B2B Account-Based Advertising

Help the user plan and execute account-based B2B advertising campaigns — display, social, retargeting, and connected TV. This skill is tool-agnostic but includes platform-specific guidance for ZoomInfo MarketingOS, Demandbase, 6sense, Terminus (now DemandScience), RollWorks, LinkedIn Ads, and Google Ads (B2B targeting).

Step 1 — Gather context

Ask the user:

1. What's your advertising goal?

   • A) Build awareness at target accounts (top-of-funnel ABM)
   • B) Accelerate pipeline — engage accounts already in-cycle
   • C) Retarget website visitors who didn't convert
   • D) Support outbound campaigns with air cover
   • E) Re-engage churned or dormant accounts
   • F) Promote content/events to a target account list
   • G) Not sure — need a B2B ad strategy

2. What channels are you considering?

   • A) Display / programmatic ads
   • B) LinkedIn Ads
   • C) Facebook / Meta (B2B targeting)
   • D) Connected TV (CTV)
   • E) Google Ads (search or display)
   • F) Multiple / all channels
   • G) Not sure — recommend channels

3. What ABM/advertising platform do you have?

   • A) ZoomInfo MarketingOS
   • B) Demandbase
   • C) 6sense
   • D) Terminus (DemandScience)
   • E) RollWorks
   • F) LinkedIn Campaign Manager only
   • G) Google Ads only
   • H) None — evaluating options
   • I) Other — describe it

4. How are you defining your target audience?

   • A) Named account list (specific companies)
   • B) Firmographic criteria (industry, size, revenue)
   • C) Intent signals (accounts researching relevant topics)
   • D) Website visitors (retargeting)
   • E) CRM segments (pipeline stage, lifecycle)
   • F) Combination of the above

Step 2 — Strategy and approach

B2B advertising vs B2C advertising

B2B ads target accounts and buying committees, not individual consumers. Key differences:

Dimension	B2C Ads	B2B Ads
Targeting	Demographics, interests, behavior	Firmographics, intent, account lists
Audience size	Millions	Hundreds to thousands of accounts
Goal	Direct conversion (purchase)	Pipeline influence, meeting generation
Attribution	Click-through, last-touch	Multi-touch, account-level lift
Budget	CPM-based, high volume	Higher CPM, lower volume, precise targeting
Creative	Product-focused, emotional	Problem-focused, educational

Campaign types

1. Awareness / air cover

• Goal: Make your brand familiar before outbound touches
• Timing: Start 2-4 weeks before SDR outreach
• Channels: Display, LinkedIn, CTV
• Targeting: Full target account list + ICP firmographics
• Creative: Brand awareness, thought leadership, industry insights
• Metric: Account-level impression reach (% of TAL seeing ads)

2. Pipeline acceleration

• Goal: Move known opportunities forward
• Timing: Ongoing, aligned with deal stage
• Channels: Display, LinkedIn, retargeting
• Targeting: Open opportunities + buying committee members
• Creative: Case studies, ROI proof, competitive differentiators
• Metric: Deal velocity, engagement rate from buying committee

3. Retargeting

• Goal: Re-engage website visitors who didn't convert
• Timing: Continuous
• Channels: Display, LinkedIn, Facebook
• Targeting: Website visitors (matched to accounts via IP or cookie)
• Creative: Bottom-of-funnel — demo CTAs, pricing, customer stories
• Metric: Return visit rate, conversion rate from retargeted visitors

4. Intent-based campaigns

• Goal: Reach accounts actively researching your category
• Timing: Triggered by intent signals
• Channels: Display, LinkedIn, search
• Targeting: Accounts showing intent on relevant topics
• Creative: Solution-specific, addresses the researched problem
• Metric: Intent-to-pipeline conversion rate

Audience building best practices

1. Start with account lists, not keywords — B2B ads work best when targeting specific companies, not broad interest categories
2. Layer intent on firmographics — don't target all mid-market SaaS companies; target those showing buying intent
3. Include the full buying committee — target multiple titles/roles at each account, not just one persona
4. Exclude existing customers (unless upsell/cross-sell campaign)
5. Refresh audiences regularly — accounts move in and out of ICP and intent signals change weekly

Budget framework

Audience size	Monthly budget (suggested)	Channel mix
<500 accounts	$2,000-5,000/mo	LinkedIn + Display
500-2,000 accounts	$5,000-15,000/mo	Display + LinkedIn + Retarget
2,000-10,000 accounts	$15,000-40,000/mo	Full multi-channel
10,000+ accounts	$40,000+/mo	Full multi-channel + CTV

These are directional — actual CPMs vary by targeting precision, industry, and geography.

Attribution

B2B ad attribution is account-level, not click-level:

• Influenced pipeline — accounts exposed to ads that later entered pipeline (regardless of click)
• Account engagement lift — % increase in website visits, content downloads, or demo requests from ad-exposed accounts vs control
• Time-to-pipeline — how much faster do ad-exposed accounts move from awareness to opportunity
• Multi-touch — ads rarely generate direct conversions; measure their contribution alongside outbound, content, and events

Step 3 — Platform-specific guidance

In ZoomInfo (MarketingOS)

ZoomInfo MarketingOS combines B2B data with advertising execution.

Audience building:

• Build audiences from ZoomInfo's 300+ firmographic, technographic, and intent attributes
• Target accounts showing intent on your configured topics
• Use WebSights data to retarget companies that visited your website
• Sync audiences to display networks, LinkedIn, Facebook, and CTV

Campaign execution:

• Display ads across programmatic networks using ZoomInfo's account-level targeting
• Cross-channel: run coordinated campaigns across display, social, and CTV
• ABM: target specific account lists with tailored creative per segment

Attribution:

• Track which ad-exposed accounts later visited your site (WebSights)
• Measure account-level engagement lift vs unexposed control group
• Connect ad exposure to pipeline creation in CRM via ZoomInfo's attribution

Setup: ZoomInfo → MarketingOS → Advertising → Create Campaign. Upload account list or build audience from search criteria.

Strength: Unified data — same platform for prospecting, intent, enrichment, and ads. No data sync issues between tools.

In Demandbase

ABM platform with built-in advertising:

• Account identification via IP + cookie matching
• Display, LinkedIn, and connected TV campaigns
• Intent data (Demandbase's own + Bombora)
• Journey stages: track accounts through awareness → engagement → opportunity
• Predictive scoring: AI identifies accounts most likely to convert

Best for: Enterprise ABM programs with $20K+/mo ad budgets. Strongest account identification and journey analytics.

In 6sense

6sense is a full ABM platform with strong advertising capabilities powered by Signalverse intent data:

1. Programmatic display ads: Serve display ads to target accounts across the web. Build audiences from 6sense segments that combine ICP fit + intent signals + buying stage.
2. LinkedIn audience sync: Dynamic 6sense segments automatically sync to LinkedIn Campaign Manager. 6sense claims 50%+ better match rates than competitors. Supports all LinkedIn ad types — Sponsored Content, Sponsored Messaging, Text Ads, Dynamic Ads.
3. Retargeting: Re-engage website visitors (identified via Company Identification / WebTag) with display ads. Target specific accounts that visited key pages.
4. Contextual targeting: Serve ads on pages contextually relevant to the intent topics your target accounts are researching.
5. Dynamic audiences: Segments auto-update as accounts move between buying stages — ad audiences adjust in real-time. Accounts entering Decision stage get different ads than those in Awareness.
6. Cross-channel orchestration: Advertising is orchestrated alongside email, sales outreach, and CRM actions from 6sense's workflow canvas. Coordinate ad impressions with sales touches.
7. Campaign analytics: Multi-touch attribution tracks which ads influenced pipeline and revenue. Measure ad impact at the account level, not just clicks.
8. Pricing note: Advertising is part of 6sense's enterprise platform ($50K-200K+/year). Not available on the Free plan. For teams without enterprise budgets, consider LinkedIn Ads direct, Demandbase (similar enterprise), or RollWorks (more accessible pricing).

In Terminus (DemandScience)

ABM advertising platform:

• Display ads with account-level targeting
• LinkedIn integration
• Email signature banners (unique channel)
• Chat integration (chatbot triggers for ad-engaged accounts)
• Multi-channel orchestration: ads + email + chat

Best for: Mid-market companies wanting straightforward ABM ads without the complexity of Demandbase or 6sense.

In RollWorks

ABM platform (HubSpot ecosystem):

• Account-based display and social advertising
• Deep HubSpot integration (audiences from HubSpot lists)
• Machine learning for account prioritization
• Site visitor identification (IP matching)
• Budget optimization across accounts

Best for: HubSpot-centric teams. RollWorks is the most natural ABM advertising add-on for HubSpot users.

In LinkedIn Campaign Manager

Native B2B social advertising:

• Company targeting: target specific company names, industries, sizes
• Job title/function targeting: reach decision-makers by role
• Matched Audiences: upload account lists or retarget website visitors
• Lead Gen Forms: capture leads without leaving LinkedIn
• Conversation Ads: personalized message-style ads

Best for: Companies without a dedicated ABM platform who want B2B-specific targeting. LinkedIn's native firmographic targeting is the simplest way to run B2B ads.

Limitation: No intent data, limited display network, higher CPM than programmatic alternatives.

In Clay

• Ad Sync: Push Clay Audiences directly to LinkedIn Ads, Meta Ads, and Google Ads. Build enriched, signal-driven audiences in Clay → sync to ad platforms for targeted campaigns.
• Enrichment-powered targeting: Use waterfall enrichment to build precise audiences — filter by firmographics (revenue, employee count, industry), technographics (tech stack), and intent signals (job changes, funding, website visits).
• Dynamic audiences: Audiences auto-update as new enrichment data and signals flow in. Ad platforms receive refreshed audience lists automatically.
• ABM air cover: Pair Ad Sync with Clay's Email Sequencer or outbound tool integrations — run display/social ads alongside outbound for multi-channel ABM.
• Plan gate: Ad Sync requires Growth plan ($446-495/mo, 1 audience included) or Enterprise (2 audiences).
• Best for: Teams using Clay for enrichment who want to add advertising as a channel without a separate ABM platform.

In AdRoll (RollWorks ABM)

AdRoll's B2B arm, RollWorks, provides account-based advertising for sales and marketing teams:

Account-based targeting:

• Upload target account lists or build audiences from firmographic criteria (industry, company size, revenue, technology)
• IP-based and cookie-based matching to serve display ads to specific companies
• Machine learning account scoring to prioritize accounts most likely to convert

HubSpot integration:

• Deep bidirectional integration — sync HubSpot company lists to RollWorks audiences
• Account-level reporting surfaces in HubSpot — see ad engagement on account records
• Trigger workflows based on RollWorks engagement data
• Often called "the ABM platform for HubSpot"

Campaign types:

• Account-based display ads across 500+ ad exchanges
• Social ads (Facebook/Instagram) targeted at account lists
• Site visitor identification — identify companies visiting your website via IP matching
• Cross-channel budget optimization distributes spend across channels automatically

Best for: HubSpot-centric B2B teams wanting ABM advertising without the enterprise price tag of Demandbase or 6sense. Strong account identification and straightforward setup.

Pricing note: RollWorks has separate pricing from AdRoll's consumer/ecommerce plans. Contact sales for RollWorks ABM pricing.

In Google Ads (B2B targeting)

Search and display for B2B:

• Customer Match: upload company email lists for targeting
• In-Market Audiences: Google's own intent signals for B2B categories
• Display network: target by company size, industry via Google's B2B segments
• Search ads: capture demand for B2B keywords
• YouTube: video ads with B2B audience targeting

Best for: Capturing active search demand. Pair Google search ads with display ABM from a dedicated platform.

Limitation: B2B targeting is less precise than dedicated ABM platforms. No account-level reporting natively.

Step 4 — Actionable guidance

Launching your first ABM ad campaign

1. Define your target account list (TAL) — start with 200-500 accounts max
2. Choose 1-2 channels — LinkedIn + display is the standard starting point
3. Create 3-5 ad variants — test problem-focused vs solution-focused creative
4. Set a 90-day pilot budget — commit enough budget to reach statistical significance
5. Align with sales — tell SDRs which accounts are seeing ads, adjust outbound timing
6. Measure account-level — don't judge B2B ads on clicks; measure pipeline influence

Creative best practices for B2B

• Lead with the problem, not your product — "Still managing compliance in spreadsheets?"
• Use specific numbers — "Reduce audit prep time by 73%" beats "Save time on audits"
• Match creative to intent stage — awareness (industry trends) → consideration (case studies) → decision (demo/pricing)
• Personalize by segment — different creative for different industries, company sizes, or personas
• Keep it simple — B2B display ads have 1-2 seconds of attention. One message, one CTA.

Metrics to track

• Account reach — % of TAL that saw at least one ad impression
• Account engagement — website visits, content downloads from ad-exposed accounts
• Pipeline influence — $ pipeline created at ad-exposed accounts
• Cost per engaged account — total spend / accounts that showed engagement
• Lift vs control — engagement rate of ad-exposed accounts vs unexposed (if you have a holdout group)

Gotchas

1. Don't judge B2B ads by click-through rate — B2B display CTR is typically 0.05-0.1%. That's normal. Measure account-level engagement and pipeline influence instead.

2. Small account lists need larger budgets per account — targeting 100 accounts with $1,000/mo means $10/account/mo, which isn't enough for meaningful reach. Either increase budget or expand the list.

3. LinkedIn matched audiences require 300+ matches — if your uploaded account list has fewer than 300 LinkedIn-matched companies, the audience is too small to run. Supplement with firmographic targeting.

4. Intent signals lag by 1-2 weeks — intent data from platforms like ZoomInfo, Bombora, or 6sense is aggregated weekly. Don't expect real-time intent triggering for ad campaigns.

5. Sales-marketing misalignment kills ABM ads — if SDRs don't know which accounts are seeing ads, they can't reference campaigns or time outreach. Share the target account list and campaign messaging with sales before launch.

Related skills

• /sales-6sense — 6sense platform help (display ads, LinkedIn audience sync, retargeting, contextual targeting — advertising integrated with ABM intent data)
• /sales-zoominfo — ZoomInfo platform help (for MarketingOS-specific setup)
• /sales-intent — interpreting buying signals and prioritizing accounts
• /sales-account-map — mapping buying committees at target accounts
• /sales-cadence — coordinating outbound sequences with ad campaigns
• /sales-prospect-list — building target account lists for advertising
• /sales-funnel — funnel strategy (ads feed the top of the funnel)
• /sales-clay — Clay platform help (enrichment, audience building, Ad Sync)
• /sales-adroll — AdRoll platform help (RollWorks ABM, display retargeting, ecommerce integration)
• /sales-retargeting — Retargeting strategy across all platforms (consumer and B2B)
• /sales-do — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skills sales-do

Examples

Example 1: ABM air cover for outbound

User says: "We're launching an outbound campaign to 300 target accounts. How do I run ads to warm them up before our SDRs reach out?" Skill does: Recommends starting display + LinkedIn ads 2-4 weeks before SDR outreach. Build audience from the account list, create brand awareness creative, run for 2-3 weeks, then launch outbound. Share the TAL and campaign messaging with SDRs so they can reference the ads. Result: User has coordinated ad + outbound plan with timeline and budget.

Example 2: Retargeting website visitors

User says: "We get 5,000 unique B2B visitors per month but only 2% convert. How do I retarget the other 98%?" Skill does: Recommends identifying visitors with ZoomInfo WebSights or similar IP-to-company tool, building retargeting audiences from identified companies, creating bottom-of-funnel creative (case studies, demo CTAs), and measuring return visit rate and conversion lift. Result: User has a retargeting strategy to capture more value from existing website traffic.

Example 3: Choosing a B2B advertising platform

User says: "Should I use Demandbase, 6sense, or just LinkedIn Ads for our ABM campaigns? We're spending about $10K/mo." Skill does: Compares platforms based on the user's budget, tech stack, and goals. At $10K/mo, recommends LinkedIn + RollWorks (if HubSpot) or LinkedIn + ZoomInfo MarketingOS (if already a ZoomInfo customer) over Demandbase/6sense (which require larger budgets to justify the platform cost). Result: User has a platform recommendation with rationale based on their specific situation.

Troubleshooting

Ads running but no account engagement

Symptom: Impressions are being delivered but target accounts aren't visiting the website or engaging Cause: Creative isn't resonating, audience is too broad, or frequency is too low to break through Solution: Narrow the account list to highest-priority accounts, increase frequency cap, test new creative angles (problem-focused, specific pain points), and ensure ads link to relevant landing pages (not generic homepage).

LinkedIn matched audience too small

Symptom: LinkedIn says your matched audience is too small to run campaigns Cause: Account list has fewer than 300 matches in LinkedIn's database, or many companies are too small for LinkedIn to match Solution: Supplement the matched audience with firmographic targeting (industry + company size + job function). Or combine the account list with a broader LinkedIn audience and use account-level reporting to measure impact on target accounts specifically.

Can't measure pipeline impact

Symptom: Ads are running and accounts are engaging, but can't tie it to pipeline Cause: No attribution system connecting ad exposure to CRM pipeline Solution: Use your ABM platform's built-in attribution (ZoomInfo, Demandbase, 6sense all offer this). If using LinkedIn only, implement UTM tracking + CRM reporting: tag all ad links with UTM parameters, track first-touch and multi-touch attribution in CRM. At minimum, compare pipeline creation rate between ad-exposed and unexposed accounts.