More Leads, Less Cost: How B2B Companies Are Winning with Meta Ads

Let me challenge something you've probably believed for years: LinkedIn is NOT the only place for B2B marketing.

For too long, we've accepted the conventional wisdom that B2B marketing belongs exclusively on LinkedIn. After all, it's the "professional network," right? While your audience might indeed be there, they're not engaging in the way you think.

Here's the reality that changed everything for our clients: LinkedIn users spend roughly 22 minutes per MONTH on the platform, while Meta users spend approximately 44 minutes per DAY.

That statistic alone should make you pause and reconsider where your ad budget is going.

Over the last fourteen years at Yokel Local (soon to be Mindshift Digital), we've helped companies generate well over $300 million in revenue. And one of the most transformative strategies we've implemented is moving B2B clients from LinkedIn to Meta platforms, with consistently impressive results.

LinkedIn's Problem for Mid-Market B2B Companies

Let's be honest about what you really want. It's not more followers or engagement metrics.

As a B2B company, what you want is:

• More qualified customers
• A consistent, predictable flow of leads
• A sales pipeline filled with prospects who have the right problem
• Growth without breaking the bank

LinkedIn's advertising platform has excellent targeting capabilities in theory, but it comes with a significant barrier to entry. The cost structure often outstrips the comfort level for most mid-market B2B companies' marketing budgets.

Put simply: For every dollar you spend on Meta, you're likely to spend 4-6x more on LinkedIn for similar results.

That's not a strategy; that's a luxury few can afford.

The Evolution of Meta's Targeting Capabilities

I know what you're thinking: "But LinkedIn lets me target by job title, seniority, company size..."

While that's true, modern digital marketing is rapidly changing. The iOS updates from 2021-2022 have shifted how all platforms track user behavior. We're winning back some privacy as consumers, but marketers must adapt their strategies.

Here's the framework we now use for all our B2B clients, and it works remarkably well:

"Your ad creative, plus your ad copy, does the targeting."

This means that instead of relying on platform-specific targeting options, we focus on creating ads that naturally attract the right audience through:

1. Understanding the 5-9 triggering events that would lead your ideal client on a journey to solve their problem
2. Crafting ad creative (images/videos) that resonates with those specific triggers
3. Writing copy that explicitly calls out those problems, agitations, frustrations, or desires

When you nail this approach, you can leave broad targeting parameters and still attract highly qualified leads.

The Two-Campaign Structure that Works for B2B on Meta

We've developed a two-part campaign structure that consistently works for B2B companies on Meta:

Campaign 1: Top-of-Mind Awareness

This campaign uses what we call "expert-led interview advertising." We interview the thought leaders, subject matter experts, or founders of the business about the problems they solve for customers.

These ads aren't designed to convert immediately. Instead, they build:

• Brand awareness
• Visibility
• Engagement

They take a perfect stranger from "I have no idea who you are" to "That was interesting, and I actually have that problem, let me learn more."

Campaign 2: Lead Generation

This is the campaign everyone wants to run immediately: the one that generates actual leads.

But the effectiveness of this campaign depends on understanding where your prospects are in their journey:

• Problem aware
• Solution aware
• Purchase aware

While you always want someone to show up purchase-aware, the reality is that most valuable prospects are still in the problem or solution aware stages.

The beauty of Meta is that you can effectively nurture them through this journey at a fraction of the cost of LinkedIn.

A Real-Word Example

One of our clients is looking for what I'd call the top 0.5% of the entire population, an extremely niche B2B audience that conventional wisdom would say is perfect for LinkedIn.

We moved them completely off LinkedIn and implemented the exact strategy I've outlined above. The results?

They're now consistently selling out their live events, recruiting founders to their program, and succeeding with local event, all through Meta advertising.

After 3 to 4 years of success, their founder admitted, "I would have never believed we could have this much success with Meta. We always thought we had to be on LinkedIn."

Making this Work for your Business

If you're not creating a lot of content currently, here's a super simple implementation plan:

1. Record expert interviews: Capture 20-30 minute conversations with your company's subject matter experts about common client problems and solutions
2. Break these into short clips: Create 1-3 minute segments focused on specific pain points
3. Run these as awareness ads: Use broad targeting but very specific problem-focused copy
4. Create simple lead generation ads: Once you've built awareness, create straightforward ads that speak directly to problems and offer clear next steps
5. Test and refine: Monitor which problems and creative approaches get the best engagement, then double down

Remember, modern marketing is changing. B2B is not just a LinkedIn playground anymore.

When you're trying to turn perfect strangers into customers, go where they actually spend their time and attention, and right now, that's Meta.

The Next Step 

If you want to implement this approach for your B2B company, you have two options:

1. DIY Approach: Take what you've learned here and start testing Meta ads with your existing team
2. Get Support: Join our Mindshift Inner Circle where we work with clients monthly on these exact campaigns and frameworks, teaching everything we know

The days of thinking B2B marketing belongs exclusively on LinkedIn are over.

It's time to follow the attention, follow the engagement, and most importantly, follow the results.