How to Use Facebook Advertising in B2B Marketing?

Facebook Ads has become a very relevant prospecting tool in B2B, and yet many B2B marketers still consider Facebook as a B2C promotion tool exclusively. Facebook Ads is a powerful lever, but you need to know how to use it correctly in a B2B context. We will help you identify the potential and show you how to use Facebook Ads in a concrete way.
In this article you will find four ways to use Facebook Ads to reach B2B customers.

#1: Targeting jobs and businesses with Facebook Ads

You probably already have a good idea of your marketing target. However, the Facebook Audience Statistics tool can provide you with additional information about your Facebook audience.

While most analytics tools focus on basic follower demographics (age, gender, location), Facebook’s Audience Statistics tool provides a comprehensive view of more personal statistics such as relationship status, education level, job title etc.

For B2B audiences, you can see useful information about the types of jobs your audience holds. On the Demographics tab, you can see the occupations of your Facebook page’s followers and the percentage of your followers in each field/sector.

Evaluating your subscribers’ job title allows you to see which types of companies are primarily engaging with your page and content. From there, build a list of job titles with the highest level of engagement/impressions, as well as the job titles you want to get more engagement with.

You can also click on “Advanced” in the left-hand column to display additional categories, such as “Milestones” (where you can refine the data according to the “New Job” event).

Now use this data to create a Facebook audience. To do this, open the “Audiences” dashboard in the Ads Manager. Click on “Create Audience” and select “Saved Audience” from the drop-down menu.

In the “Create a Saved Audience” window, scroll down to the “Advanced Targeting” section and start typing in the job titles, behaviours, interests, or life events that you want to target based on who you know. Facebook will automatically generate suggestions related to these audiences and you can select the one you find useful.

Filter your website’s retargeting audience by job title:

Retargeting is a crucial step in analysing the B2B leads attracted to your site from Facebook advertising campaigns. To set up a Facebook retargeting campaign, you need to install the Facebook pixel on your website. This code allows you to track visitors and conversions on your site that come from Facebook.

To get the code, click on “Business Manager” and select “Pixels”.

From there, click on Create Pixel and follow the instructions to copy the pixel code. Then paste the code into the header section of your website or ask your web developer to do so.

After installing the pixel, you can create a custom audience of your website traffic.

Start your retargeting efforts by creating an ad campaign targeting your custom website traffic audience. To ensure that your retargeting ads target your B2B audience, filter your audience by the occupations you wish to target in the “Detailed Targeting” section.

By using this tactic, you can attract your target audience by offering additional information. Facebook retargeting turns lukewarm leads into hot leads and allows you to create more specific messages with incentives such as free trials, promotions and more.

#2: Deploy action-oriented Facebook ads

Designing a visually appealing ad is key to getting everyone’s attention, but some graphic designs are more effective for B2B ads. While B2C ads tend to be light, airy and often feature images of people, B2B ads need to show sophistication and credibility. B2C ads are geared towards entertaining content, while B2B ads aim to provide informative content.

There are three things to remember about the visual elements of B2B ads: dark backgrounds with light text evoke the most authority, tables/graphics generate a higher click-through rate, and non-sherif fonts perform better.

However, aesthetics are not the only important factor. Make sure you also write a stimulating message by including an attractive call-to-action.

The message in the Hootsuite Facebook ad above is clear and concise.
The ad briefly states the services offered by the tool (“manage social media networks, connect with customers and build your brand”), while offering an enticing call-to-action that gets straight to the point.

The ad is action-oriented with a specific objective, moving away from the vague “Learn more” call-to-actions you normally see in B2C ads. Instead, it invites the visitor to sign up, an action that evokes a deeper commitment and long-term investment, as is usually the case with B2B transactions.

#3: Promote partnerships with influencers and opinion leaders via Facebook campaigns

Influencer marketing extends your reach and credibility by introducing your product/service to the influencer’s audience. And if the influencer is a trusted authority within the industry, your results will be even better.

Teaming up with well-known influencers and opinion leaders in your sector is an invaluable strategy. Companies want well-known professionals to support your product/service. In addition to featuring influencers and thought leaders in your Facebook ads, you can also ask them to create their own content by sponsoring your product.

Susan Cain, a renowned leadership and management expert, gained fame with a recent TED talk:

While some public figures may be inaccessible to small businesses, there are influencers at all levels. Find influencers with a similar number of contacts to you and, when you contact them, share what you admire about their work. You can also get your foot in the door by mentioning them or sharing some of their content with your followers.

Once you have developed a relationship, present your offer to them. Highlight what your company has to offer and why you think this influencer would be a valuable asset in getting the message across.

Also look for companies in related sectors (with similar sizes and objectives to yours) and form partnerships with them for mutual sponsorship.

While finding influencers on Facebook currently requires extensive research and a well-honed pitch, the Brand Collaboration Manager may be able to help. This tool allows brands and creators to define their niche/industry so that they can easily find and contact each other for partnerships and sponsorships. It is currently only available to selected brands, but you can join the waiting list.

#4: Adopt a consistent tone in Facebook ads, posts and comments

All B2B brands can adopt the representation of their brand via a consistent persona. For example, a brand persona can be fun and playful, sarcastic or quick-witted as well as enthusiastic and excitable (lots of exclamation marks, GIFs, smileys etc.). Other B2B actors do well with a more subtle or direct approach.

Once you have set your brand tone, use it to respond to your Facebook commenters. Show them that you are listening to the conversation. The key is to make others feel like they are communicating with your company personally.

Many B2B marketers think that humanising a business is only relevant for B2C marketing. However, customers want to know that they are investing time and money in a B2B business that shares their perspectives, values and personality.

Salesforce is widely recognised for its effective B2B marketing strategies and distinct personality. In the ad below, the tagline “Grow your company – and your mind” immediately draws readers in, as work is stressful and everyone is looking for solace. The personal touch is further enhanced by the free one-year subscription to the meditation application “Headspace”.

The biggest mistake B2B marketers make is promoting their message to everyone until they stop paying attention. Think about the tone / character you want your brand to embody.

What did you think of this article? Leave your thoughts in the comments!