Janhavi Nagarhalli

Content Marketer

Factors.ai

Hello to whoever is reading this. I'm Janhavi, a lawyer who went through a series of unfortunate events and realised that law isn’t for her. I stumbled on marketing by accident (as most of us do, I presume) and fell in love with it. From writing a simple 800-word blog post for a coaching center to creating content for SaaS companies around the world, my professional trajectory has been nothing short of a rollercoaster!

But that's about work. Aside from writing long-form articles, I like to travel, bake, read, and watch psychological thrillers. I spend my free time incessantly finding new things to learn about, be it philosophy, politics or new countries I can travel to for cheap.

To quote Walt Whitman, "I am large; I contain multitudes". If you’re curious to find out more or just want to yap about life, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and catch up!

Top UnifyGTM Alternatives for Signal-Based GTM

April 9, 2025

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0 min read

LinkedIn Ads vs. Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads: Who’s the winner?

April 3, 2025

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0 min read

LinkedIn, Google, and Facebook—marketers are spoiled for choice because there are many options for running ads and promoting their products.

But which one takes the win? Or should you use each platform in tandem?

This guide analyses LinkedIn Ads vs. Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads and explores how B2B marketers can effectively use these platforms for various campaign types. Additionally, we’ll discuss the challenges associated with each platform and how a multi-channel approach can help maximize ROI.

TL;DR

LinkedIn Ads: Best for targeting decision-makers and professionals in niche industries despite higher costs.
Google Ads: Ideal for capturing high-intent leads with search ads and retargeting.
Facebook Ads: Effective for broad audience engagement and cost-effective brand awareness.
Multi-Channel Strategy: Combining all three platforms maximizes ROI by leveraging their unique strengths across the marketing funnel

Overview of Each Ad Platform

LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn Ads are highly effective for B2B marketers who must reach decision-makers and professionals in specific industries. The platform’s targeting capabilities include options based on job title, company size, industry, and professional skills, making it the go-to choice for account-based marketing (ABM) strategies.

Strengths:

Superior B2B targeting capabilities.
High-quality leads due to professional context.
Ideal for promoting webinars, whitepapers, and other B2B content.

Limitations:

High cost-per-click (CPC) compared to other platforms.
Smaller audience size than Google or Facebook.

Google Ads

Google Ads is well-known for its ability to capture intent. Users actively search for solutions on Google, making it an excellent platform for bottom-of-the-funnel conversions. With options like search, display, and YouTube ads, Google offers diverse ways to target audiences.

Strengths:

High-intent audience.
Broad reach with multiple ad formats.
Remarketing capabilities through display ads.

Limitations:

Competitive keywords can lead to high CPCs.
Limited ability to target niche professional audiences directly.

Facebook Ads

While Facebook is often seen as a B2C platform, its massive user base allows B2B marketers to target decision-makers who may also use Facebook for personal browsing. The platform's advanced targeting options, such as interests, behaviors, and lookalike audiences, can complement other advertising efforts.

Strengths:

Lower CPC compared to LinkedIn and Google.
Advanced audience segmentation and lookalike audiences.
Ideal for top-of-the-funnel engagement.

Limitations:

Limited professional targeting options compared to LinkedIn.
May struggle to capture high-intent B2B leads.

Best Campaign Types for B2B Marketers

LinkedIn Ads Campaignssome text
- Sponsored Content: Promotes thought leadership content such as eBooks, webinars, and case studies. It is ideal for lead generation and nurturing.
- Message Ads: Directly target prospects with personalized messages. Effective for ABM strategies.
- Lead Gen Forms: Capture user data directly within LinkedIn, streamlining the conversion process.

💡Learn more about types of LinkedIn ads here.

Google Ads Campaignssome text
- Search Ads: Target specific keywords to capture high-intent prospects. This is useful for driving conversions when prospects are actively searching for solutions.
- Display Ads: Retarget users who have previously visited your website, keeping your brand top-of-mind.
- YouTube Ads: Promote video content to educate potential customers about your product or service.

💡Find out more about SaaS google ads

Facebook Ads Campaignssome text
- Video Ads: Promote product demos or customer testimonials to build awareness.
- Retargeting Ads: Target users who have previously interacted with your website or content.
- Lead Ads: Collect leads directly on Facebook, similar to LinkedIn’s Lead Gen Forms.

Challenges of Each Platform

LinkedIn Ads Challenges

High CPC: LinkedIn’s cost-per-click is significantly higher than other platforms. B2B marketers need to optimize their targeting and content to achieve a high conversion rate.
Smaller Audience Size: Compared to Facebook and Google, LinkedIn’s audience is more limited, potentially reducing the reach of some campaigns.

Factors recently launched a new offering called LinkedIn AdPilot, where you can solve these challenges and double your LinkedIn ROI!

Google Ads Challenges

Keyword Competition: Popular keywords can lead to high CPCs, making it expensive for B2B companies to compete for clicks.
Complexity in Setup: Google Ads requires a deeper understanding of keyword research, bidding strategies, and ad optimization.

Luckily, with Factors, you can solve these challenges by knowing exactly which ad keywords are bringing you revenue so you can save up to 50% of your ad spend!

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Plus, you can also use our Segment Insights feature to compare channel performance to see where you can allocate more ad budget.

Facebook Ads Challenges

Low Intent: Facebook users may not be actively seeking business solutions, making it harder to drive conversions for B2B campaigns.
Limited Professional Targeting: While the platform offers demographic and behavioral targeting, it lacks LinkedIn’s professional filters.

Multi-Channel Approach to Maximize ROI

A multi-channel approach leverages the strengths of each platform, addressing the limitations of individual channels and maximizing performance across the marketing funnel.

1. Top-of-the-Funnel (TOFU) Awareness: Use Facebook Ads

Strategy: Facebook Ads can help you reach a broader audience and create initial awareness. Use engaging content like videos or blog snippets to generate interest.
Goal: Drive traffic to your website or landing page to build a remarketing audience.

2. Middle-of-the-Funnel (MOFU) Engagement: Leverage LinkedIn Ads

Strategy: Use LinkedIn’s professional targeting to nurture leads who have shown interest in your content. Promote webinars, eBooks, or whitepapers to educate prospects.
Goal: Establish credibility and build a relationship with potential customers.

3. Bottom-of-the-Funnel (BOFU) Conversion: Optimize Google Ads

Strategy: Use Google Search Ads to capture intent-driven leads that are ready to purchase. Bid on keywords related to your solution to target high-intent prospects.
Goal: Drive conversions by offering product demos, free trials, or consultations.

4. Remarketing Across Channels

Retarget users on Google Display Network and Facebook who have interacted with your content on LinkedIn or searched for relevant keywords. This ensures your brand remains top-of-mind across various touchpoints.
Tip: Tailor your messaging based on the user’s previous interactions to make your ads more relevant and personalized.

5. Unified Reporting and Attribution

Track conversions and attribute leads accurately using tools like Google Analytics, LinkedIn Insights, and Facebook Pixel. This allows you to understand which platform drives the most ROI and adjust budgets accordingly.

Which Ad Platform is Best for B2B Marketers?

The choice between LinkedIn Ads, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads depends on your specific goals and budget:

Best for High-Quality Leads: If your goal is to target decision-makers or specific industries, LinkedIn Ads offers the best targeting capabilities despite the higher CPC.
Best for Capturing Intent: Google Ads is the ideal choice for driving conversions when users actively search for solutions related to your product or service.
Best for Brand Awareness and Engagement: Facebook Ads can be a cost-effective way to build awareness and engage a broader audience, making it a valuable addition to a multi-channel strategy.

Ultimately, no single platform will serve all B2B marketing needs. A balanced, multi-channel approach ensures you can capture leads at various stages of the buyer’s journey and optimize your ad spend for maximum ROI.

Use Factors to Supercharge Your Ad Strategies

When evaluating "LinkedIn Ads vs. Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads," B2B marketers should focus on a multi-channel strategy that leverages each platform's unique strengths. LinkedIn’s professional targeting, Google’s intent-driven search capabilities, and Facebook’s broad reach create a holistic approach that can nurture leads throughout the buyer's journey. While LinkedIn may be the best option for high-quality B2B leads, integrating all three platforms maximizes performance and ROI.

You can use Factors to measure the impact of each channel and shape your paid marketing strategies to generate more pipeline and revenue. Book a demo today to witness the power of signal-based GTM in your performance marketing efforts.

FAQs

Q1. What is the main difference between LinkedIn and Facebook Ads for B2B marketing?

LinkedIn Ads offer more advanced targeting options for professionals based on job title, industry, and company size, whereas Facebook Ads provide broader audience targeting and lower CPCs.

Q2. Are Google Ads effective for B2B companies?

Yes, Google Ads are effective for B2B companies, especially for capturing high-intent leads through search ads and remarketing strategies.

Q3. How can B2B marketers measure the success of their ad campaigns?

B2B marketers can measure the success of their campaigns through KPIs such as conversion rate, cost-per-lead (CPL), and return on ad spend (ROAS), while also using attribution models to track the contribution of each platform

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Understanding Customer Churn Prediction in 2024

March 20, 2025

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0 min read

Imagine working hard for months to close the deal with a prospect, only for them to churn in less than a year. There could be several reasons, such as:

Poor customer service
Choosing a competitor's solution
Users not achieving their KPIs

Reducing customer churn is vital for businesses because it ensures customer satisfaction and boosts profitability. The best way to avoid high churn rates is to predetermine the customers at a churn risk.

In this article, we'll detail how customer churn prediction is the key to reducing churn and keeping the cash flowing in 💸

What is Customer Churn Prediction?

Customer churn prediction involves analyzing data to detect customers likely to cancel subscriptions. SaaS businesses use this analysis to identify at-risk customers, leading to cost savings and improved customer lifetime value.

Analyzing churn through data-driven insights can help your business understand patterns and provide a roadmap for improvement. For example, if your surveys reveal that your platform has a complicated onboarding process – you can direct users to your onboarding specialist to assist them.

Why is Customer Churn Prediction important?

Losing customers is always costly. However, the costs involved go beyond the revenue lost from the customers who leave. It also includes the marketing expenses required to find new customers to replace the old ones. In many cases, the amount spent on acquiring a new customer is not covered by the amount paid during their time with the company. This means that customer acquisition is usually more expensive than customer retention.

Plus, unhappy customers share their experiences with others, impacting the company's reputation and customer acquisition budget. Businesses must predict churn and take action beforehand to prevent customers from leaving.

Once you know a customer is going to churn, you can take actions such as:

Providing more targeted re-engagement campaigns
Launching incentives such as loyalty programs that encourage them to stay
Creating educational material that is tailored toward their specific needs
Ensuring accessible and improved customer support

How to Build a Customer Churn Prediction Model

Creating a churn prediction model can help businesses retain customers and sustain growth. Using data analytics and machine learning, companies can identify which customers are likely to leave and take action to prevent it.

Here are the key steps to develop an effective churn prediction model ⬇️

Data collection and review

Ensure that the data is accurate by handling missing values, removing duplicates, and converting it into a suitable format for analysis. Before moving on to calculations, reviewing the data for accuracy and validity is crucial. Every piece of customer info is valuable in the upcoming churn calculations, so it's worth ensuring accuracy.

Model selection

Select an appropriate machine learning algorithm for churn prediction, such as logistic regression, decision trees, random forests, or gradient boosting machines. Split the data into training and testing sets, train the model, and tune hyperparameters to optimize performance. Evaluate the model using testing data and cross-validation. Deploy the model into production to make real-time predictions and prevent churn.

Use an automated predictive model

Do people with lower NPS scores tend to leave more? Are they evaluating competitor solutions? You can predict who might leave by spotting these signs in the data. You must use machine learning with a dataset containing all the information you have about customers who stayed and those who left. The algorithm learns from this historical data to understand how different factors relate to churn. Then, it can predict if future customers with similar behaviors might leave or stay.

💡Factors can help you identify customers evaluating competitor solutions by helping you track when they visit their G2 pages.

Establish retention strategy

Optimize your retention strategy by prioritizing actions based on the probability of customer churn. When customers first sign up, use checklists and personalized help to ensure they understand and use the product. As they keep using it, watch out for signs they might leave. For instance, if they're not using a feature they need, you can send them helpful tips to get them back on track.

Track results regularly

Continuously monitor the churn prediction model's performance and update it with new data periodically to ensure it remains effective as customer behavior evolves. Before introducing any further changes to your plan, collect enough data to measure the real impact of your efforts.

Your churn model will provide probabilities for various customer segments. It's essential to keep testing new strategies and recording the impact on these segments. While creating a mathematical model of churn requires time and resources from your team, each test can help you create a better model for the future.

6 Customer churn prediction best practices

Now that you know how to build a churn prediction model, here are a few handy tips you must remember to prevent customer churn:

1. Segment Customers

After obtaining your data, it's time to shift your focus towards the users and begin segmenting them. Since users have distinct needs and usage patterns, they don't churn for the same reason. Hence, it's essential to categorize them into separate segments. You can segment them based on their:

Demographics, such as location, region, company size, and the year they signed up for your company.
Behavior and usage, such as how often they log in, whether they use a particular feature more or less, or whether they have completed the onboarding process.
Contract terms include pricing plans and whether customers signed up for a monthly, quarterly, or yearly deal.

You can design retention strategies and marketing campaigns tailored to specific customer segments by segmenting customers based on their churn likelihood and characteristics. Domain knowledge or clustering techniques can help you define meaningful segments.

2. Monitor product usage data of existing customers

Product usage data captures how and when customers use your software. Important data points include feature usage, customer behavior, clicks, and other metrics such as time-to-value and product stickiness.

To build an effective model, it's important to consider some key product usage data points such as:

Monitor feature usage data to show users' engagement with your product's features, indicating popularity and relevance.
Observe users’ actions within your product, like when they use it, how long they use it, which features they engage with, and how they progress through it.
Track the number of times a user clicks or interacts with a UI element, such as a button, checkbox, text area, or menu.
Track other product usage data such as time-to-value, product stickiness, interactions, and more.

3. Keep an eye on customer success metrics

Understanding your users' success with your product is crucial in determining if they will continue using it. Surveys such as NPS and CSAT can be used to measure customer success. An NPS score of less than 7 or 8 means you may need a win-back campaign or value incentive to change their attitude towards your product. NPS measures loyalty and willingness to recommend, while CSAT measures customer satisfaction. Conduct these surveys periodically to track customer success and satisfaction.

4. Gather customer feedback regularly

Apart from gathering feedback through conventional ways, you can use various other forms of customer feedback to gain insights into their experience with your product or service. For example, in-app surveys can provide you with contextual input from users. You can use them to find out about your customer's overall satisfaction with your product, their experience with a particular feature, any issues they may have faced, or even the features they would like you to add or implement. This can be very helpful in understanding the general sentiment of users and identifying areas of improvement or strengths.

To promptly address issues and demonstrate responsiveness to user input, incorporate real-time feedback loops within your product. Acknowledge the feedback received through in-app surveys and communicate any actions taken to address user concerns.

5. Enhance customer experience

You can streamline the customer experience using automated onboarding, self-service options, and personalized support. Furthermore, you should use customer feedback to identify areas of improvement and proactively address any customer dissatisfaction rather than reacting after the fact.

6. Improve customer service

Respond promptly to inquiries and complaints, offer helpful advice, and measure performance using metrics like support tickets, call center response times, and social media interactions. Monitor these metrics to gain insights into customer service trends and effectiveness.

Customer Churn Prediction: Key Steps & Benefits

Predicting customer churn helps businesses retain clients and reduce acquisition costs through data-driven strategies.

1. Key Steps in Churn Prediction: Data collection, feature selection, model selection (Logistic Regression, Decision Trees, Random Forests, Gradient Boosting), model training, and real-time monitoring.

2. Essential Features: Customer tenure, usage frequency, service interactions, and engagement metrics.

3. Strategic Benefits: Identify at-risk customers, implement targeted retention efforts, and enhance profitability.

Leveraging churn prediction models enables businesses to proactively improve customer retention and long-term growth.

Wrapping up

Reducing customer churn is crucial for businesses as it directly impacts long-term revenue, customer loyalty, and overall business stability. However, understanding why customers leave requires analyzing data and tracking various metrics over time. Effective churn analysis involves monitoring overall customer turnover rates and identifying factors contributing to attrition.

Businesses can use advanced analytics and machine learning techniques to identify potential churners and implement targeted retention strategies.

Apollo vs Zoominfo: Choose the Right Sales Intelligence Tool

March 20, 2025

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0 min read

Sales teams struggle to find the right leads because choosing the right sales intelligence tool is challenging. With so many options in the market, it’s hard to know which platform delivers the most value.

Choosing the wrong tool can cost you time, money, and even missed revenue opportunities. Apollo and ZoomInfo are two popular solutions, but each has its own strengths and limitations. Which one will help your team hit its sales targets without breaking the bank?

This article will compare Apollo vs. ZoomInfo, covering features, pros, cons, and pricing so you can make an informed choice. Plus, we’ll introduce Factors.ai, a data-driven alternative that combines sales intelligence with actionable insights and revenue impact measurement. Read on to find the best solution for your sales team.

TL;DR:

Apollo: Offers a cost-effective solution with key features like enriched contact data, email automation, and CRM integrations. Suitable for startups and mid-market companies looking for a budget-friendly option.
ZoomInfo: Provides highly accurate and comprehensive data with advanced search filters and intent data capabilities. Ideal for larger enterprises that require robust sales intelligence.
Factors.ai: Goes beyond basic sales intelligence by providing a holistic view of sales and marketing data, integrating attribution, and measuring revenue impact for more data-driven decision-making.
Feature Comparison: ZoomInfo excels in data quality, while Apollo is more affordable with strong email sequencing capabilities. Factors.ai stands out with its multi-channel attribution features and actionable insights.
Alternative Recommendations: Apollo is a good alternative to ZoomInfo for budget-conscious teams, while ZoomInfo remains a solid choice for those who prioritize top-tier data accuracy. Factors.ai offers a more comprehensive approach to B2B sales intelligence, connecting sales efforts to revenue impact.

Apollo Overview

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Key Features

Apollo is a sales intelligence platform that helps B2B sales teams streamline their lead generation and outreach processes. Here are some of its key features:

Enriched Contact Data: Provides access to over 250 million contacts, with email addresses, phone numbers, and company information.
Email Sequencing: Built-in email automation allows for the creation of creating personalized email sequences.
CRM Integrations: Seamlessly integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, and other popular CRM platforms.
Lead Scoring: Uses AI to rank prospects based on their likelihood to convert.
Engagement Tracking: Monitors email opens, clicks, and replies for better follow-up strategies.

Pros and Cons

(Based on reviews from G2, TrustRadius, and Capterra)

Pros:

Affordable Pricing: Users appreciate Apollo's budget-friendly pricing, making it suitable for startups and mid-sized businesses.
Strong Email Sequencing Capabilities: The tool's email automation features are highly rated for ease of use and effectiveness.
User-Friendly Interface: The platform is easy to navigate, even for sales teams with little technical experience.
Reliable Data Quality: While not as comprehensive as ZoomInfo's data, Apollo's is considered accurate and useful for most sales teams.

Cons:

Limited Data Accuracy for Smaller Companies: Some users report that contact data for smaller companies is less reliable.
Basic Reporting Features: Reporting capabilities are not as advanced as ZoomInfo offers.
Limited Intent Data: Apollo lacks robust intent data, which can be a drawback for teams prioritizing account-based marketing.

Pricing

Apollo offers a more flexible pricing structure than ZoomInfo. Plans for basic features start at around $39 per month per user. Enterprise-level plans are available for teams requiring more extensive data and capabilities.

ZoomInfo Overview

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Key Features

ZoomInfo is a leading sales intelligence tool known for its extensive contact database and high data accuracy. Key features include:

Comprehensive Contact Database: Access to a vast database with millions of B2B contacts, including direct dials and verified email addresses.
Advanced Search Filters: Allows sales teams to filter contacts by industry, job title, company size, and more.
Intent Data: Identifies companies actively searching for products or services related to yours.
Sales Automation: Provides automated workflows for outreach, including email templates and engagement tracking.
CRM and Marketing Automation Integrations: Integrates seamlessly with tools like Salesforce, Marketo, and HubSpot.

Pros and Cons

(Based on user feedback from G2, TrustRadius, and Capterra)

Pros:

High Data Accuracy: Users consistently praise ZoomInfo for its top-tier data accuracy and contact coverage.
Robust Intent Data Capabilities: The platform provides actionable intent data for account-based marketing efforts.
Advanced Search Functionality: Offers more granular search filters compared to Apollo.
Comprehensive Integrations: Integrates well with most major CRM and marketing automation platforms.

Cons:

Expensive Pricing: ZoomInfo's pricing is a significant investment, making it more suitable for larger sales teams and enterprises.
Steep Learning Curve: The platform's numerous features can be overwhelming for new users.
Occasional Data Gaps: Some users report gaps in data coverage for international contacts.

Pricing

ZoomInfo's pricing is customized based on the number of seats and features required. You can check out Zoominfo pricing here

Why Apollo is a Good ZoomInfo Alternative

Budget-Friendly: Apollo's pricing is significantly more affordable, making it a great choice for startups and mid-sized companies that need a cost-effective solution.
Email Sequencing: The tool's robust email automation capabilities are highly rated and can replace the need for a separate outreach tool.
User-Friendly: The platform is straightforward and easy to use, minimizing the need for extensive training.

Why ZoomInfo is a Good Apollo Alternative

Data Accuracy: ZoomInfo offers superior data quality, especially for enterprise-level sales teams that require the most accurate contact information.
Robust Intent Data: ZoomInfo’s intent data capabilities are highly valuable for companies focused on account-based marketing.
Comprehensive Search Filters: The advanced filtering options help sales teams target prospects more precisely.

Why Factors.ai is the Best Alternative to Both

Key Features of Factors.ai

Factors.ai is a robust analytics and attribution platform designed to provide more than just contact information. Its features include:

Multi-Channel Attribution: Factors.ai connects marketing efforts across multiple channels, providing insights into what truly drives sales conversions.
Revenue Impact Measurement: Measures the ROI of sales and marketing activities by linking campaign data to actual revenue outcomes.
Lead and Account Scoring: Advanced AI-driven scoring helps sales teams prioritize high-quality leads based on multi-touch attribution data.
Customizable Dashboards: Tailored reports and dashboards for sales leaders to track performance across different stages of the sales funnel.
Seamless Integrations: Works with popular CRMs and marketing tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, and Google Analytics.

Benefits Over Apollo and ZoomInfo

Holistic View of Sales Performance: Factors.ai offers a broader scope than Apollo and ZoomInfo by combining sales intelligence with multi-channel attribution and revenue measurement.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Enables sales leaders to allocate resources more effectively by identifying high-ROI activities.
More Cost-Effective Than ZoomInfo: Provides a powerful suite of tools at a more competitive price than ZoomInfo, while still offering deeper insights than Apollo.
Improved Alignment Between Sales and Marketing: Factors.ai’s focus on revenue impact ensures both sales and marketing teams are working towards the same goals.

Choosing the Right Sales Intelligence Platform

Apollo and ZoomInfo are leading sales intelligence tools, each catering to different business needs.

1. Apollo Overview: Affordable and user-friendly, ideal for small to mid-sized businesses. Offers 275M+ contacts, AI-driven data verification, CRM integrations, and sales engagement features like email automation.

2. ZoomInfo Overview: Comprehensive B2B database with 600M+ profiles, advanced search filters, real-time job alerts, and deep analytics. Best suited for large enterprises needing robust data and integrations.

3. Key Differences:
- Pricing: Apollo is cost-effective; ZoomInfo is premium-priced.

- Features: Apollo focuses on sales engagement; ZoomInfo provides deeper analytics and extensive firmographic data.

- Best For: Apollo suits smaller teams; ZoomInfo is ideal for complex, data-driven organizations.

Selecting the right platform depends on business size, budget, and data requirements.

Conclusion

Both Apollo and ZoomInfo are excellent tools for B2B sales teams, but each has strengths and weaknesses. Apollo is ideal for smaller teams and companies that need a budget-friendly option with strong email automation features.

ZoomInfo is the better choice for larger enterprises prioritizing high-quality data and advanced intent data capabilities.

However, Factors.ai emerges as the best alternative for sales teams seeking a more comprehensive approach to sales intelligence. Its multi-channel attribution and revenue impact features go beyond what Apollo and ZoomInfo offer, making it an excellent choice for sales leaders who want to link sales activities directly to revenue outcomes.

If you're looking for a platform that combines sales intelligence with actionable insights and advanced analytics, Factors.ai is the tool for you.

Book a demo today to learn how Factors can help you supercharge your sales strategy.

Also read, Factors vs ZoomInfo: Pros and Cons.

FAQs

Q1. Is Apollo a cheaper alternative to ZoomInfo?

Yes, Apollo is generally more affordable than ZoomInfo, making it a good option for small to mid-sized businesses.

Q2. Does ZoomInfo provide intent data?

Yes, ZoomInfo offers robust intent data capabilities to help identify companies actively searching for relevant products or services. However, Factors.ai gives a more holistic approach to using intent data for your GTM efforts.

Q3. How does Apollo's data accuracy compare to ZoomInfo's?

While Apollo provides reliable data, ZoomInfo is often considered to have superior data accuracy, especially for large enterprises

Improve LinkedIn Ads Targeting with Audience Builder

March 20, 2025

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0 min read

When you think of launching an ABM campaign, it’s natural to consider running LinkedIn ads. All you need to do is build and upload an audience list of your target accounts and launch your ads… right? Unfortunately, creating audience lists isn’t a walk in the park.

Your ability to maximize the value of your ads depends heavily on how you target them. If you want to build the perfect audience list, you need to look through mountains of data across multiple tools and Excel sheets while manually categorizing it according to your campaign goals.

Luckily, we have “Audience Builder” to prevent you from wasting your money.

In this article, we’ll show you how using Audience Builder is an effective way for you to target your audience on LinkedIn 🎯

Audience targeting: why the old way doesn’t work

Marketers typically build multiple audience lists for several different marketing initiatives, such as:

ICP lists
ABM lists
Retargeting lists
Webinar lists
Intent data lists
SDR lists, etc.

You might rely on LinkedIn’s native targeting filters to build your target account list. However, this comes with a set of challenges, such as:

LinkedIn native targeting filters don’t include intent data, making it difficult to specifically target high-intent accounts
LinkedIn’s job titles and industry tags are still being updated, so you might unintentionally target accounts that don’t fall under your ICP.

Of course, you can also build target account lists outside the platform via Apollo or Zoominfo and upload them to Campaign Manager. However, building out and vetting this list while sorting through different data sets would be time-consuming. Let’s say you want to build a list excluding your existing customers or those who have already signed up for a demo. It becomes tedious to scope out and filter every single account. Plus, you also have to continuously update this list every day according to when prospects book demos.

Now that’s A LOT ☠️

Abhishek at Descope explains why they faced a challenge when creating audience lists for their LinkedIn ad campaigns:

“Most tech companies have very complex buying groups with multiple stakeholders where the decision-maker and influencer differ. We were looking for a scalable way to craft the right message for the right buyer role at the right organization size without blowing the company’s budget.” – Abhishek Iyer, Director of Marketing at Descope.

For all these reasons, you need a tool that consolidates and integrates all your account data across multiple tools and automatically creates an audience list of accounts interested in your solution. Fortunately, your search ends here!

Introducing Audience Builder

Audience Builder allows you to build any audience from your Factors data and automatically sync these lists directly to LinkedIn. Let’s show you how:

Segment your audience lists based on intent data

Let’s say you want to show your ads specifically to accounts who visit your pricing page. You can use the event as a trigger to add them to a LinkedIn audience. Now, you can show ads to product-aware accounts, aiming to engage them further after they've shown interest.

You can skip the guesswork and leverage the power of intent data to target the accounts genuinely interested in your product. You avoid wasting ad spend and can have your GTM team prioritize the right prospects to meet your pipeline targets

Sync data from multiple sources

Every marketing team uses various tools across their tech stack, each with different capabilities. However, syncing data across these tools to create an airtight audience list can be tricky.

Let’s say you use Salesforce. Since Salesforce doesn’t have a native sync with LinkedIn, you have to manually sort and build the list before uploading it to Campaign Manager. Plus, Salesforce doesn't offer website intent data or G2 intent data, so you cannot filter accounts that are genuinely interested in your solution. That’s where Factors comes in.

We help you unify end-to-end B2B customer journey data from G2, Linkedin, CRMs, and MAPs, giving you insights into every customer segment, their intent signals, and how to reach them effectively.

Here’s an example of how Descope uses the Audience Builder feature to build their lists:

“Factors provides granular visibility into accounts visiting our website as well as their engagement across G2 and other channels. Accordingly, we receive tons of insight into account activity without the need for form submissions or sign-ups.

Based on this, we’ve created 3 audience segments: Top, middle, and bottom of the funnel. These audiences are pushed into LinkedIn campaigns and served tailored ads based on their sales cycle stage.” – Abhishek Iyer, Director of Marketing at Descope

Audience Builder use cases

Now, you can leverage every bit of GTM data to create and activate the most relevant audiences. Here are a few ways you can use this shiny new feature to supercharge your LinkedIn ads:

US-based software companies with 500+ employees that visited the pricing page >2 times and are not in the CRM: When ICP accounts visit a high-intent page like your pricing or demo booking page, they are far more engaged than just regular website visitors. You can create a list of such accounts in your CRM and launch a retargeting campaign where you can use ads to drive consideration for your product.

ICP accounts that clicked on a search ad but failed to convert: Suppose a set of accounts clicked on a search ad that includes a feature keyword. You can use this data to push these accounts to a list that shows ads related to the relevant feature. Plus, you can add a condition to exclude companies who booked a demo.

Enterprise Software and IT services companies that engage with more than 5 pages of your G2 category: When you notice accounts engage with your G2 page, they are evaluating your solution. Create a list targeting decision-makers and launch an ad campaign highlighting your best reviews and case studies.

ABM target accounts that viewed LinkedIn ads and then visited the website: Prospects that visit your site after clicking an ad are likely problem-aware, so you can create an account list and add them to a sequential ad campaign to move them further down the funnel.

Once Descope used Factors to build audience lists, they saw positive results and could easily target their ICP accounts without sifting through loads of data across their tech stack:

“Factors is already playing a key role in helping us make our LinkedIn paid spend more efficient. Even if one person from a specific account visits our website, Factors helps us target decision-makers and the larger buying committee as a whole to ensure that all the right people from a target account see our ads. Ultimately, this helps our LinkedIn ad budgets go that extra mile.” – Abhishek Iyer, Director of Marketing at Descope.

Enhancing LinkedIn Ad Targeting with Factors.ai's Audience Builder

Factors.ai’s Audience Builder refines LinkedIn ad targeting by leveraging intent data for precise audience segmentation.

- Targeting with Intent Data: Identify high-intent accounts, such as those visiting pricing pages.

- Automated Audience List Creation: Integrates data from multiple sources to streamline segmentation and reduce manual effort.

- Direct LinkedIn Sync: Ensures ads reach relevant prospects in real-time, boosting engagement and conversions.

By addressing limitations in LinkedIn’s native filters—such as outdated job titles and lack of intent data—Audience Builder enhances targeting accuracy, improves campaign performance, and drives higher ROI.

Join the waitlist today

Building a solid audience list is key to targeting your ideal prospects. With AdPilot, you can use data-driven insights to effectively target the right accounts at the right time and double your LinkedIn ROI. Speak to our experts today to learn how AdPilot can revamp your LinkedIn ads strategy.

LinkedIn Industry Tags 101: What Marketers Must Know

March 20, 2025

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0 min read

LinkedIn is truly the place to B2B, isn’t it?

80% of B2B marketers say LinkedIn is part of their advertising strategy because 4 out of 5 of its 900 million members drive business decisions, making it a key platform for lead generation. Marketers can launch ad campaigns to target decision-makers from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies worldwide.

LinkedIn’s robust campaign manager platform allows companies to set their targeting criteria based on 20 different attribute categories, such as company, job experience, education, demographics, interests, and traits.

The image displays a portion of a LinkedIn Help page under the " Marketing Solutions " section.

However, while LinkedIn campaign manager is a boon for running B2B ads, there's room for refinement when it comes to the ad platform's industry tag categorization and audience targeting mechanism.

The LinkedIn industry list currently consists of 24 main categories and 148 subcategories as applicable industries for company profiles. These categories are presently visible for company pages but are yet to be updated on Campaign Manager.

The image displays a comprehensive list of industry sectors formatted in a table — **Source:** **The Linked In Man**

While these categories cover a wide range of industries, this article explores why they may still be insufficient — and how we can overcome the hurdle of vague industry tags to optimize ad performance ⬇️

How Does LinkedIn Campaign Manager Define Industries?

LinkedIn defines industry as the company's primary industry, which is where the member is employed, as stated by the company. Additional industries may be inferred about the company and included for targeting.

Individuals can’t choose the industry but rather get assigned the company's industry to which they are attached.

The problem arises when there is limited clarity on which industry a particular company belongs to. When selecting the industry option of a LinkedIn company page, the creator or page admin determines the industry. Since these are subjective, irregularities can occur especially when a company can come under two different industries.

For instance, a health tech company can come under “health, wellness and fitness,” “hospital and health care” or “software development”

Let’s look at this with a detailed example 🔽

Suppose you want to showcase your ad to decision-makers working in fintechs specifically. Here are examples of 3 fintech companies and how LinkedIn identifies their industries:

1. RazorpayXPayroll is placed under “IT services and consulting,” whereas it’s payroll software.

2. PayPal & Payoneer are similar platforms that facilitate international bank transfers but are under different industry tags.

As you can see, all 3 companies are virtually the same but are categorized differently on Linkedin. Seems confusing, right?

You risk losing out on ICP companies or worse you spend on irrelevant companies that are not your ICP because LinkedIn's categorization is different from your expectations

For instance, if you want to target fintechs and pick “financial services” in campaign manager, you’d also end up advertising to banks and investment companies.

Or if you pick “software and development,” your ads are shown to every other software company, regardless of whether they come under your ICP.

And we all know that an unqualified prospect can take a lot of time from your sales and marketing team, costing your company more than it pays.

Now the real question is,

How Do You Overcome This Problem?

Here’s what Tim Davidson, VP of Marketing at B2B Rizz, has to say:

As mentioned above, creating a target account list on a third-party platform allows you to present your ads to high-intent companies that actually fall within your ICP without overshooting your paid ad spend.

You can either build a list of cold accounts on a database tool like Apollo or ZoomInfo or build granular segments of warm ICP accounts engaging on your Website, LinkedIn, G2, CRM, etc. inside Factors.

💡You can use Factors account segments to identify and create a list of web visitors segmented by source and how far along they are in the customer journey. You can also refine the list by targeting accounts that visit high-intent pages (pricing pages, comparison blogs, G2 reviews, etc.) and fit your ICP based on demographics, industry, technographics, revenue, etc. Once done, you’ll have a list of high-fit, high-intent accounts.

Upload this list when creating audiences on LinkedIn to skip the ambiguity and save ad spend. It also comes in handy when launching retargeting campaigns to prospects in the solution-aware stage.

Understanding LinkedIn Industry Tags

LinkedIn industry tags help categorize companies into 24 main categories and 148 subcategories, enabling audience segmentation for B2B advertising.

- Challenges in Targeting: Categories can be ambiguous, making precise audience segmentation difficult.

- Classification Issues: A health tech company may fall under multiple categories like "Health, Wellness and Fitness," "Hospital and Health Care," or "Software Development."

- Optimizing Targeting: Combine industry tags with job titles, company size, and demographics for better audience reach.

Refining targeting strategies with additional attributes ensures more accurate segmentation, improves ad performance, and enhances B2B marketing effectiveness.

Wrapping Up

LinkedIn’s native targeting features while useful still have some room for optimization that the LinkedIn team is currently working on solving. In the meantime, you can use target account lists to save time and exclusively target your ads to prospects in market for your solution.

Find out how you can use Factors.ai for LinkedIn retargeting

And guess what? We’re coming up with something exciting that can help you revamp your LinkedIn ad strategy and make the most of LinkedIn. Stay tuned for more!

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Top UnifyGTM Alternatives for Signal-Based GTM

About Unify: Pros, Cons, and Pricing

What to look for in a UnifyGTM alternative

1. Customizable Reporting & Dashboards

2. Cross-Channel Attribution

3. Campaign Automation & Management

4. Funnel Analysis

5. Audience Segmentation

6. LinkedIn intent data

Top 6 UnifyGTM alternatives for signal-based marketing

Why Factors is a good Unify alternative

Limitations

Pricing

Why Apollo is a good Unify alternative

Limitations

Pricing

Why Warmly is a good Unify alternative

Limitations

Pricing

Why Zoominfo is a good UnifyGTM alternative

Limitations

Pricing

Why Lusha is a good Unify alternative

Limitations

Pricing

Why Common Room is a good UnifyGTM alternative

Limitations

Pricing

Why Factors takes the win

Best Unify Alternatives for Signal-Based GTM

LinkedIn Ads vs. Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads: Who’s the winner?

TL;DR

Overview of Each Ad Platform

LinkedIn Ads

Google Ads

Facebook Ads

Best Campaign Types for B2B Marketers

Challenges of Each Platform

LinkedIn Ads Challenges

Google Ads Challenges

Facebook Ads Challenges

Multi-Channel Approach to Maximize ROI

1. Top-of-the-Funnel (TOFU) Awareness: Use Facebook Ads

2. Middle-of-the-Funnel (MOFU) Engagement: Leverage LinkedIn Ads

3. Bottom-of-the-Funnel (BOFU) Conversion: Optimize Google Ads

4. Remarketing Across Channels

5. Unified Reporting and Attribution

Which Ad Platform is Best for B2B Marketers?

Use Factors to Supercharge Your Ad Strategies

FAQs

Understanding Customer Churn Prediction in 2024

What is Customer Churn Prediction?

Why is Customer Churn Prediction important?

How to Build a Customer Churn Prediction Model

6 Customer churn prediction best practices

1. Segment Customers

2. Monitor product usage data of existing customers

3. Keep an eye on customer success metrics

4. Gather customer feedback regularly

5. Enhance customer experience

6. Improve customer service

Customer Churn Prediction: Key Steps & Benefits

Wrapping up

Apollo vs Zoominfo: Choose the Right Sales Intelligence Tool

TL;DR:

Apollo Overview

Key Features

Pros and Cons

Pricing

ZoomInfo Overview

Key Features

Pros and Cons

Pricing

Why Apollo is a Good ZoomInfo Alternative

Why ZoomInfo is a Good Apollo Alternative

Why Factors.ai is the Best Alternative to Both

Key Features of Factors.ai

Benefits Over Apollo and ZoomInfo

Choosing the Right Sales Intelligence Platform

Conclusion