Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out. Happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance based on what you've told me about your lead database product.
Thinking about your offer and who buys it...
Okay, so you've automated your B2B leads product. That sounds like a B2B offering, where you're selling data access to other businesses. Tbh, B2B marketing is usually a bit more complex and costlier than, say, selling a physical product or B2C service. The sales cycle tends to be longer, and you don't typically see that instant return on ad spend you might in other areas.
From experience with other B2B software or data clients, the offer itself and how you present it on your landing page is absolutely crucial. Just selling 'access to a database' might be a tough sell straight up. Like, who's going to pay for access to 350 million leads without knowing if they're relevant or high-quality for their specific needs? I've seen clients struggle when they don't offer a free trial or at least a sample of the data. Your competitors might offer trials or much lower entry points to get people hooked. You need to make it incredibly easy and low-risk for someone to try before they buy.
Think about the actual value proposition – is it just the *number* of leads, or is it the *type* of leads, their *quality*, or something else? That needs to be super clear and persuasive on your landing page. Getting professional copy written for this would likely make a huge difference to your conversion rates.
Deciding where to advertise...
As for where to advertise, you're spot on considering Facebook and LinkedIn. For a B2B product like a lead database, you're trying to reach specific people within companies – maybe sales managers, marketing directors, business development folks, etc. Between the two platforms, LinkedIn usually has the edge for reaching these specific roles and industries because their targeting options are built for B2B. You can target by job title, company size, industry, and so on, which makes it easier to get your ad in front of the right eyes.
Facebook *can* work for B2B, especially if your target customer profile includes things like "small business owners" or "business page admins" which Facebook has targeting for. But if you're trying to reach decision makers at larger companies, it's much harder to do effectively on Facebook. Getting the targeting right will be crucial this isnt easy with B2B on facebok. You mentioned your large database – you could potentially use that to create Custom Audiences on Facebook or Matched Audiences on LinkedIn to target those specific people, or find Lookalike/Similar audiences based on them. This can be powerful, but you need to make sure your data is suitable and complies with the platforms' policies.
Given you're selling to businesses, I'd lean towards starting with LinkedIn Sponsored Content ads, maybe testing Lead Gen Forms vs sending traffic to your landing page. Lead Gen Forms can get cheaper leads but might be less qualified than traffic sent to a well-optimised landing page.
What about budget?
Regarding daily budget, it's tricky to say exactly without knowing your target cost per acquisition (what you can afford to pay to get one customer) and your conversion rates. B2B leads on LinkedIn can range quite a bit; I've seen them from maybe $20 up to $50 or more depending on the industry and targeting competitiveness. Meta leads can be cheaper, but you might need to process more of them to find a qualified one.
You need enough budget to get meaningful data quickly so you can see what's working and what's not. I'd say you'd need at least several hundred pounds a month just for ad spend to get started and see some initial results, but if you need a significant volume of leads, it'll need to be much higher.
Here's a quick overview of the initial steps I'd recommend:
| Area | Recommendation |
| Offer & Website | Review your offer – is 'buy access' the best approach? Consider free trials or data samples. Invest in professional copy for your landing page to clearly articulate the value and build trust. |
| Targeting | Clearly define your ideal customer profile (ICP) - types of companies, decision maker roles. |
| Ad Platform | Prioritise LinkedIn Ads for precise B2B targeting. Test Facebook/Meta only if your ICP aligns well with their B2B options (e.g., small business owners). |
| Audiences | Explore using your existing database for Custom/Matched Audiences and Lookalikes on chosen platforms, ensuring compliance. |
| Budget | Start with a test budget sufficient to generate enough leads for statistically significant results (e.g., £500-£1000+ initially), understanding CPL for B2B on platforms like LinkedIn can be $20+. |
Getting B2B advertising right, especially for data or SaaS-like products, can be complex. It often requires a lot of testing and optimisation to find the right combination of targeting, offer, ad creative, and landing page. You may find it helpful to work with someone who has specific experience in scaling B2B campaigns to accelerate the process and avoid costly mistakes.
If you'd like to discuss this in more detail and explore how we might be able to help, feel free to book in a free consultation. Happy to chat through your specific situation.
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
