How to Make Facebook Ads Work for B2B Marketing

I was recently talking with a colleague who was running Facebook Ads to promote his social media marketing services. He was frustrated because he wasn’t getting great results. His approach was simple—his ad directly promoted his paid services. That sounds logical, right? Put your offer in front of the right people, and they’ll sign up.

But that’s not how Facebook Ads typically work for B2B. Unlike Google Ads, where people are actively searching for solutions, Facebook users are just scrolling through their feed. They’re not in decision-making mode. They’re seeing vacation photos, memes, and cat videos—not looking for a business service.

Now, there are ways to make Facebook Ads work for B2B, but they require a different strategy. One option is retargeting—showing ads to people who have already visited your website or engaged with your content. Another is lookalike audiences, where Facebook finds new people similar to your existing customers. But both of these methods require you to already have customers or a decent amount of traffic, which isn’t always the case.

That’s where most people struggle. They try to use Facebook Ads as if they were running a direct-response Google Ads campaign, expecting someone to see their offer and immediately sign up. But the reality is, Facebook is much better suited for impulse purchases—things that make someone stop mid-scroll and say, “Whoa, I need that”—especially if it’s at a price point where they don’t have to think too hard about the decision.

For B2B, you have to play the long game.

Instead of trying to sell your service straight from an ad, a smarter approach is to focus on content first.

Think about it—if someone has never heard of you before, why would they immediately trust you enough to buy your service? They wouldn’t. But if they come across a helpful article, a case study, or a guide that teaches them something valuable, that’s a different story.

Here’s how it works. Instead of running an ad that says, “Hey, buy my service!”, you promote an article that genuinely helps your target audience. Maybe it’s a guide on how to fix a common problem they’re facing, or a case study showing how a business like theirs solved a challenge. The key is to give them something useful upfront—no strings attached.

Once they’re on your website, that’s where you introduce a natural next step. Maybe at the end of the article, there’s an invitation to download a more in-depth resource, sign up for a free training, or get access to a checklist that helps them implement what they just learned. That’s your lead magnet—a small piece of content that nudges them toward taking action.

Now they’re on your email list. And instead of trying to sell them in one click, you nurture the relationship over time. Send them follow-up emails with more useful insights. Share success stories. Offer additional free resources that build trust. Then, when the timing is right, you present your service as the natural solution to their problem.

The beauty of this approach is that it meets people where they are. Instead of forcing a decision on them when they’re not ready, you ease them into the process. You provide value first, establish credibility, and build a relationship before asking for anything in return.

Facebook Ads can absolutely work for B2B, but you have to rethink how you use them. If you go in expecting immediate conversions, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. But if you shift your mindset to long-term relationship building—using content as the bridge to attract, engage, and convert your audience—you’ll start seeing much better results.

So, if your Facebook Ads aren’t working, maybe it’s not the platform that’s the problem. Maybe it’s just time to change the approach.