Facebook is the “prince” social network dedicated to online communication, thanks to chats, groups, posts, and streaming videos. We can talk to our friends every day, meet new people, and reach many potential customers.
Given the extremely “personal” dimension of social media, Facebook Ads are widely used for B2C. It is often not considered effective for B2B, preferring other services such as LinkedIn or Google Adwords PPC campaigns.
Why are Facebook Ads for b2b?
If I wanted to answer simply and immediately, based on my personal experience, the real difficulty in B2B marketing is reaching the target using social media. This is because even if we want our product to be purchased by an entrepreneur, it is very difficult to reach it directly in the first place. After all, every SME or large company has employees who deal with the search for goods and/or services to buy.
B2B Marketing: LinkedIn vs Facebook
Having 10k connections on LinkedIn, I can only speak well of it. Also, even without resorting to advertising services, I was able to find several customers thanks to this social network, but now I have to ask you a question.
Surely (like me), you will spend a lot more time on Facebook than on LinkedIn, and by answering this question, you will surely understand why it is important to invest in Facebook Ads in B2B.
The goals of a B2B campaign on Facebook
I know the goal of any web marketing campaign is to increase sales, but this does not mean using Facebook Ads only to sell a product, but also (for example), to increase its visibility.
Facebook Ads Goals Example:
- Increase visibility and recognition of a brand
- Increase visibility and recognition of a product
- Increase website traffic
- Increase subscribers to your newsletter
- Increase downloads of free or demo resources
- Increase information on your target
All these objectives contribute to our great final goal: “increase sales” and therefore profit. Here is the time to talk about my tips for creating a Facebook Ads campaign aimed at B2B.
1 – Establish the budget
Establish how much you can spend on your Facebook Ads campaign and don’t go to waste. Generally, B2B marketing can have higher costs due to competition and profits but still doesn’t invest the maximum amount right away. I recommend a minimum investment of between 10 and 20 euros per day for the first month, and then invest at least 30 euros per day.
2 – Duration of the campaign
The Facebook Ads campaign must not remain active 7 days a week (unlike Adwords). Indeed, from my personal experience, I recommend you create more types of campaigns and keep them active for a few days. At the moment, Facebook campaigns have a rapid growth in the first days and then begin a slow decline, which translates into higher costs and fewer conversions.
3 – The importance of images
Let’s talk about something simple but fundamental, namely creating professional graphics to promote your posts. Let’s say, for example, that our goal is to rent temporary offices. One thing is to use photos taken with a mobile phone. One thing is to call a professional photographer. Surely in the second case, the cost will be higher, but the campaign will be more effective. In the end, it will cost less and convert more.
4 – A clear and direct message
You are talking to a company, do not use too long sentences or turns of words, just write what you sell.
For example:
- Local Rental for Events in Rome
- Simultaneous translation for Meetings and Events
- SEO course for companies
5 – Offer free content
Many companies offer free content such as “guides” to encourage the user to register for a newsletter and provide his data to improve the effectiveness of future advertising campaigns.
Instead of offering software for companies (such as management software) or Mobile App, companies use Facebook to download the trial Demo. Releasing a free demo is a great way to get in touch with the company and present your product face to face. To promote my web marketing consultancies, I also always offer a free hour to all my clients.
As a proponent of web marketing, don’t underestimate the importance of having a good salesperson on your staff or using a professional’s experience to learn the main sales techniques.
6 – Respond to an immediate need
Some B2B campaigns are very effective because they respond to a pressing need of the company.
For example:
- Do you need a website?
- Are you looking for Management Software?
- Do you increase your sales?
This type of message, obvious and direct, relies on “need” and “finding a solution to a problem.” Although very effective, however, these types of ads are not easy to direct to the buyer person of reference using Facebook Ads, because contrary to what is accessed on Adwords, the ad does not respond to the user’s query on the search engine, are we who have to find it using Facebook Audience Insights.
7 – The feeling of urgency
This communication strategy is used a lot on sites like Groupon but is now appearing in various forms almost everywhere. Even in B2B, carrying out “timed” advertising campaigns can be an effective strategy, both to request a free trial and to sell a service.
8 – Set the target
Many Facebook campaigns are created by clicking directly on “promote the post,” but it is not considered the best and most professional way, even if it can be effective.
In B2B, even more than in B2C, it is important to select your target precisely because it is very difficult to identify.
These are my tips for Facebook Ads for b2b. I hope you have read them carefully and that they can increase your sales. Contrary to what one might think, Facebook Ads is not an easy tool to use, it requires an investment proportional to the scope of your business, but if correctly configured, it can bring significant gains.
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