and effective.

3. Optimize for Audience Engagement

Success in audio advertising hinges on understanding and aligning with your audience's listening habits.

To make audio ads effective, start with a compelling hook and gradually introduce the brand message. This is crucial as listeners are generally in a passive listening mode, engaging with music or podcasts. A sudden, aggressive sales pitch can disrupt their experience, whereas a well-designed auditory environment can enhance engagement.

4. Leverage Document Ads on LinkedIn

Document ads on LinkedIn are currently performing exceptionally well for lead generation in the B2B sector.

Instead of investing heavily in creating new, high-cost documents, consider repurposing existing carousel content into document ads. LinkedIn seems to favor this format, often yielding better results than traditional carousel ads. Utilizing this strategy can boost performance without substantial additional investment.

5. Invest in High-Quality Illustrations

High-quality illustrations can be repurposed across multiple formats, boosting content engagement.

Once you have a robust illustration, you can adapt it for use in infographics, carousel posts, document ads, and even animations. This versatility not only saves time but also enhances the aesthetic appeal and engagement of your content. Marie-Louise emphasizes that flowing illustrations from one tile to the next can improve scrollability and conversion rates.

6. Prioritize Brand Photography Over AI-Generated Images

Human faces and authentic brand photography outperform AI-generated images in engagement and conversion.

While AI-generated images are gaining popularity, they often lack the authenticity required for effective branding. Investing in professional photo shoots, even on a modest budget, can yield high-quality images that enhance your marketing assets. These photographs can then be repurposed into various formats like GIFs, which perform exceptionally well on social media platforms like Meta.

If you’re interested in learning more about B2B lead generation, sign up to FINITE to gain access to regular events, newsletters, and peer support.