Facebook Growth Hacks: Actionable Tactics for B2B Lead Generation

Although LinkedIn is the platform of choice for many B2B marketers, Facebook is a perfect platform not only to build brand awareness but also convert visitors into leads!

However, the key to generating B2B leads on Facebook isn’t to target businesses.

As Shannon Johnson from Hubspot put it perfectly, B2B marketing is all about “selling to people who work at companies”. Using this approach, Hubspot’s Facebook Page has earned over 570,000 fans and generate 190,000 leads!

To help you find and connect with the people who will benefit from your product or service, I’ve rounded up several traffic and conversion-oriented Facebook growth tactics for generating a larger quantity and a higher quality number of leads.

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Upload Original Videos to Facebook

According to new research from Quintly, Facebook’s algorithm prioritizes videos uploaded directly to its platform over videos shared from YouTube or Vimeo. The study found that native Facebook videos had a higher engagement rate (110 percent) and a higher average share rate than YouTube videos (1055.41 percent).

Therefore, B2B marketers should upload more videos to Facebook for higher post engagement. However, don’t just upload any video. Keep in mind that the video content you share should be valuable and informational to your audience. Here are a few ways video ideas:

• Testimonials about your product or service from current business customers.
• A “Day in the Life” video following one of your employees. This is a great way to offer a glimpse into your company’s culture and personality.
• Product demonstrations of a new or upcoming feature.
• “How To” videos and tutorials educating new and current users on how to make the most of your product or service.
• Don’t be afraid to entertain! Don’t be afraid to show off your company’s fun side. You can share highlights from a recent company outing, wish your customers a happy holiday, or participate in the latest viral dance craze–when appropriate, of course.

For additional tips on how to create high-quality videos, check out CoSchedule’s guide to Facebook video marketing.

Take Advantage of Facebook Live Videos

Speaking of Facebook videos, why not try broadcasting live using Facebook Live! Facebook Live videos are the perfect channel for engaging with your followers in real time. Not sure what to broadcast? Here are a few suggestions from Facebook that’ll keep your audience engaged:

Before you go live, keep these best practices in mind:

• Tell your fans/followers that you’ll be broadcasting ahead of time, especially for regularly occurring segments. Facebook recommends giving at least one day’s notice.
• Write an attention-grabbing video caption.
• Focus on telling a clear, cohesive story.
• Captivate your audience in the first few seconds to pique interest.
• You can create great live videos using your smartphone, but for higher-quality productions like Q&As and interviews, consider putting a sizeable budget towards video production and/or hire a production team.
• Create live videos that are relevant to your audience. For instance, a B2B SaaS company may want to broadcast a keynote from a major tech conference.
• Try to record your broadcast while connected to a WiFi connection of a stronger signal.
• Give shoutouts to some of your viewers and respond to their comments during your broadcast.
• Ask viewers to hit the “Follow” button on your live video to be notified the next time your page goes live.
• After your live broadcast, you can embed a recording of your live video on your blog or website for additional exposure.

Have Your Business Page Verified

Facebook verification badges let people know that your business is authentic and will help your page appear in Facebook Graph Searches (searches via Facebook). There are two kinds of verification badges:

• Blue Verification Badge: According to Facebook’s Help Team, the blue verification badge is reserved only for some public figures, celebrities, and large brands. You must prove that your company is “of public interest” to earn this badge.
• Grey Verification Badge: The grey verification badge is what most business pages are administered. To verify your Page, you’ll need to use your business’ publicly listed phone number or business document. To verify your business’ page using your phone number (the fastest way), follow these steps:
• Click Settings at the top of your Page.
• From General, click Page Verification.
• Click Verify this Page, then click Get Started.
• Enter a publicly listed phone number for your business, your country, and language.
• Click Call Me Now to allow Facebook to call you with a verification code.
• Enter the 4-digit verification code and click Continue.

Select The Appropriate CTA Button at the Top of Your Facebook Page 

To convert Facebook visitors into leads, use your Business Page’s CTA button to prompt visitors to take a specific action. Begin by selecting which button you’d like page visitors to see. For instance, you can ask visitors to book an appointment, visit your website to learn more about your business, sign up for an email list, or get a quote.

Next, depending on which button you’ve chosen, Facebook will allow you to add an integration with a third-party platform, or link to a page of your choice, like your website or a landing page.

Pro Tip: Use your cover photo to draw attention to your CTA button! How an example from our own Business page.

Use Facebook Events to Promote Online & In-Person Events 

Hosting an online webinar in a few days? Create a Facebook event from your Business Page to spread the word! Here’s how to set up a Facebook event from your Business Page:

1. Click Create an event at the top of your Page’s timeline.

1. Add an Event Photo, then enter your Event’s Name, Location, and Frequency (i.e. occurs once, weekly or you can customize the date range for your event).

1. Next, add details, including a Category (i.e. Art, Dance, Comedy, Film, Shopping, etc.), a brief Event Description, and one or more Keywords that describe your event.

1. Finally, you can include optional details like a Ticket URL, Co-hosts, who can post on your event, and whether or not you want to display the Guest List. 

Pro Tip: After creating your Facebook event, you can boost it for greater reach and more RSVPs. Here’s how it works:

1. Click Boost Event on your event page. Then select an Audience. You can choose a custom audience through targeting, people who already like your page, or people who like your page and their friends. 

1. Then, set a Budget and Duration that works best for you. 

Note: This is not the same process of creating an event ad. Click here to learn how to create a Facebook event ad.

Use Facebook Lead Generation Ads with Downloadable Content 

Facebook lead ads enable you to capture contact information interested social media users with little action on their end.

On your lead ads contact form, you can customize the questions in the lead ad form, allowing you to ask for information like a business email addresses or phone number. You can also use lead ads to collect sign-ups for beta lists or newsletters, price estimates, follow-up calls and business information.

For B2B marketers, I recommend using Facebook lead ads with a content upgrade–meaning in exchange for offering their contact information, you’ll give a visitor a downloadable e-book, whitepaper, checklist, infographic, or other content your target audience will find valuable. Here’s how to set up a Facebook lead ad:

1. Open Ads Manager and go through the Guided Creation process. 
2. Select the Lead Generation objective. 

1.  Next, select your Audience based on locations, demographics, interests, and behaviors. You can create a new custom audience or a select an audience you’ve previously targeted. 

1. Next, select your Daily Budget and Schedule for your ad to run. 

1. Continue on to choose an Ad Name and under Identity select your Business Page.
2. Under Ad Format, add images or a video to your ad. Fill in your lead ad’s Headline, Text and add a Call To Action button.
3.  In the Lead Form section, click New Form to create a new lead form.
4. At the top of the Create Form page, give your lead form a name. Then proceed to the Content tab, where you can fill out information for an Intro screen (optional), including a Headline, add an Image, under Layout.

1. Move on to the Questions section where you can edit what information to ask for in your lead form. 

1. Next, go to the Privacy Policy section to add link text and a link URL to your privacy policy. As an optional step, you can check the box next to Add custom disclaimer if you want to add additional disclaimers to your lead form.

1. Finally, move on to the Thank You Screen section, where you can customize the screen your leads see after they submit the form. Note that the Website Link section is where you can add a link to your downloadable content. If your content doesn’t have a web URL, you can upload your document to Google Drive and add a shareable link.

1. You can preview any changes to you make to the form in the Ad Preview on the right-hand side of the screen. When you’re ready to publish your lead ad, click Place Order.

Transform Data or Reports into Shareable Images 

Running out of Facebook content ideas? Use a recent report, data, industry statistics, PR announcements, or quotes from influencers and employees into images! Use a tool like Canva to create these images in a snap!

Respond to Questions, Comments, and Praise from Followers 

A great way to build trust and brand loyalty with customers is by responding to their questions, comments, and reviews about your product, service, or company. I recommend using Hootsuite to help you monitor comments and direct messages from users and respond quickly. However, if your company has a dedicated customer support department, use a robust customer service tool that integrates with Facebook, like Zendesk or Buffer Reply.

Add a New Tab to Your Facebook Business Page 

One of my favorite things about having a Facebook Business page is having customizable tabs that offer more opportunities to convert visitors into leads. You can add tabs that curate live videos, lists current offers from your business, allows people to write and display reviews, and feature select products.

To add a new tab, go to Facebook Business Manager, and click Settings. On the menu on the left-hand side, click Edit Page, then scroll down to the bottom to Add a Tab. From there, you’ll be able to add a new tab that works for your business!

That’s all the Facebook Growth Hacks I have for now! Before you go, go ahead and follow us on Facebook for more actionable growth marketing tactics: https://www.facebook.com/ladderdigital