Many B2B marketers are curious whether Facebook advertising work for B2B? Yes, it works but not as B2C. The popularity of Facebook has grown over the years. Because it is commonly seen as a social platform for connecting and communicating with friends and family, many B2B businesses remain skeptical about using Facebook for their marketing strategies.
The problem is that the B2B buyer’s cycle is much longer and more complicated than the general consumers. To convert a potential customer into a paying one, a great Facebook ad won’t be enough, you’ll have to understand the fundamentals of Facebook B2B marketing.
For B2C businesses, it is a different ball game. To them, Facebook is a fantastic tool for increasing brand recognition and connecting with potential customers. It can attract new clients, run promotions, and serve up excellent remarketing content, ultimately leading to more affordable conversions.
According to Social Media Examiner, Facebook ads are valued by 66% of B2C marketers, compared to just 52% of B2B marketers. Facebook ad campaigns can be profitable for B2B and B2C businesses.
In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about Facebook advertising for B2B that produces leads and brings you one step closer to achieving your sales target. You will see why Facebook ads work in the B2B industry too.
Sociallybuzz is a leading social media marketing, management, and digital advertising agency for small and medium-sized businesses. With over 12 years of experience, we know how to create and execute marketing campaigns that will help you grow your business. Our social media agency has created successful targeted social media campaigns that acquired our customers more leads, sales, and revenue.
Since 2009 Sociallybuzz has been helping small businesses win; we have a team of experts who know how to use social media and digital advertising channels to reach and convert your target audience anywhere on the internet.
Get in touch for a free consultation call
Despite Facebook ads work for B2Bs, many B2B businesses find Facebook ads largely useless, which is a misconception. Even though Facebook is a fantastic tool for B2C marketers who can use ads to promote sales, retarget customers who have abandoned shopping carts, and give discounts, any B2B can build a worthwhile marketing strategy using Facebook ads.
To prove that Facebook ads work in the B2B industry, We used Facebook Ads and Google Ads to Drive Over 6 Figures in Sales for a B2B Brand. Read More Here >>
Facebook ad works in every industry, including the B2B industry. What you should work on is your advertising strategy, offer, sales page, remarketing, funnel, creatives etc. Abovementioned determines the success if your Facebook B2B ad campaign.
Facebook advertising strategy can be useful in accomplishing the following B2B goals:
For Facebook ads to work for you in the B2B industry, you need to adhere to Facebook B2B advertising best practices.
Read More: Facebook B2B Lead Generation Tips
Below are B2B Facebook ad best practices that are worth knowing to run a successful ad campaign.
Read More: Benefits of B2B advertising
The marketing funnel helps you create a highly targeted Facebook ad strategy that conveys the right message to the right audience.
Before creating your ads, the first thing to do is to understand your audience and their position in the marketing funnel. The key to effective advertising is targeting the right audience with the right message at the right time.
In the marketing funnel, a B2B ad on Facebook introduces a prospective customer to your business. The interaction with the customer changes as they proceed down the funnel, ultimately converting them to paying customers.
As much as you should cast a wide net to gather as many leads as possible, don’t create ads without a definite purpose. Let your ads aim at driving conversions. Know that your ads won’t be the same for a user at the middle or bottom of the funnel as it is for your top-of-the-funnel user.
The sales process follows three stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. Compared to B2C buyers, B2B leads may take longer to convert. Because the B2B sales cycle is complicated Mid-funnel ads are particularly effective at generating clicks and conversions. But make sure that the ads you create for other parts of your funnel are unique and serve a specific objective.
Understanding your audience in terms of where they are in the marketing funnel will enable you to:
Recommended: Best B2B marketing platforms for b2bs
Facebook uses an audience model. You’ll be well on your way to making the most of B2B marketing if you can consistently match the right audience with the right offer.
Like the B2C, B2B businesses also face competition. Ensure that businesses most likely to buy from you see your ads. If decision-makers from other businesses will buy from you, you must make them believe in you; otherwise, they’ll go to your competitors. Your value proposition must clearly state how important you are to them.
The Audiences function ensures that businesses, most likely interested in your offerings, see your ads. Identify a smaller and more engaged audience for your campaigns.
Make your ads stick out and establish an immediate connection with your audience by effectively combining audiences.
Recommended: We Used Social and Paid Media to Drive Over 300 New Customers To The Grand Opening of a New Franchise Concept. Read More
Create ads that give your target audience highly contextual ad experiences. Ads they are most likely to find relevant. Facebook prioritizes ads based on how relevant they appear to your target audience.
Facebook ad relevance is rated on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest score. This rating is predetermined by the positive and negative engagements Facebook predicts your ad will generate.
After your ad goes live, the score is updated frequently to account for these engagements. Views of videos and sales are regarded as positive engagement. On the other hand, individuals who complain or hide your ads are regarded as negative engagement.
Your ads will not get a high relevance score if it fails to capture the interest of your target audience. Facebook uses this metric to motivate advertisers to deliver exceptional ad experiences. After your ad campaign starts, you can keep track of your relevance score to determine what you need to change or not for improved results.
The relevance score is there to function as a benchmark and guide for your ad creativity, it won’t ultimately determine how well your ad campaign performs as a whole. So it is important to note that relevance score is not the only determinant of how successful your ads become.
This is why offering instant value when you target your audience with your ads is vital. No matter how high your relevance number is, your content won’t be successful if it lacks value.
Recommended: Best sites to advertise your small business online
Target your audience with the wrong ads, and you will have no return on investment to show for it.
Many B2B Facebook advertising efforts fail because they are not the appropriate form of ads for their target audience. You may have the most interesting and creative ads and still not be successful if you don’t deliver them in an appropriate format.
Each ad format serves a specific purpose that is a bit different from the others. Whatever your ad strategy is, keep it clear and straightforward. Facebook provides different ad formats including, video, image, collection, carousel, and instant experience.
Facebook displays over 140 billion Reels every day. As a result, B2B advertisers have a unique opportunity to connect with Facebook audiences through video ads compared to conventional image ads.
For example, while B2C businesses might realize more value in a carousel ad that drives sales, B2B companies may prefer to concentrate on something simple. In this instance, the simplicity of the middle-of-funnel advertisement makes it ideal for B2B advertisers.
Check this out: The best social media agencies for small business
Ad placement is the next thing to consider after you’ve picked your ideal ad format. You may choose to display your ads in the right column or news feed (these are the two main areas where you can display your ads on Facebook).
Depending on your audience and objectives, each placement has advantages and disadvantages. News feed ads are the most widely used and frequently-viewed but are also the most expensive and competitive.
Along with other advertisers, posts from friends, family, and other news sources compete for the interest of your target audience.
The right-column ads are suitable for advertisers targeting desktop users because they only appear on desktop feeds. They are frequently smaller and less expensive. If you decide to feature a right-column ad and most of your audience accesses the site via a mobile device, your chances of success will decrease immediately.
When you’ve determined where most of your traffic is coming from, utilize the best placement option for your audience — news feed or the right column.
The news feed ad is most likely your sure bet. Avoid settling for the less expensive choice if it isn’t a good fit for your target users.
Read More: See where to advertise your business for sale
In addition to generating leads and reaching out to new consumers, you can utilize Facebook to retarget lost prospects. It’s not necessarily a lost cause when a customer glances at your product or services but decides not to purchase anything. Using retargeted ads, Facebook can help you get that customer back to your website.
Using the custom audience feature, you can target users who have previously viewed a particular URL. It can be a landing page rather than just a tab on your website. If a customer leaves your landing page without clicking the offer, you can retarget them with a Facebook ad.
You must already have a Facebook website custom audience created and ready to use to take advantage of this feature. The following is how to create a Facebook custom audience:
Recommended: Best online advertising platforms for small businesses
In today’s world, people are continually on their phones. Failing to ensure your Facebook ads are mobile-friendly when developing an ad campaign can negatively impact your outcomes.
Mobile ads are the main driver of social media’s massive growth, and Facebook works hard to make it easier for advertisers to connect with mobile users. Targeting users on both mobile and desktop will help your Facebook ads reach the widest audience possible.
Tips on optimizing your ads for mobile:
Implementing these strategies below can significantly improve your B2B Facebook ad campaign.
Read More: Way to advertise your small business online
You don’t have to only implement the strategy of asking for buy-ins immediately. B2B can successfully utilize the top-of-the-funnel strategy, creating a brand awareness campaign.
This ad campaign points users to useful information about your business or an educational piece about your products.
Remember that there may be audiences who are only discovering your business for the first time. Due to their lack of familiarity with your company, these individuals may not yet be prepared to see an ad offering a free trial or demo.
They might not even be aware that they are looking for the kind of solution you provide. These users hanging around the top of the funnel can be educated and nurtured with the help of a brand awareness campaign.
Recommended: Restaurant advertising ideas
B2C marketers often use incentives to entice people to click and purchase a particular product. B2B marketers can now generate leads using a similar strategy. If you provide a service or product, rather than asking prospective buyers to make a purchase they might not be ready to make yet, you can encourage them to explore your website by advertising a free trial offer.
Another strategy is to advertise low-cost offers. This gives you time to establish a rapport with your prospective buyers and creates an opening for later upselling.
Only those who have previously engaged with your brand in some way (visited your website, downloaded a piece of content, attended a webinar, etc.) should see these ads. They know who you are and how you can assist them, but they require additional motivation to begin. This way, Leads are more likely to convert.
Recommended: Best online advertising channels for small businesses
This strategy is similar to how consumers read product evaluations before purchasing. B2B buyers now look for social proof and outside validation while purchasing. Why not make it simpler for them? According to research, 52% of buyers read reviews before purchasing.
Utilizing social proof is a middle-of-the-funnel approach because your target audience might already be aware of your brand but not of why your product is superior to the others. They might also have heard about your products but are unsure about purchasing them.
A quick way to build credibility with your audience in the early phases of the buying cycle is to include positive reviews and testimonials in your Facebook ads.
Recommended: Ways to advertise your small business
Facebook marketing is no longer only available to B2C companies. The opportunities with Facebook advertising are limitless. With the appropriate advertising strategy, B2B companies can use social media to increase brand awareness and produce qualified leads.
Sociallybuzz is a leading social media marketing, management, and digital advertising agency for small and medium-sized businesses. With over 12 years of experience, we know how to create and execute marketing campaigns that will help you grow your business. Our social media agency has created successful targeted social media campaigns that acquired our customers more leads, sales, and revenue.
Since 2009 Sociallybuzz has been helping small businesses win; we have a team of experts who know how to use social media and digital advertising channels to reach and convert your target audience anywhere on the internet.
Get in touch for a free consultation call
Read More:
Subscribe now to receive relevant social media information, tips, tricks and service updates.