Do you assume advertising on Facebook and Instagram is just for consumer brands? With nearly 4 billion active users, Meta represents a huge global audience network. Letting your assumptions restrict your advertising channels to B2B social platforms like LinkedIn could be limiting your reach.

If your competitors are advertising on Meta but you're still hesitant, you won't like hearing this: their ads are likely already swaying your prospects and stealing your market share. 

Meta Ads enables B2B brands to laser focus on niche demographics using their advanced targeting capabilities. They also offer novel ad formats, from shoppable carousels to attention-grabbing video. And with AI-powered innovations on the horizon, can you afford not to think again and explore your options?

Clearly, it's time for B2B brands who dismiss Meta's potential out of hand to re-evaluate. Let's examine exactly why this vast consumer network also offers unmatched opportunities for B2B marketers seeking quality leads and expanded decision-maker reach.

Are Meta Ads Relevant to B2B Businesses? 

It's true that LinkedIn advertising is a natural fit for B2B companies. But it’s impossible to overlook the fact that Meta has a combined user base nearly four times larger than the number of members on LinkedIn.

And with 82% of B2B marketers using Facebook and 74% using Instagram, both platforms offer unparalleled opportunities for reaching your target audience.

However, simply having access to a larger audience isn't the main driver for B2B brands to advertise on the platform. More important are the unique opportunities different types of providers can seize by getting creative with formats and targeting.

• Interactive video and image ads allow for dynamic product capability showcases and convincing social proof sections with customer testimonials.

• Meta's shoppable collections ads enable direct on-platform product discovery and conversion without leaving Facebook or Instagram.

• Professional services can leverage Meta's expansive reach to access a broad potential hiring pool. Promoting thought leadership content and spotlighting key experts through video ads can attract top talent. 

• Businesses promoting B2B events and conferences can run ads targeted to relevant demographics identified through Meta’s interest, job role, and employer targeting. 

• Location- based services - let’s take coworking spaces as an example - can run geo-targeted ads to solopreneurs, remote workers, and small business owners to drive location visits and space rentals. 

B2B-Friendly Developments on the Horizon

Meta Ads are continually evolving. In the past couple of years they've introduced changes to B2B targeting segments. They’ve also discussed the future of advertising on their most recent platform, Threads. Meta's leadership says that they won’t introduce Threads ads until the user base reaches a "critical mass," but it is on the cards.

More immediately impactful are the host of AI-powered features unveiled for existing platforms, Facebook and Instagram. In October 2023, the company announced they would roll out generative AI tools in Meta's Ad Manager. These include background auto-generation, image expansion, and dynamic text variations.

These are designed to streamline the creation and refinement of high-performing ads, and to help you develop and display ads more efficiently.

Savvy B2B marketers would do well to keep a pulse on Meta's updates. Moving forward, these developments promise to make Meta Ads even more flexible and B2B-friendly. They could help you create better, more targeted ads faster, and save you from making adjustments to repurpose ads between platforms or formats.

Understanding the Meta Ads Ecosystem

Just as Google dominates the search engine market, Meta has a firm grasp on the social media world. It includes multiple platforms and apps, two of which could play an integral role in your next advertising campaign. 

Meta Platforms and their Audiences

Three social media platforms fall under the Meta banner: Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Meta also brings direct interaction through integration with Messenger and WhatsApp, which means that ads can lead directly to conversation. While the introduction of ads on Threads is inevitable, businesses will have to stick to Facebook and Instagram for now. 

Fortunately, there's no shortage of users on either platform. At the end of 2023, Facebook had more than 3 billion monthly active users, making it the most used social networking platform available. While Instagram hasn't achieved the same popularity as Facebook, it still has an impressive 2 billion active monthly users as of October 2023. 

Choosing Between Meta's Platforms

Facebook and Instagram are integrated into the broader Meta advertising ecosystem. This means you can create an ad campaign that appears in both places without any additional work. 

However, depending on your goals and target audience, one platform might be a better fit than the other. There are some of the key differences between them: 

• Complexity: Facebook ads can be more intricate than those on Instagram. They have more options for customisation, which can prove challenging if you're just dipping your toes into social media ads. 

• Demographics: Based on the sheer number of users, Facebook will give you a wider reach. However, Instagram is more popular with younger users and could help you connect with business leaders and decision-makers from Gen Z.

• Ad format: Instagram is often the choice for businesses focusing on static images. Both platforms are compatible with static and video ads, though Facebook allows for longer videos.

For many businesses, it makes sense to run Facebook and Instagram ads simultaneously, but you're by no means obligated to run a campaign on both platforms. 

The Key Components of Meta Ads

Depending on your level of experience, adjusting to Meta Ads could be a breeze or a major undertaking. Either way, you'll need a solid understanding of several core elements to take full advantage of all its capabilities. 

Ad Account Setup

Your approach to creating a Meta Ads account depends on the size and structure of your business. However, these are the basic steps: 

• Sign up for the platform: To advertise on Meta, you’ll need a valid Facebook account. If you haven’t already, use that account to create a business page with an ad account ID, which you can see from the Meta Ads Manager accounts page. 

• Set up your payments: You’ll also need to add an acceptable payment method. Your options depend on the country your business operates in and what currency you use, so look closely at the Meta Ads policy for your location. 

• Adjust your settings: Don’t forget to configure your settings, including adding users and assigning them employee or business admin access levels. This determine what type of control they have over the account. Because employees come and go, giving more than one person admin access is ideal. 

If you work with an agency, it’s generally best to add them to your Meta Ads account rather than ask them to run your digital advertising from their account. If you decide to part ways with the agency down the line, you’ll still maintain full control over your Meta Ads. Send an invitation to your agency representative’s email address to bring them on board. 

Ad Formats

Meta Ads is a versatile service that allows you to design a wide range of ad types. Consider which of these formats would be the best fit for your audience and brand:  

• Single image: This is one unchanging image that showcases your product or service. 

• Videos: A video can incorporate movement and sound to make your ad more engaging. 

• Carousels: Carousel ads display a series of up to ten images or videos that users can flip through without navigating to a different page. 

• Collections: These ads include multiple products and allow users to browse and purchase products directly through their social media feed.

• Reels: These short, fun videos mimic TikTok's style and give brands the chance to get creative. They are integrated seamlessly into the content allowing businesses to reach a wider audience.

• Lead Ads: This format simplifies the lead generation process by including pre-filled forms, It makes it effortless for Facebook and Instagram users to submit their information directly within the ad without leaving the platform.

Your campaign objectives should guide your ad format decisions. For example, a single image ad in a Facebook feed will help build brand awareness, but it's less likely to lead to engagement. A collections ad might be better suited to conversions because users can complete an action through the ad itself without having to visit a separate website. 

Ad Placements

Where you display advertising is just as important as what the ad looks like and says. Imagine creating an incredible billboard campaign targeted at office workers on their daily commute. And then placing it in a tourist area. No matter how good the ad is, it won't have an impact because the right audience won’t see it. 

The same principle applies when advertising online. Choosing the right placement makes an ad more visible and enhances its performance, potentially improving KPIs like your click through rate.

The Meta ecosystem offers several placement options, including: 

• Feeds: These ads appear in the feed posts users scroll through on Facebook and Instagram. They provide high visibility due to the frequent engagement of users with these feeds. This is a popular location because even casual users are likely to come across your ads. 

• Facebook right column: When users are on the desktop version of Facebook, they can see ads on the right side of the page. Keep in mind that these ads won't be visible to app users. 

• Search results: When a user conducts a search on Facebook or Instagram, search ads appear with relevant results. Similar to standard search engine results pages, ads appear based on the keywords users enter into the search box. 

• Stories: Ads in Stories offer a full-screen, immersive experience on both Facebook and Instagram. Stories ads can reach a broad audience making them a valuable tool for increasing visibility and engagement. 

• In-stream videos: Like a commercial, you can insert 5 to 15-second video ads into Facebook videos. Users don't have the option to skip them, guaranteeing that they'll see the entire ad from start to finish. 

You can allow Facebook to decide where to place your ads with the automatic placements setting, which uses an algorithm to determine the best locations. Alternatively, you can manually select as many placements as you want. 

Remember that you're not limited to a single placement option. For instance, selecting both Facebook news feed and right-column placements could increase brand awareness for mobile app and desktop users.  

Audience Targeting

Leveraging a sizable user base is one of the most appealing aspects of using Meta ads, and changes have improved B2B targeting options significantly. Meta allows you to target users based on a variety of factors, including: 

• Location, including country, state, province, city, and zip or post codes

• Age

• Gender

• Languages 

Delivering tailored messages to segmented and targeted audiences is essential for B2B businesses. Otherwise, you'll struggle to reach the right decision-makers, convert leads, and close deals with an online ad. To address this need, Meta introduced specialised targeting options for B2B companies. It includes B2B-focused segments, including business decision-maker titles and interests, business decision-makers, and new active businesses.

Meta Ads also offers detailed targeting, where you decide which people to include or exclude based on their demographics, interests, and behaviours. This includes ads that they've clicked on in the past, pages that they've visited, where they've used their devices, and what type of devices they have. 

You can take things a step further with advanced targeting options, such as custom audiences. This feature enables you to create an audience of people you already know using a list you provide or system information about people who engage with your content across Meta's platforms. From that information, Meta can also identify lookalike audiences, people who are similar to the ones in your custom audience. 

Ad Creatives

To create an ad campaign on Meta Ads, you'll need specific creative elements ready. These include:

• High-resolution images or videos that comply with Meta's specifications.

• Compelling ad copy that clearly communicates your message or offer.

• A strong call-to-action (CTA) to guide users on what to do next and encourage them to take action.

• Links back to your website or landing pages for users to visit when they click on your ad.

• Any additional assets like logos or branding elements to ensure your ad is on-brand. 

It's also beneficial to have multiple versions of these elements for A/B testing to optimise ad performance.

Creating ad content that resonates with a B2B audience involves more than just showcasing your products or services; it's about crafting a narrative that underscores your company's expertise, trustworthiness, and value proposition. 

Successful B2B ad creatives often leverage a blend of educational content, case studies, testimonials, and thought leadership pieces to demonstrate industry knowledge and solve problems specific to their target audience.

When you work on a new online ad, remember these best practices: 

• Make it polished but authentic: You can quickly alienate B2B customers with amateurish ads. At the same time, they should be relatable and hone in on prospects' pain points and needs. 

• Include movement: People are more likely to notice an ad with movement while scrolling through their feeds. Even a short video of several still images is more engaging than a single still image. 

• Keep it to the point: Short, clear, and concise text is key. Users scan through their social media feeds quickly, so don't expect them to read more than a few words before they start scrolling again. 

• Encourage action: Make it easy for prospects to take the next step by incorporating call-to-action (CTA) buttons into your ads. They might direct customers to make a purchase, schedule a demo, download a report, or start a free trial. 

Meta Ads is a great opportunity to get creative and test new ideas without worrying about failure. You can release a particular ad to a segment of your audience, see how it performs, and then refine and optimise it for other groups. This allows you to improve your ad performance over time and explore which methods and styles are most effective.

Ad Attribution and Conversion Tracking

Ad attribution is the process of determining which actions led a user to a certain outcome. It's a critical part of connecting Meta Ads to your overall marketing plan because it gives you an inside look at what's working — and what isn't — in a particular ad or campaign.  

Meta Ads has two tools that help you track conversions and ad attributions. The first is Meta Pixel, which acts as a bridge between your website and Meta’s advertising platform. It allows you to track user actions on your website after they see your ad on Facebook or Instagram. This is instrumental for retargeting and adjusting the focus of your ads based on user behaviour. 

The second piece of technology, Conversions API, is a more privacy compliant way to track user actions. It allows for a more accurate and comprehensive collection of conversion data, unaffected by browser-based limitations such as ad blockers or cookie restrictions.

Connections API connects the marketing data on your server, website, or app with Meta so you can more effectively personalise and optimise your ads and measure their performance. The ultimate goal is to get your ads in front of the people who are most likely to find them useful and interesting, and Conversions API is one way to make that happen.

Meta recommends using both the Pixel and Conversions API in tandem to maximize data accuracy and ad campaign performance. Combining the Meta Pixel and Conversions API offers several advantages:

• Enhanced tracking accuracy and reliability, as Conversions API can capture data on a broader range of events providing a more holistic view of the customer journey.

• Improved ad performance through more detailed and comprehensive data on user interactions, enabling better targeting and personalization of ads.

• Resilience against privacy changes, as Conversions API's server-to-server communication is less affected by browser cookie limitations and device-level tracking restrictions

Strategies for Effective Campaigns

Advertising on social media requires a very different approach than other types of digital marketing. Whereas you might use a banner ad or pop-up to market a product on relevant websites, ads on Facebook and Instagram tend to be smaller and less obtrusive. That means you have to take extra care to get users to notice them. 

Campaign Structure 

Ad campaigns on Meta consist of one or more ad sets and your advertising objective. When you develop a campaign, strive to create individual ad sets for each segment of your target audience.

In addition, use different ads within each set to optimise your campaign's performance, focusing on images, video, text, links, and placements. This will allow you to achieve a wider reach and higher engagement rates. 

Share Your Expertise 

Never underestimate the power of industry insights. Using ads to show prospective customers that you know the industry inside and out builds trust. It presents you as a reputable partner that could help them grow and secure a more prominent place in the industry. 

With that in mind, develop ads that highlight the depth of your knowledge. Try featuring industry experts in video ads or including significant facts or statistics as text overlays. 

Get Creative

While professionalism is essential in B2B advertising, it doesn't mean your ads should be dull or uninspiring. An ad on Facebook or Instagram may be the first impression that a customer ever gets of your brand, so it had better be a good one. 

For example, you might start a video ad with a compelling question that you know will get your target audience thinking. Or you could humanise your company by incorporating emojis where appropriate, or a touch of personality into your ads.

Landing Pages and Forms

Another decision you'll need to make is whether to use Meta Instant Forms or dedicated landing pages for lead capture. Forms can be embedded within Facebook or Instagram, so the customer doesn't have to leave their social media page to complete them. However, they have limited customisation options and may capture lower-quality leads since those customers won't have a reason to visit other areas of your website and research your offerings. 

The other option is to add a form to a landing page on your website. You'll have full control over what information users enter, and you can customise it however you want. The biggest downside is that users may be reluctant to leave their social media feeds. 

Navigating the Dynamic Landscape of Meta Ads

As with any kind of marketing, Meta Ads isn't perfect. It comes with challenges that you'll have to learn to overcome. One of the most common issues marketers have encountered is updated requirements for data sharing. As they've become stricter, it has become more difficult to access crucial data for personalised marketing. 

But, Meta Ads isn't a stagnant system. It continues to evolve as the company adds new functionalities and options. While it is reassuring to know that Meta is moving fast to keep up with changes in the industry, staying on top of those changes can get overwhelming. Especially once you've grown accustomed to the current options and formats. 

Consider tasking one or more employees with following updates and changes to the system. Meta often provides resources to help navigate new aspects of their Ad Manager, so appointing a point person could prevent unnecessary stress and confusion.

Navigating the ever-changing landscape of Meta Ads might feel challenging, however for B2B brands dismissing this marketing opportunity outright risks falling behind the competition. As we've seen, when leveraged effectively Meta offers immense potential to engage niche professional audiences.

The key to success is blending openness to emerging functionality with unwavering commitment to understanding your customers.

With so many elements to consider, you might wonder whether you'll ever get a good grasp on Meta Ads. Fortunately, you can access a wealth of information and support from 1827 Marketing. Book a dem to learn more about how social media ads can upgrade your business and broaden your reach.