If Someone Tells You Facebook Ads Do Not Work in B2B, Then They Are Probably Doing it Wrong.

Posted by Ben Kniffen in Uncategorized

When it comes to B2B marketing, it is still a mystery to many how Facebook can be useful.

B2B marketing is different than its B2C counterpart.

Selling a product or service to another business is more involved, as building a relationship and trust is more important than just being visible. You must MAKE the sale.

Too many people think that just because a prospect visits their website that they are going to become a customer. The process is much more complex than that; B2B purchases require some thought,  because you must first show them the value.

While “likes” are good, they are not the whole story. Having a large amount of “likes” only matters if you can get them to participate, to opt-in to being part of your community and sales pipeline.

Facebook is perfect for grabbing attention, the money is made once they opt-in to your offer, thus allow you to prove your value. Facebook ads are a great way to reach a highly targeted audience and get them to visit your selected landing page.

Use these three steps to put together a Facebook marketing campaign that actually generates results:

1. Run targeted Facebook ads

Facebook’s ad platform does a great job of allowing advertisers to hyper-target their efforts. By identifying what your target market cares about, you can target segments of Facebook users that will connect with and care about your message. CPA Ad

Being able to easily segment your audience allows B2B marketers to tailor their ads to resonate more effectively for each segment.

For example, recently we ran a promotion for a webinar that targeted CPA's and owners of accounting firms. With the knowledge that the majority of our audience for this particular webinar were accountants and CPAs, we were able to test different ads that specifically mention that segment, thus improving the ads effectiveness.

 2. Put yourself in a position to sell, prove your value

This is where a B2B marketer makes their hay.

Have the ads lead to a landing page that promotes something valuable to your prospects. This could be an ebook, whitepaper, giveaway, webinar, promotion, etc.

The point is to make the offer valuable enough to your prospects to get them to enter their contact information into an opt-in page to receive the offer. Obtaining this contact information is the key, you not only have a chance to sell to them now, but you can also add to your sales funnel to possibly sell to them down the road.

Getting the prospects to visit your website is great but it does not convince them to do anything. Even if they do read through your website, the chance that they go to your contact page is not very good.

You HAVE to tell them what to do. By sending directly to the opt-in page with a clear call-to-action and value proposition, you put your prospects in the best position to hand over their contact information.

Webinar landing page

3. Build trust and facilitate conversation

Be sure that you offer your prospects something that they will actually find valuable. If you just trick them into signing up for an hour long sales pitch, you are going to look sleazy. Their time is valuable and you must treat it accordingly.

Following through on your value proposition will go a long way in validating your brand.

If you put on a webinar, make sure you give the audience some advice they can use, not just fluff. This does not mean you have to give away any proprietary information, but enough to validate their time commitment and thus deeming you as trustworthy.

If they do not buy your product right away, it is important to follow up. B2B purchasing habits are well thought out and are often based on timing. Just because they do not need your service today, it does not mean they will not need you in the future.

Conclusion

Facebook is a valuable platform for B2B marketers who understand that they still have to sell their product.

Just posting status updates on Facebook is not going to provide the ROI most B2B companies are looking for.

The ads are only half the battle. They are valuable in reaching your exact target, gaining their attention, and sending them to the landing page of your choice. From there it is up to you to make the sale.

I have found that most people struggle with coming up with initial content that can reel in their prospects and tempt them to hand over their info on an opt-in page. Enlist the help of others, there is no shame in learning from others, it's save you money in the long run.

One more thing… and this one is important.

Josh and I are going to be sharing our secrets to the world in our upcoming workshop where we will spill the beans on our step-by-step strategy on how to sell high priced services and land clients using webinars.  All the details can be found here (and seriously seats are extremely limited and we WILL sell out).