Facebook (Meta) Ads for SaaS 2024: Types, Strategies & Best Practices

Why is Facebook advertising a vital marketing channel for your B2B SaaS business? 

Facebook crossed 3 billion active monthly users in the third quarter of 2023. 

As the most extensive global social media platform, Facebook is vital for connecting with SaaS prospects. 

Also, Facebook’s ad reach is a whopping 1.98 billion people!

• SaaS buyers are internet savvy; therefore, Facebook ads are great for reaching them with targeted messages. 
• Facebook offers a feature-rich ad platform to connect with people interested in buying your B2B SaaS. 
• You can use Facebook to run custom ad campaigns to target buyers from specific locations across the globe. 
• Facebook allows you to retarget people who have already visited your website. Hence, Facebook ads are great for converting high-intent SaaS buyers.  
• Facebook offers several ad formats to showcase your product USPs creatively and experientially. 

What are Facebook Ads for SaaS companies?

Facebook ads for SaaS companies are posts that promote a business’s products or services to Facebook users. They appear in various formats such as videos, images, and carousels. These ads target users based on various options such as location, demographics, interests, and online behaviors.

Similar to Instagram, Facebook shows its ads to users everywhere on its platform including the user’s feed, marketplace, messenger, stories, and more. They look similar to regular Facebook posts but include the label “sponsored” which shows they are ads.

Every SaaS company gets to specify the amount you intend to spend based on your budget and the bid for each click or impression the ad receives.

Let’s look at why some B2B SaaS marketers avoid Facebook for running ad campaigns:

• Since Facebook is a personal social networking platform, many B2B SaaS marketers don’t consider it ideal for reaching professional decision-makers. 
• The SaaS buying cycle is usually quite long. Therefore, if you’re selling a high-ticket enterprise product, you may not see the best results on a platform like Facebook. 

Despite these limitations, 91% of B2B marketers prefer Facebook over LinkedIn.

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(Source)

At TripleDart, we have experience in creating winning Facebook campaigns for B2B SaaS businesses. For instance, we helped Fincent generate $150k in pipeline using Facebook and Google ads. 

Therefore, we’ve put together this in-depth post to help you understand the nuts and bolts of Facebook ads and how you can use them to run profitable campaigns for your B2B SaaS business. 

So, do read it till the very end.

How to use Facebook Ads for B2B SaaS 

1. Building an Audience Using Lists 

Don’t forget that the success of your Facebook ad campaigns depends on the accuracy of your ad targeting. Here are some ways to create custom audiences and connect with people who already know your business:

2. Custom Audiences Using Prospects 

There’s a reason to be happy if you already have an opt-in list of prospects. 

These could be those who signed up for your newsletter or took a free product trial. You can simply upload this list to target warm leads and convert them into customers. 

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3. An Audience of Website Visitors

Your website visitors are another set of people who already know about your solution. Facebook gives you a chance to reconnect with them. 

You can simply install the Meta Pixel on your website to build a list of people who’ve visited your site. Make your list more focused by targeting people who visited specific product pages. You can even create a list of people who’ve visited your website recently.

High intent and Low intent page visitors

4. An Audience of App Users

By registering your app to Meta for developers, you can create a list of those who’ve downloaded or made purchases in your app. 

This way, you can target prospects already using your mobile application. 

5. Prospects Who Engaged With Your Content 

A fantastic way to reach high-intent buyers is to show ads to those who have engaged with your content. Facebook allows you to create custom audiences of those who may have clicked on your ad, responded to an event, or spent time watching a video. You can list all those who engaged with your content in the last 30 days. 

6. Create Lookalike Audiences

Does it feel like your audience list is too small? Don’t worry; you can expand your custom audiences by creating their lookalike. 

What is a lookalike audience?

Facebook’s system analyses your source audience's demographics, interests, and behaviour. It then identifies new people who share similar qualities. What a magical way to reach just the people you want!

Choose a percentage range to determine how closely you want the new audience to match your source audience. Smaller percentages result in a closer match, while larger percentages create a broader audience. 

What’s more? You can also customise the location of your lookalike audience. 

7. Experiment With Ad Content 

Trying different content formats helps you improve campaign yields. Keep your SaaS audience and ad goals in mind while promoting different content types with your Facebook ads. Here are some content formats you can explore. 

• Use carousel ads to explain your SaaS product's key features and benefits. You can use the problem-solution model to present your product in a story. 
• Offer a guide or a course to build a relationship with your audience. 
• Promote a case study or a customer testimonial to target users in the decision stage of the buyer’s journey. 
• An excellent way is to use numbers to highlight the results you’ve achieved for your existing customers. 

8. Don’t Forget Facebook Remarketing 

Facebook remarketing is crucial in running successful SaaS ad campaigns.

Facebook remarketing ads get 3X the engagement than regular Facebook ads. (Source)

• Remarketing lets you reach hot leads and increase the chances of conversion.
• Also, Facebook CPCs are much lower than those of LinkedIn. Hence, a Facebook remarketing campaign will likely reduce customer acquisition costs and improve ROAS.

9. Write Compelling Ad Copy 

Copy is the first thing your ad prospects see. That’s why ad copy is critical to your SaaS Facebook ad campaigns. Here are some cool ad copy tips:

• Use a hook line to grab the audience's attention. You can start with a question, an analogy, a pun, or a question. Connect your hook with a key problem your audience might be facing. Here’s an interesting example from Fincent:

• An excellent option is to showcase a number or a statistic in your SaaS ad copy. Take a look at this example from Hootsuite:

• Quotes from satisfied customers can work wonders, too. 
• You must use a call-to-action to let your audience know what to do next. You could experiment with phrases like “Get started” or “Try for free.”
• Create urgency using phrases like “Last chance” or “Act now.”

Remember that compelling ad copy is the heart and soul of a winning SaaS Facebook ad campaign. 

10. Use A Funnel Approach

Funnel marketing helps you communicate with the right people at the right time with the right messages. 

(Source)

Facebook Ads for SaaS Customer Lifecycle Stages

1. Awareness

It’s that stage when a buyer doesn’t know about your solution. It’s the best time to share educational content, such as blog posts, e-books, podcasts, and educational videos. Such free content helps start a relationship with your audience. 

TOFU campaigns like these work best in the initial 0-20 days of your Facebook advertising efforts. The typical objectives of these campaigns include brand awareness, reach, traffic, and video views. Here’s an excellent example of an awareness-stage ad from Ahrefs:

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2. Prospecting Stage

At this stage, you want to nurture leads and get them to try your product. It’s ideal to tell them about your product’s benefits and lure them with exciting offers. MOFU campaigns are about product storytelling through carousel ads and explainer videos. These work best in the next 20-40 days of your campaign. Here’s an intelligent MOFU ad from ActiveCampaign, the popular email marketing tool:

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3. Decision Stage

It’s that crucial stage of a customer’s journey when she’s ready to buy and looking for the best-fit product. It’s when you should go deeper and offer social proof to your B2B SaaS prospects. Showcase customer testimonials and positive product reviews. Tell how your SaaS provides a better ROI than competing products. 

A BOFU campaign like this works best between 40 and 70 days from the day you start your Facebook advertising. Here’s an interesting example of a BOFU ad from Slack:

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4. Post-Purchase Stage

In the retention phase of the buyer’s journey, promoting content about your after-sales support is ideal. Such ads help you to increase customer retention and lifetime value. They also help fetch you word-of-mouth publicity for your SaaS.

Finding The Right Ad Placements 

Facebook allows you numerous ad placement options to make the most of your SaaS ad campaigns. 

1. Mobile and Desktop Newsfeeds

When you choose a newsfeed placement, your ad appears directly in your audience’s Facebook feed. A newsfeed placement is ideal for top-of-the-funnel SaaS campaigns as they help maximise your brand’s reach. 

2. Instant Articles 

Instant articles offer a way for marketers to share educational content with their audience. Such native content is a great way to get more clicks and engagement from your Facebook ads. 

3. Video Feeds

Video feeds are great for adding in-stream ads to organic video content on Facebook. 

You must remember that More than 2 billion people watch videos on Facebook each month.

Use such ads to tell an immersive product story and get more conversions. 

4. Search Ads

This type of placement is excellent for showing ads to people looking for solutions in your niche. Hence, it’s a terrific option for targeting people closer to making a purchase. 

5. In-Stories

Since Stories has become a popular content format on Facebook and Instagram, ads with this placement are quite beneficial. Use an attention-grabbing CTA to drive traffic to your product page and generate qualified leads.

6. Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger offers an incredible place to connect with SaaS buyers directly. You can place either Home ads or Story ads in Facebook Messenger. Look at this Story ad from Fincent:

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For improved results, A/B test different versions of your campaign copy and ad placements. 

15 Facebook Ads Examples That Convert for SaaS Companies

Here are 15 Facebook ads examples that convert for SaaS companies

1. Sleeknote

Sleeknote attracts its SaaS audience with its product’s benefits — 400-600% more email subscribers. By showcasing their business’s offering and making them a promise on what they will gain, its audience is more likely to convert. Its 5-minute setup feature offers users convenience and encourages them to try the product.

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What You Can Learn from This

• The Sleeknote’s ads feature an attention-grabbing headline that shows key benefits — 400-600% more email subscribers. This creates a clear connection and encourages its audience to convert to its business.
• The ad uses a clear and concise message that resonates with its audience. Its clearly stated features and benefits such as a 5-minute setup and 600% more subscribers align with the audience’s needs.
• A clear call to action (7 days free trial) that encourages people to sign up for the product.

2. Slack

Slack’s Facebook ad is fun, engaging, and appealing to the viewers. They communicate their message in minimal text and use emojis to make the ad stand out.

What You Can Learn from This

• Slack offers a compelling benefit that will encourage its audience to use its products. After all, who doesn’t want to reduce their email clutter?
• Compelling CTA such as “Get Started” and “Learn More” show the audience where to click to use the product.

3. Zendesk

Many organizations and businesses often experience communication problems with their customers. This leaves the business and the customers unhappy. Zendesk employs humor (the tin can play) in this ad to portray this communication issue.  

What You Can Learn from This

• The image (tin can) shares a relatable experience of one’s childhood. This can improve customer engagement among audiences with such an experience.
• A body text that shows what the business offers — keeping up with customers.
• The use of clear CTA “Learn more” encourages the audience to become paying customers.

4. Asana

Asana’s image communicates a clear message — “Hit every deadline, every time.” This is a benefit that their target audience would want to see. It boosts their productivity and encourages them to manage their project effectively.

‍What You Can Learn from This

• It addresses the audience’s needs through its clear body text — free tool and extensive features to help its users
• A clear “Sign Up” CTA that encourages users to perform the desired action.

5. Zoom

This image shows a video conferencing meeting on a large scale with its audience. This shows what the user can experience when using the products.

‍What You Can Learn from This

• Zoom’s “58% of Fortune 500…” text addresses the audience’s pain points. It tells them reasons why they should use the product.

6. HubSpot

HubSpot ads feature the photo of a real employer to illustrate how its target audience can generate leads.

What You Can Learn from This

• HubSpot benefits “100% Free. Unlimited Use. Totally Secure Data,” which tells its audience why they should use the product. They don’t have to pay, worry about their customer’s data, and use it as they want
• A clear CTA link that shows them where to access the free product.

7. Capterra

Capterra’s ad features a meme that shows the audience a “direction” for the right software.

What You Can Learn from This

• It targets its audience’s emotions with its “that feeling you get” text. This lets the audience know what the business offers and what to benefit.

8. Bolt

This Bolt’s Facebook ad communicates a single message — they’re hiring. They use carousel ads that feature positive statistics to show what top talent will enjoy at the company.

What You Can Learn from This

• The carousel ads illustrate many features and benefits of working with the company.
• It mentions relevant statistics to encourage talents to apply.
• Descriptive URLs to show the audience what to do.

9. Salesforce

Salesforce went hard on one thing in this ad – personalizing the ads to the audience of a specific location (Canada).

What You Can Learn from This

• Personalization of the ads will attract a qualified audience because it’s relatable.
• It addresses the audience’s needs too — growing your business.

10. Kiss metrics

Kissmeetrics targets marketers who want to gain customers. It shows the multiple features they can use to understand customer’s behavior and retain them.

What You Can Learn from This

• It shows an interactive carousel to demonstrate its features and benefits.
• It addresses the audience’s pain points with its text and encourages them to “learn more.” (CTA)

11. Grammarly

Grammarly’s captivating headline and simple equation communicate its values to the audience. The stock photo also makes the ad pop out.

‍What You Can Learn from This

• The equation “Grammarly + Gmail = Perfect Email” communicates its value.
• A bold, clear CTA that shows its offerings and compels users to take action.

12. Active Campaign

Active Campaign’s ad tells its audience it’s running a workshop in a locality, D.C. This ad targets existing users to maximize their lifetime value (LTV) and adds extra value to the brand.

‍What You Can Learn from This

• An early bird discount to registrars. This will create FOMO for existing users to sign up for its products.

13. Spotify

Many users hate ads. Spotify leverages that pain point to address its audience’s needs while listening to music.

What You Can Learn from This

• The brand’s ad copy alone is compelling. It offers two benefits: favorite music and ad-free.

14. Heap

Heap takes a bold approach to building “brand authority” by comparing itself to Google Analytics in this ad. This comparison enables users to picture what the brand could offer them.

‍What You Can Learn from This

• It employs a bold approach of comparing itself to Google Analytics which captures the user’s attention.
• This comparison helps newer audiences picture what the brand can offer and get a glimpse of its benefits.
• It features Zendesk and its other notable clients to boost credibility.

15. Toggl

Toggl uses an interesting comic to attract new customers.

‍What You Can Learn from This

• The brand employs storytelling to capture the audience’s attention. This is a great technique to pull in new customers.
• If you use creative advertising material that stands out from other brands, your customers will appreciate it.

Hire TripleDart to Run Your Brand’s Facebook Ads

There you have it. Many Facebook ads work and can drive massive conversions for your brands. However, if your brand is struggling to get results, TripleDart is available to help.

Our SaaS PPC agency runs effective ad campaigns that resonate with your audience and achieve your business goals. Book a call with us today to get started!

Final Thoughts 

Facebook Ads are a cost-effective way to grow your B2B SaaS business. As a social network, Facebook offers a broad audience and innovative ad formats and placements to help you lure prospects into your sales funnel. And it’s an effective platform to reach your ideal customers through customised campaigns. 

All you have to do is align your ad messages with your campaign goals and marketing funnel. 

But for the best returns on your Facebook ad investments, consider hiring an experienced agency like TripleDart. 

Book a call here now, and our experts will be happy to help you.