In this previously unpublished, inaugural, proof of concept episode of Let’s Talk Shop with Matthew Ulmer, digital marketing expert Laura Jo Sharpe challenges the long-held belief that LinkedIn is the undisputed king of B2B advertising. She breaks down how Meta’s AI-driven “suggestive targeting,” creative-based audience matching, and significantly lower CPMs make Facebook and Instagram surprisingly effective — and far more budget-friendly — for reaching business decision-makers. If you’re looking to generate higher-quality B2B leads without the steep LinkedIn price tag, this conversation offers actionable strategies to make Meta’s algorithm work for your business.
Watch the full video above or read the transcript below.
Here is the full conversation:
Matthew Ulmer: So, Laura Jo, there’s a nasty rumor going around that you’re out there claiming Meta is better for B2B than LinkedIn. Explain yourself.
Laura Jo Sharpe: Uh, let’s clear that up right now. Yes, that rumor is true. I am claiming that Meta is currently a better advertising platform for reaching businesses than—and lead gen—than LinkedIn.
Matthew: For reaching businesses? Are we talking about the same Meta? ‘Cause I’m referring to the Zuck-verse—Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp… You’re talking about businesses.
Laura Jo: Yep, I see where you’re going with this, and you’re right to. Most marketers feel that Meta is only good for B2C, product marketing, quick cheap products, or services, programs…
Matthew: I would consider myself one of those marketers who think of it that way.
Laura Jo: Well, that’s fair. Uh, I also have been one of those marketers, but as of the last year or so, I would say you would be wrong. Uh, Meta has undergone a few pretty big platform changes that have made a huge difference in targeting, specifically in reaching B2B uh audiences.
First, they’ve gone “black box” targeting now. In the past, um, marketers with long Meta ads experience know that we’ve had eras where we had a lot of categories to choose from, a lot of targeting to choose from, and with each rollout of a new version of the platform, we’re—we have less and less uh targeting options. And now, we’ve arrived at something I like to call “suggestive targeting,” where you suggest using your own first-party data or a handful of um of categories who Meta should go after, and they connect the dots and do the rest.
The other is creative. Creative is now also part of that suggestive targeting. So, your ad copy itself and the images themselves are helping to inform Meta as far as what job title somebody might have, or what industry they work in, how they might speak, what their education level is. And that’s without you even having to pick one category or drop-down. Even just the creative itself is informing the targeting. So, there’s a lot more advanced uh targeting going on out there that is focused on the person regardless of whether it’s professional or personal interest-based that you’re going after.
Matthew: Sure. Okay, that’s impressive. Well, LinkedIn has every person with a job, and the exact details of that job. So, even if AI is giving us suggestive targeting, wouldn’t I still rather be on LinkedIn?
Laura Jo: You’re right. LinkedIn does have the exact right people on the platform with the exact right job titles that are self-reported, and it’s, honestly, the perfect platform for B2B advertising in theory.
Matthew: Right. Oh.
Laura Jo: In theory. Its data should be unmatched. Um, but, first, that rich data comes at a hefty price. You’re talking about really, really high CPMs on LinkedIn, especially if your audiences are pretty small. Um, and that can be hard.
For number two, a platform that isn’t as widely used, uh, or as actively used for many industries. So, a lot don’t have um professional audiences that log into LinkedIn very much. So, in order for them to be seen, your ads have to run on the LinkedIn Audience Network, which functions very similar to the Google Display Network, and all marketers have opinions on display advertising.
In contrast, Instagram and Facebook are used almost universally and in unbelievable volumes of time. So, the data across their platforms is immeasurable, and it makes for some serious targeting even without user-reported information about their profession.
Matthew: So, your argument is Meta is just better at selling, period—even selling to a B2B audience. It’s just overall a better platform for selling.
Laura Jo: Yep.
Matthew: I can buy that. I can buy that Meta tricks you into buying stuff. Okay. So then, answer me this: if I’ve been focused all this time on selling to businesses on LinkedIn, what are some actionable tips I can implement to help me sell to businesses on Meta?
Laura Jo: Well, if you’re willing to give Meta another shot, even after all of the years of B2B disappointment there, I would say make sure that you have your first-party data ready. So, get your lists of contacts, get lists of customers of previous purchases—as much data as you possibly can to feed the beast. Get your retargeting in order so make sure you have your pixels collecting data about your website visitors.
And then also, put put work into creative. Lots of diverse copy, lots of diverse images. Every person is attracted to different language and different imagery, and the more variations you have, the more advanced the targeting can get, and the more people that you can tailor to well.
I’d also map campaigns to specific funnel stages. So, separate your budgets and your campaigns by awareness versus lead gen, etc.
And the number one thing, really, I should have started with, is tracking conversions. This is the most important data you could possibly feed back into Meta Ads are valuable actions that are taken on the site after the ad. So, make sure that tracking’s in place and that it’s feeding in. And…
Matthew: So, you’re saying create a closed circle of: you get a lead, you get some kind of conversion, you feed it back in so it can see the type of person converting.
Laura Jo: Exactly. And that should—that should give you some pretty interesting results you’ve never seen before for B2B on Meta Ads.
Matthew: So, bottom line, Zuck’s about to get even more of my money.
Laura Jo: [laughs] Yes, absolutely.
Matthew: Okay. Thank you for sharing your insight. I’ll stop spreading this rumor about you.
Laura Jo: Thanks. [laughs]
Matthew: Thanks, Laura Jo.
Laura Jo: Maybe stop spreading rumors completely.
Matthew: Oh… I’m working on it. [laughs] Bye.
If you want to learn how Meta can work for your B2B advertising efforts, talk directly with Laura Jo.
