Why B2B Businesses Need Facebook in 2018

Mighty
The Startup
Published in
4 min readNov 22, 2017

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When we’re working with a new B2B client, we always recommend incorporating Facebook into their strategy. The response is often, “Should we really be on Facebook?” or “I don’t think Facebook is worth the time and investment.” A common misconception among B2B marketers is that Facebook isn’t where they’re going to find new customers. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

B2B business decision makers are on Facebook—a lot. In fact, the median amount of time spent on Facebook by business decision makers each day is 74% higher than other people on the platform. Business decision makers don’t just use Facebook more often, they also engage with a wide variety of content. 40% of the users surveyed said that they use it to message their co-workers. This means that B2B marketers have an opportunity to reach decision makers throughout the day.

Business decision makers are likely to have more friends than the average Facebook user. In fact, they are 40% more likely to have more than 200 friends. This group builds bigger networks on Facebook and engages more deeply on the platform than the average user.

But what about LinkedIn? LinkedIn is a great place to engage with other businesses and like-minded professionals. But how many people are logging onto it multiple times a day just to browse? The fact is that people engage more deeply on Facebook than they do on other platforms.

Business decision makers use a variety of sources to educate themselves during their buyer’s journey. Digital media, particularly Facebook, plays a significant role in that process. B2B decision makers are likely to seek product or service reviews, read relevant articles, and are more likely to trust them since the information is shared by “friends”.

In fact, marketers have found that Facebook has become the preferred social channel for B2B decision makers. 1 in 4 respondents in the study cited Facebook as their preferred social media platform when seeking information on a purchasing decision, ranking it ahead of LinkedIn and Twitter. Interestingly, the report also found that almost a third of marketers do not plan to use Facebook in their own B2B marketing. There is a significant opportunity for B2B marketers to generate new leads through Facebook.

Now that we’ve established that business decision makers are on Facebook, how do you engage with them? The most successful B2B companies on Facebook provide fun, interesting, and helpful posts but ensure they remain relevant to their mission statements.

Having and regularly posting to a Facebook page, however, won’t generate many leads on its own. To attract new business, utilizing Facebook’s advertising platform is essential. Facebook ads reach more people, grab attention, and cost a lot less if you continue to test ads.

Facebook advertising is a great, un-intrusive and highly targeted way to reach new people. Facebook ads are prominent enough for a lot of people to click and have the lowest cost per click among other social networks. Facebook has an enormous audience and a cornucopia of data to help B2B marketers reach the right people.

There are effective targeting options that can help marketers reach B2B decision makers.

  • Industry: Find users are work in or have browsing habits that align with your industry
  • Job Titles and/or Seniority: Using job titles or seniority can put your ad in front of a person with the power to buy or those who influence decision makers
  • Interest: Target people based on their what they have expressed interest on while they’re online
  • Business Size: Target people most likely to need your B2B product or services based on their business size

Regardless of the misconceptions, Facebook is right for B2B businesses. Facebook is underutilized by B2B marketers so there is an opportunity for them to grow their business through Facebook. If you have a strong existing client base, start engaging with them through your Facebook page. Once you’ve established a good Facebook page, plan and execute your first ad campaign and watch the leads roll in.

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Mighty
The Startup

Build a brand that builds your business.