Is paid digital advertising a worthwhile marketing strategy for your PE firm? At first blush, it may seem like an emphatic “no.”

Private equity partnerships are traditionally forged through deep relationships between company founders and PE dealmakers. As a result, firms typically rely on their connections and networks to generate new business instead of overt marketing tactics.

There are also PE firms that do not want to be so visible—leaning into the aura of mystery and intrigue—and in turn, they create a “black box effect” that is part of the brand. For them, paid digital advertising is likely not a great fit.

However, as the private equity market becomes less “private,” there are many firms that could benefit from leveraging paid ads as part of their toolkit. But first, it’s important to define your audiences, capabilities, and goals and keep them top of mind as you outline and evaluate different ad approaches.

Defining and understanding your target audiences is key. Your firm is most likely trying to reach the following people:

  1. Prospective investees, who are looking to partner with a firm that will have a long-term relationship based on trust
  2. Intermediaries, who can connect your firm to CEOs and founders seeking investment
  3. Investors interested in supporting your strategies and investments
  4. Potential employees

Just as your website uses (or should use) distinct strategies for each of your target audiences, your ad objectives, messaging, and goals should also be specifically tailored.

In the next steps, we’ll look at three different approaches that can help determine if paid digital advertising is the right strategy for your PE firm.

Approach #1: Branded Search Ads

Google search can be a volatile space. Even if you have an effective SEO strategy in place, it’s impossible to guarantee a top organic SERP placement due to ongoing changes to search algorithms and general competition. However, owning your branded search terms through paid advertising secures your place at the top when users are searching for you, no matter what.

“Depending on your firm name, the searches may just not naturally bubble up in unpaid search.”

A branded search is a query that includes your firm’s name, URL, or other branded terms. This type of search shows user intent and is used when searchers are already familiar with your firm’s name or brand and are looking for your company specifically. Unlike organic listings, branded search ads give you an opportunity to control the messaging and send users to your highest converting landing pages.

Essentially, when a user searches for “XYZ Firm private equity,” you can be confident they’re going to find your website and see the messaging you want them to. From a cost perspective, branded search ads can be an inexpensive investment that helps users searching for you find your firm with its best foot forward.

Approach #2: Remarketing

Remarketing is a strategic way to keep your firm top of mind with any one of your target audiences. It allows your business to show targeted ads to users who visited your website and didn’t complete an action—such as submitting a contact form or downloading a thought leadership content piece.

It’s a sophisticated strategy. Before moving forward with such an approach, your firm should factor in the following:

  • Operational Budget. Remarketing happens across platforms, including search engines, Facebook, and LinkedIn. It also requires a bit of trial and error. You need to be sure your firm has a flexible budget for testing what works across each of these channels.
  • Creative Budget. To work well, remarketing requires resources in-house to either build the creative content or give direction to an external designer or content creator. You want to be sure your investment is matched with content that captivates your audience’s attention and speaks to your goals.
  • Bandwidth. This approach is not a one-and-done campaign. Successful execution requires an exhaustive investment in time and effort to manage and optimize the creative designs, content, and targeting. Are you using effective targeting parameters? Does your firm have the headspace and time to take it on strategically? The answer to both questions should be yes, or remarketing may not be the right fit.

Approach #3: Industry/Regional Ads

Most private equity firms are not looking to do all of their business in their immediate region alone. For that reason, your firm may choose to leverage paid ads using regional and industry keywords, often in combination, to increase your firm’s visibility in sectors and areas of interest.

Take this scenario for example. If your firm is located in Chicago and specializes in growing biotechnology companies, you may want to invest in paid ads for terms such as “private equity Boston biotech” or “NJ pharma private equity.” This strategy can help your firm stand out in crowded marketplaces by appearing higher in search results in the regions and industries you’re most interested in.

Measuring and Optimizing Your Strategy

Ultimately, PE firm marketing—especially paid digital advertising—requires ongoing measurement and optimizations in order for it to be successful.

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”

As you start implementing and measuring ads, you may find that a certain approach isn’t the best use of efforts or media dollars from your budget. Alternatively, you may have an underperforming ad that requires content updates to drive a higher volume of page visits. Make sure your marketing metrics are clearly defined and be ready to make improvements as results come in.

While we hope this blog post helps lay down the groundwork for considering paid digital advertising for your PE firm, we encourage you to reach out and share your followup questions and concerns. We’re here to dive in deeper when you’re ready.