15 Audiences You Should Be Targeting with B2B Facebook Ads

While search is a fantastic way to reach users searching with intent, Facebook is also a highly effective network in reaching users who may be interested in your offerings, however, they may not know about you yet.

As a social network, Facebook Ads are typically seen utilized for B2C, but don’t let that deter you from running B2B campaigns as they too, can successfully get in on the action.

Ultimately, Facebook Ads are an excellent, highly targeted, and inexpensive way, compared to other ad networks, to get in front of your target audience as an introductory or re-engagement touchpoint, that will expand your reach and visibility, and ultimately assist in your sales funnel.

Wondering how to drive awareness and acquire B2B leads and customers with Facebook Ads? Give the audiences below a try.

Lookalikes

Time and time again, regardless of the business and its goals, Lookalike custom audiences tend to perform exceptionally well, if not the best, out of all other audiences.

Facebook Lookalike custom audiences take a contact email list you upload and creates a new audience based on your list that is similar to the people on it. Facebook does a fantastic job finding people who are like your preexisting leads, customers, Facebook fans, and website visitors.

Here are some you may want to create and test:

• Lead – Lookalikes
• Customers – Lookalike
• Fans – Lookalikes
• Website visitors – Lookalike

Work Demographics

With B2B being the focus of your business, there are some terrific methods to reach others in business, using work demographic targeting.

Many Facebook users browse their news feed during work hours and on their lunch breaks, so use this opportunity to stand out in their feed, while they have work in mind.

Generate knowledge and awareness of your offerings to these audiences:

• Job Title
  • Target by job title of users that may be interested in your services and especially those who are the decision makers in the company.
  • With this audience, test ad copy and creative assets showcasing a problem that people in these job roles may experience and how can your business can provide a solution.
• Employers
  • Target employees of companies who may be interested your services.
• Industries
  • Demographics > Work > Industries > Browse the list provided and select relevant ones.
• Office Type
  • Demographics > Work > Office Type > Home Office, Small Business, or Small Office
• Target fans of your competitors
• Target fans of industry events such as conferences, that your prospects are interested in.

Behaviors

Targeting users by behavior is another effective way of approaching your target audience. With the help of Datalogix, a data mining partner, Facebook has identified users by their on and at times offline behaviors, that as advertisers, we can utilize to reach additional and relevant users.

For B2B purposes, try these three and their subcategories as they best relate to your business and advertising goals:

• B2B
  • Behaviors > B2B
• Business Purchases
  • Behaviors > Purchase Behavior > Business purchases
• Job Role
  • Behaviors > Job Role > Corporate Executives or Financial Professionals

Remarketing

Re-engage your lost prospects who have not yet converted with Facebook remarketing campaigns.

If a website visitor has not signed up as a lead or made a purchase or a Facebook fan has shown interest by liking your business page but has not entered your sales funnel yet, re-engage these users with fresh copy or an enticing new offer via a lead generation landing page or a lead generation form specific ad.

Most often, new user acquisition ads have something along the lines of “Learn More” as the call to action, however, for remarketing, test new calls to action such as Sign Up, Contact Us, or Apply Now, depending on the ad copy and goal.

To get started, try these two remarketing audiences:

• Website visitors – Remarketing – Lead Gen
• Fans – Remarketing – Lead Gen

Although Facebook has a B2C positive reputation, there are a variety of creative ways for B2B brands to reach business related users on the network, in effort to drive traffic, awareness, leads, and sales.

Whether you’re new to Facebook Ads or have tested them in the past, I encourage you to test some of these audiences if you haven’t had the opportunity to yet. Their performance may pleasantly surprise you.

While the possibilities are truly endless with Facebook Ads, as marketers, what other audiences have you found successful for your B2B efforts?