B2B marketing on Facebook

B2B marketing on Facebook is something I need to go home and investigate further. Several conference participants report good results, challenging the idea that Facebook can only be used to sell to private individuals.

I’m at a social media conference in Miami here in September 2010. This time, I’m showing you the view instead of my face. It’s a lovely warm day, and the place is bloody prettier to look at.

One thing made the conference interesting

Honestly, I find many of the speakers deadly boring. I’ve heard their messages a thousand times, and several speak monotonously.

It’s funny to see how much tweeting and Facebook posting goes on while speakers are talking. Often about everything except what’s happening on stage.

But one thing stood out that I want to share.

Several people in the room got better returns from Facebook adverts

A speaker asked how many people used Facebook adverts. Surprisingly many did.

He also asked about Google adverts and which delivered the best return. Where did marketing money pay off best?

Well over half in that comparison said they got better return on investment on Facebook.

That’s feedback from participants at the conference, not a study of every advertiser. But I found it interesting.

My impression is that many don’t use Facebook adverts. I don’t use them particularly extensively myself at this point either. So I want to learn more about them.

B2B marketing on Facebook is about people too

What particularly surprised me was that quite a few used the adverts for business-to-business.

I think many people would say: Facebook adverts for B2B? You can’t use that.

But of course, it can be relevant. The people you want to reach in companies use Facebook too. Not all, but many.

They’re the same people at work and at home. Business-to-business also means private individuals who sometimes put on a suit and go to work.

Those worlds blend. So you shouldn’t necessarily dismiss a medium just because you associate it with private life.

The targeting made me curious

At the conference, they discuss targeting adverts by gender, age, education level and other factors.

I also hear about targeting interest in a particular industry. The advert should then be shown to people interested in the field in some way.

I don’t know precisely how they do that part. I say so in the video too. But it’s described as effective and offers interesting perspectives.

Those are the possibilities I’m hearing about in September 2010. I’m not describing current options in an advertising platform or giving setup instructions.

Some reported better results than on LinkedIn

Several participants told me they’d had greater success with B2B marketing on Facebook than on LinkedIn.

I think that would surprise many people. It certainly surprised me.

That doesn’t mean I now know Facebook is best for every business. But I won’t settle for saying: I’m B2B, so Facebook is no use to me.

I’ll go home and investigate further. So despite lots of boring presentations, the day hasn’t been wasted. I’ve gained something concrete to look into. Also read E-pusher about my experiences with online sales and marketing.

I hope you got something out of it too. If nothing else, you got the view from a beautiful spot in the middle of Miami.