Let’s talk about media buying in B2B marketing—the overlooked middle child stuck between brand and revenue. It doesn’t get the spotlight, but when done right, it becomes your quiet powerhouse.
The problem? Most B2B media buying still lives in the land of vanity metrics. Clicks, impressions, and form-fills that never convert. If your media dollars aren’t driving revenue, you’re not buying media—you’re just lighting money on fire.
It’s time to treat media buying like the strategic growth lever it is.
What Is Media Buying in B2B?
At its core, media buying is about getting your message in front of the right people at the right place and time.
For B2B and SaaS companies, that means using:
- LinkedIn Ads: The go-to for targeting job titles, company size, industries, and buyer intent. Expensive, yes. Worth it? Also yes.
- Meta (Facebook/Instagram): Great for retargeting, warming up accounts, and building brand through content.
- Google Ads: Still the king of intent. Just make sure your keyword strategy doesn’t look like a dartboard.
- YouTube Ads: Criminally underrated for upper-funnel education and thought leadership.
- Programmatic ABM platforms like 6sense, Demandbase, or StackAdapt: Want to target anonymous buyers showing intent signals? This is your jam.
- Podcasts & Newsletters: Niche sponsorships via platforms like Podscribe or Goldcast put you in front of engaged, trusted audiences.
- Tech review sites: G2, TrustRadius, and Capterra = late-stage buyer gold mines.
Why Traditional Media Buying Doesn’t Work Anymore
Most B2B media strategies look like this:
- Pick a budget.
- Blast it across Google and LinkedIn.
- Collect leads.
- Report on CPCs.
- Watch sales ignore them.
This approach optimizes for cheap clicks, not qualified pipeline. And it leaves your media spend totally disconnected from revenue.
Time for a smarter play.
The Modern Playbook for B2B Media Buying
1. Align Media to the Buyer Journey
Your buyers don’t live inside your CRM. Meet them where they are—communities, podcasts, social feeds, and yes, even newsletters. Not everything needs to be tracked to be effective. Influence often happens in the “dark social” shadows.
Need help figuring out where your buyers hang out? Try tools like Sparktoro and Wynter, or even just ask your customers.
2. Invest in Creative That Converts
You can’t media-buy your way out of mediocre messaging. If your ads are forgettable, your pipeline will be too.
What you need:
- Thumb-stopping hooks
- Bold, differentiated POVs
- Clear value props in 3 seconds or less
Hire a great designer or use tools like Motion, Storykit, or Canva for Teams to scale creative that performs and looks good doing it.
3. Obsess Over Feedback Loops
Clicks mean nothing if they don’t lead to conversations. The best media buyers work hand-in-hand with sales to track what actually drives results.
Use HubSpot, Salesforce, or Gong to connect ad exposure with sales activity.
💡 Pro move: Layer in Dreamdata, HockeyStack, or Windsor.ai to build a multi-touch attribution model that reflects the real (messy) buyer journey.
4. Buy Brand and Demand
This isn’t a zero-sum game. Great media buys build brand and drive performance.
💡 Pro move: Run a thought leadership series on LinkedIn to build awareness. Then, retarget engaged viewers with demo CTAs.
Savvy media buyers create full-funnel orchestration, not isolated campaigns.
Your media budget shouldn’t feel like a gamble. With the right strategy, tools, and feedback loops, it can become a predictable revenue engine.
