Is my B2B ICP on Facebook?

Almost certainly, yes. The people you target on LinkedIn at work also use Facebook and Instagram. In our case, a B2B client who said "our ICP is not on Facebook" started booking qualified leads on Meta once we targeted a named contact list instead of Meta's native audiences.

Why do Meta ads fail for B2B companies?

Usually it's the targeting. Meta's native options were built for consumer advertisers, so a B2B campaign ends up in front of people outside your ICP. Our first attempt spent $3,000 and got zero qualified leads, with random people filling out the lead forms.

How do you target a B2B audience on Facebook?

Start with a list of the exact people you want to reach. We built ours in Apollo. Upload that list to Meta as a custom audience through ContactLevel, which matches each business contact to the personal identifiers Meta uses. Then run your ads to that audience only.

What does a B2B lead cost on Meta with contact-level targeting?

In the campaigns from this post, leads came in at $15-50 each. With native Meta targeting, the same campaigns got zero qualified leads on $3,000 of spend. Those are our client campaigns, not a benchmark. Your number depends on your offer and your list.

Should I move my ad budget from LinkedIn to Meta?

No. LinkedIn got results for our clients, just at a higher cost. Keep it, and run the same contact list on other platforms too. You reach more of your ICP and your cost per lead usually drops.

Which ad platforms can ContactLevel push a B2B contact list to?

LinkedIn, Meta, Google, YouTube, Reddit, X, Microsoft, ChatGPT and Taboola ads. You build one contact list and sync it to each platform as an audience.

Company

“Our ICP is not on facebook”

Many companies think their ICP is not on Facebook. We used to be in that boat too. And we were wrong - story time.

Dag Holmen08 Oct 2026

3 minute read

Bar chart of monthly active users by platform: Meta 3.98B, YouTube ~2.7B, Google AI Overviews 2.5B+, ChatGPT 1B+ (weekly), Microsoft Bing 1B, X ~600M (claimed), Reddit 515M+ (weekly), LinkedIn ~390M (estimate). — Sources: company reports. LinkedIn is an estimate.

“Our ICP is not on facebook” - are you sure about that??

Quick story time, I'll keep it short and sweet:

In 2024, entering the B2B space, I came from a direct-to-consumer background. I had extensive experience with running ads on Meta and Google.

So when my agency got its first B2B client, my first instinct was to slap a Meta pixel on their website and run Facebook ads.

The clients reaction: 🫪 facebook? our icp is not on facebook
And my reaction to that: 🫪 huh?

Anyway, I convinced them to run Meta ads. and it FLOPPED. Complete fiasco - $3000 spend, no qualified leads, and random grandmas filling out their lead forms. 💀

A week later i tried it with another client, got one qualified lead and 3 shit ones.

"Dag, I dont know if we can keep doing this"

At this point i was convinced that ok, Meta doesn't make sense for B2B, and continued with Linkedin ads - costs were higher than Meta, but at least we were getting some results for the client.

Fast forward to 4 months later - Jack Caspino sends me a cold email, asking me to help him market his new B2B ad targeting solution. (best random event in my life btw)

I had tried running custom audiences on Meta in the past, but nothing like this. This new product would unlock LinkedIn-like targeting on Meta, Google and Reddit.

I didn't want to continue running ads for chinese knockoff products on Shopify, so I agreed to help Jack and ContactLevel was born.

I continued running ads for B2B clients using the new buggy duct taped targeting platform - and it worked, really well! We were building contact lists for customers in Apollo, uploading them to Meta through Contactlevel and booking real qualified leads for our clients.

The same campaigns that previously flopped were now doing good, printing leads at ridiculously low cost ($15-50)

🚨 TURNS OUT THEIR ICP WAS ON FACEBOOK AFTER ALL - WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE RIGHT TARGETING TO REACH THEM.

Today, ContactLevel has grown from a duct taped audience building tool to the go-to B2B advertising platform, used by top agencies like Hey Digital and B2Linked | LinkedIn Ads Performance Agency.

Agencies and brands can now reach specific audiences on Meta, Google, Reddit, Inc., X, Microsoft and ChatGPT ads with super high accuracy.

Im not saying you should switch ad platforms, but what i AM saying is that exploring other platforms is a good way to increase your reach and drop CPL.

Because YOUR ICP IS ON THESE PLATFORMS. 🫡

Frequently asked questions

Is my B2B ICP on Facebook?: Almost certainly, yes. The people you target on LinkedIn at work also use Facebook and Instagram. In our case, a B2B client who said "our ICP is not on Facebook" started booking qualified leads on Meta once we targeted a named contact list instead of Meta's native audiences.
Why do Meta ads fail for B2B companies?: Usually it's the targeting. Meta's native options were built for consumer advertisers, so a B2B campaign ends up in front of people outside your ICP. Our first attempt spent $3,000 and got zero qualified leads, with random people filling out the lead forms.
How do you target a B2B audience on Facebook?: Start with a list of the exact people you want to reach. We built ours in Apollo. Upload that list to Meta as a custom audience through ContactLevel, which matches each business contact to the personal identifiers Meta uses. Then run your ads to that audience only.
What does a B2B lead cost on Meta with contact-level targeting?: In the campaigns from this post, leads came in at $15-50 each. With native Meta targeting, the same campaigns got zero qualified leads on $3,000 of spend. Those are our client campaigns, not a benchmark. Your number depends on your offer and your list.
Should I move my ad budget from LinkedIn to Meta?: No. LinkedIn got results for our clients, just at a higher cost. Keep it, and run the same contact list on other platforms too. You reach more of your ICP and your cost per lead usually drops.
Which ad platforms can ContactLevel push a B2B contact list to?: LinkedIn, Meta, Google, YouTube, Reddit, X, Microsoft, ChatGPT and Taboola ads. You build one contact list and sync it to each platform as an audience.