Solved: Video ads or still images on Facebook Ads?

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out! I saw your question about video versus still image ads and I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance. It's a common question, but the answer isn't quite as simple as picking one over the other, especially for a startup in the B2B space.

There's a fair bit to unpack here, and the choice of creative format is really just one piece of a much larger puzzle. To get you the best results, we need to think about your entire strategy, from your customer and offer right through to the ad platform and targeting you use. I'll walk you through how I'd approach this.

We'll need to look at the bigger picture first...

Your question was about video vs. still images. So let's start there. The honest answer is, you'd probably want to test both. But the choice depends entirely on what your trying to achieve with a specific ad.

-> Still Images: You mentioned wanting to get a simple message across. If your message truly is simple and can be understood in a second, an image ad is perfect. It's the fastest way to get a message across and get an interested person to click. They are also much cheaper and quicker to produce, which means you can test a lot of different messages and designs without a huge budget. This is definately a big plus when your just starting out.

-> Video Ads: If your "newer solution to business problems" actually needs a bit of explaining, a video is almost always better. You can't fit a persuasive argument or a product demonstration into a single image. A video allows you to tell a story, show the problem your solving, demonstrate your solution in action, and build a much stronger case. This usually means the leads you get from video ads are more qualified because they've taken the time to watch and understand what you do.

But here’s the thing, for a B2B startup, the creative is secondary to the strategy. Before you even think about commissioning a video or designing an image, you have to get the foundations right. A brilliant ad shown to the wrong people is just a waste of money. A mediocre ad shown to the perfect audiance can still bring in business.

I'd say you need to sort your funnel and offer...

Since your a startup selling to other businesses, the typical B2C funnel of "see ad, click, buy" probably won't work. Business decisions, especially around new solutions, are more complex and take longer. People don't just whip out the company credit card for a new piece of software after seeing one ad on Facebook.

So, what does your sales process look like? What do you actually want someone to do after they click your ad?

This is what I'd be thinking about:

• The Goal: Are you trying to get them to buy instantly? Or are you trying to generate a lead? For most B2B, the goal is lead generation. This could be getting them to book a demo, schedule a consultation call, or sign up for a free trial. This first step needs to be your main focus.
• The Offer: You're selling a "newer solution". This means businesses will be sceptical. They need to be de-risked. Are you offering a free trial? A money-back guarantee? A detailed demo? I've run quite a few campaigns for B2B SaaS, and one thing is constant: a completely free trial almost always works best to get people in the door. Without it, you're asking for a huge commitment upfront. I looked at one software company's site recently that wasn't offering a free trial, and it was no surprise their ads were failing. Their competition all offered free trials, so why would anyone pay to try their unproven system?
• The Landing Page: Your ad is just the hook. The landing page has to do the heavy lifting. It needs to have really persuasive copy that clearly explains the problem you solve and why your solution is the best choice. It should build trust and have a single, clear call-to-action (e.g., "Start Your Free Trial" or "Book a Demo"). A cluttered page or weak message will kill your conversion rates, no matter how good your ad is. We often use a specialist copywriter for this, especially for SaaS clients, because it makes that much of a difference.

B2B sales cycles are long. You need a plan to nurture the leads you get. What happens after they sign up for a trial? Do you have an email onboarding sequence? Do you follow up with a call? This whole process needs to be mapped out. Just getting a lead isn't the end of the journey, it's the very beginning.

You probably should re-think your ad platform...

You mentioned Facebook ads specifically. Now, Meta (Facebook & Instagram) can work for B2B, but it's often not the best place to start. The targeting options for B2B are quite limited.

Think about your ideal customer. Who is the decision maker you need to reach? What company do they work for? What's their job title?

Here's how I'd break down the platform choices:

1. Google Search Ads: Is your target audiance actively searching for a solution to the problem you solve? If they are, Google Search is likely your best bet. People are literally telling Google what they need. You can target keywords like "accounting software for small business" or "AI implementation service". The intent is incredibly high. Most business services are difficult to sell unless the company already knows it has a problem. Google Search captures that existing demand.

2. LinkedIn Ads: This is the king of B2B advertising. If you need to reach a specific person in a specific industry with a specific job title at a company of a specific size, LinkedIn is where you do it. The targeting is unmatched. For example, if you're selling data enrichment services, you could target:
-> Companies: SMEs with 50-200 employees
-> Decision Makers: CMO, Head of Marketing, Head of Sales
-> Industries: Software, Financial Services, Marketing & Advertising

The cost per lead is higher on LinkedIn, but the quality is usually far superior because you can be so precise. We ran a campaign for a client selling environmental controls and managed to reduce their cost per lead by 84% just by refining their strategy across LinkedIn and Meta. For another B2B software client, we were getting highly qualified leads from decision-makers for about $22 CPL on LinkedIn. You just can't get that kind of precision on Facebook.

3. Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram): So where does Facebook fit in? It can work, especially if you're targeting small business owners. The targeting options are broader, like "small business owners" or "business page admins". The leads are often cheaper, but you'll have to do a lot more work to qualify them. We've seen it work well for some B2B clients, like a software company that got over 4,600 registrations at just $2.38 each. But this was for a very broad tool. For a niche B2B solution, it's a tougher sell.

My advice would be to start with either Google Search (if people are searching for you) or LinkedIn (if you need to find specific people). You can always expand to Meta later once you've got a working funnel and a clearer idea of what messages resonate with your audience.

You'll need a solid targeting strategy...

Once you've picked a platform, you need to get the targeting right. This is where most people go wrong. They test audiences that are too broad or not alligned with their goals. Here’s a rough guide on how I'd prioritise audiences, especially on Meta since you mentioned it.

For any platform, the principle is the same: audiences that have already shown interest are always more valuable than cold audiences. I usually structure campaigns based on the marketing funnel: Top of Funnel (ToFu - cold), Middle of Funnel (MoFu - warm), and Bottom of Funnel (BoFu - hot).

META ADS AUDIENCE PRIORITISATION (B2B EXAMPLE)
This is adapted from an eCommerce structure, but the logic holds.

ToFu (Finding New People):
1. Detailed Targeting: Start here. But be specific. Don't target a huge interest like "Business". Instead, target interests that your ideal customer is much more likely to have than the general population. For example, if you sell to other agencies, target software they use (e.g., Asana, Slack), publications they read (e.g., Adweek), or influencers they follow. You have to be clever about it.
2. Lookalike Audiences: Once you have enough data (at least 100 conversions, but more is better), you can create lookalikes. The best ones are built from your most valuable customers. The priority would be:
   -> Lookalike of your customer list
   -> Lookalike of people who booked a demo
   -> Lookalike of people who started a free trial
   -> Lookalike of website visitors
3. Broad Targeting: Only test this once your Meta Pixel has thousands of conversion events. You let the algorithm do the work, but it needs alot of data to be effective.

MoFu/BoFu (Retargeting People Who Know You):
This is where your best returns will come from. You're talking to people who are already familiar with you. If you have a small budget, you can combine these into one ad set.
1. Demo/Trial Abandoners: People who started the signup process but didn't finish. These are your hottest leads.
2. Pricing Page Visitors: People who looked at your pricing. They are highly interested.
3. All Website Visitors (last 30-90 days): A broader group, but still warm.
4. Video Viewers: People who watched a significant portion (e.g., 50%+) of your video ads.
5. Page/Profile Engagers: People who have liked, commented, or shared your content.

You need to test these systematically. Create seperate campaigns for ToFu and Retargeting. In your ToFu campaign, test different audiences in different ad sets. Turn off the ones that don't perform after they've spent enough for you to make a decision (e.g., 2-3x your target cost per lead). This constant testing and optimisation is how you scale.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

This is a lot to take in, I know. It goes way beyond just picking an image or a video. But getting these fundamentals right is the only way to build a sustainable customer acquisition engine. Here’s a summary of what I think your first steps should be.

As you can see, this is a complex process. It's not just about setting up an ad and hoping for the best. It's about deep strategic thinking, understanding your audience, methodical testing, and continuous optimisation of every single part of the funnel. It can feel like a minefield when you're doing it yourself.

That’s where getting professional help can make a huge difference. An expert can navigate this complexity for you, drawing on years of experience from running campaigns for hundreds of other businesses, including many B2B startups just like yours. We can help you build the right strategy from day one, avoiding costly mistakes and getting you to profitability much faster.

I hope this detailed breakdown has been genuinely helpful and gives you a much clearer path forward. If you'd like to discuss your specific situation in more detail, we offer a free initial consultation where we can review your plans together.

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh