5.6 Paid Media Strategy Recommended Platforms: For RTCs B2B target, the primary paid platforms should be LinkedIn Ads and Google Search Ads (possibly specialized industry journals if they offer ad placements or sponsorships, but LinkedIn and Google will cover broad and intent-based reach respectively). Additionally, consider selective trade journal sponsorships or newsletter ads (like CFO Dives newsletter or a FinOps weekly newsletter if available), as those directly hit our personas. Targeting Structure: - LinkedIn Ads Targeting: - By Job Titles: CFO, Chief Financial Officer, CIO, Chief Information Officer, VP of IT, Head of IT Procurement, IT Sourcing Manager, etc. Also include "Operating Partner" for private equity (who often handle costs for portfolio). - By Company Size: filter to, say, companies with 200+ employees or revenue $100M+, up to global 2000. - By Industries: Focus on key verticals that spend heavy on IT and likely need optimization. E.g., Financial Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Tech, Retail, plus maybe Energy (big IT too). Possibly exclude industries like very small-scale or public sector (unless targeting that). - Geographic: If RTC primarily serves North America, target US & Canada, maybe UK/EU for expansion if content relevant globally. - Possibly target by LinkedIn Groups or Skills: e.g., target people with "IT Budgeting" or "IT procurement" in their profile skills, or members of FinOps Foundation group (if reachable). - Use Matched Audiences for retargeting: upload any prospect lists or retarget site visitors (so if a CFO visited the site and left, show them an ad on LinkedIn later with a content offer). - Google Search Ads Targeting: - Use keywords like "IT cost optimization consulting", "reduce IT costs", "software cost reduction", "FinOps consultants", etc. Volume may be lower but those searching are high intent. - Possibly target queries related to vendor negotiation: e.g., "Oracle audit help", "negotiate Microsoft Enterprise Agreement" these are specific but such searchers could be great leads. - Set geos to same as above (USA, etc.). Use ad scheduling if appropriate (biz hours), but likely fine to run 24/7 since it's small volume. - Ensure relevant landing pages align with keywords (if someone searches "IT cost reduction consulting", have an ad pointing to a landing page explaining that service with CTA). - Trade Publications Ads: If budget allows, consider placing banner or native ads in email newsletters or sites like CFO Dive, CIO.com or TechTarget ITAM section, etc., because that gets brand in front of a targeted group. These can be targeted by publication but not job specifically, though readership is likely in our roles. - Remarketing in Google Display or LinkedIn: Show display ads to those who visited key pages on our site as they browse other sites, to keep RTC top-of-mind. Could use Google Display Network with targeting "finance & business" categories but customizing by retargeting likely best to avoid waste. Budget Allocation (rough proportion for initial campaigns): - LinkedIn: ~50% of paid media budget. It's pricey ($8-12+ per click often), but allows direct reach of decision-makers. - Google Search: ~20%. This covers those actively searching for solutions, which might be few but very valuable. - Retargeting (LinkedIn and Google Display): ~15%. Low cost, high yield to re-engage site visitors. - Niche placements/Newsletter ads: ~15% if doing, or allocate more to LinkedIn if not doing separate pub ads. Conversion Funnel Design: - For cold audiences (LinkedIn targeting by title): - Use Content Offer Ads (Lead Gen Forms on LinkedIn or send to landing page) offering our whitepaper or report. That gets us lead info with a valuable content carrot. - Those leads go to email nurture, and also flagged for sales follow-up if high quality (maybe send a personal note). - For warm audiences (retargeting site visitors or previous content engagers): - Show ads for more direct CTA, e.g., "Cut your IT costs by 20% get a complimentary consultation" because they already show interest. - Or invite to webinars, etc. since they likely trust enough to sign up. - For Google Search: - That is already intent heavy, so send those clicks often directly to consultation offer or relevant service page with clear CTA (e.g., "Struggling with [search query problem]? We 61