Case Study

How to Target C-levels on FB and IG for Price Points 100K+ SaaS Products

You're probably thinking, "wait, did you just mention targeting C-levels on Facebook and Instagram? Those are two of the platforms I would not expect C-levels to be."

Absolutely I did!

The idea that C-levels are not impressionable when using Facebook and Instagram is an extreme misconception in marketing. If you're not taking advantage of these platforms, you could seriously be missing out.

A Little Bit About Me

Hi! My name is Arvin, and I am a Demand Generation Specialist tasked with targeting mid-market and government agencies such as the FBI, Military, and Defense online.

I have managed everything from $500-$500,0000 per month ad budgets for small Mom and Pop shops to large public companies, and the number one question I consistently get asked during strategy sessions with clients is:

"What's the best channel to target our target audience or ideal client profile (ICP)?"

That question is then followed by, "is there any point advertising on Facebook and Instagram? C-level people are not there."

Or occasionally, I am met with the statement, "Linkedin is the best place to advertise if we are B2B, right, Arvin? All of the businesses are there after all!"

Well, I'm sorry, folks, but that assumption is categorically incorrect and downright presumptuous.

Just to clarify, there is no doubt that no platform like Linkedin allows for targeting titles and company roles natively. I'd even agree that Facebook and Instagram are on the lowest side as far as prospects' intent is concerned.

Here is how I categorize intent versus platform for SaaS B2B:

Highest Intent: Google and Youtube
2nd Highest Intent: Native platforms like G2, Gartner, Capterra, Getadvice, GetApp, etc.
3rd Highest Intent: Linkedin
4th Highest Intent: Twitter
Practically Zero Intent: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok & Spotify

If the intent is so low, why even bother advertising on Facebook and Instagram?

Well, there are two significant reasons.

First of all, just think about how many more people think the same way as you and choose not to act on these channels. This ignorance creates a blue ocean opportunity that only comes along once in a while.

Second, just because the intent is non-existent doesn't mean you are out of luck.

If you heard the social media hearing in 2020, Twitter, Google, Facebook, and Instagram all share data points that they gather from each individual.

This information was recorded and is readily available online. If you decide to watch, you'll hear the tech founders confirm that each individual's data points on the internet are shared across the big platforms.

This basically means that if I'm a high-intent prospect and considered "in-market" based on Google's definition, then I will end up seeing your Facebook ads on the advertised topic.

Facebook gathers information on us in many ways, but I want to bring 2 ways that you may not have considered to your attention:

#1. Photos

Facebook, while using Amazon sw3, can identify emotions and objects on your photos.

#2. Phone Speakers

It could be old news to you that when you start talking about a Mexican vacation, you'll become targeted for vacation offers on Facebook, but this is a huge way that they gather data on you.

So, there is an immense amount of information online about your prospects, and it gets circulated between platforms.

This means that while it's not wise to ignore buyers' intent versus platforms, there is more to consider than being focused on one specific channel.

In my most recent project, I was targeting security information officers CISOs. You may or may not experience similar challenges where a C-level company may not want to include their personal information on your landing page if it looks specified toward a specific market.

More importantly, in some industries such as finance and cyber, it can be threatening to disclose information and say they are looking for solutions because this could reveal that they are experiencing problems.

Once their personal information is revealed, they are vulnerable to attacks.

Pro tip: Before implementing this targeting strategy, it’s crucial to consider who your target audience is, and what their behaviours are like.

I frequently have conversations with SaaS companies that are looking to increase MQLs.

It makes sense, right?

Everyone wants to target an audience that is more likely to buy from you.

When it's an innovative product or solution, they typically have many hacked job marketing methods connected to the infrequent production of MQLs.

These hacked methods increase uncertainty in hiring workforce and investing more in products, which ultimately freaks out the sales department and is, frankly, not a great place to find yourself.

My process for increasing the number of MQLs pretty much looked like getting 5-6 demos per day for my sales team, which is omnichannel marketing, not laser-focusing on one-channel marketing.

This is especially true if the sales cycle is long and the product price is over $100,000. In other words, they can just pull out their credit card with no authorization or complete examination.

[screenshot of how many contacts it takes to convert on google analytics]

Some of the specific challenges that I faced while increasing the number of MQLs available were:

Not disclosing info
Disclosing fake info, confusing our SDRs

Although these challenges are easily overcome with the right team, know-how, and determination behind you! There is always a way.

Searching For a Solution to Increase MQLs

When searching for a solution, I was driven to look for a "better way" to increase the number of MQLs available.

The company that I was working with didn't have testimonials from their clients, and the problem in cyber is that everyone wishes to be anonymous in all activities.

Not having testimonials is very hard for a new solution that people haven't looked for in the first place. So, my hypothesis was that if I get them enough MQLs and SQLs, a small percentage by chance end up being a referral partner.

Or, the product had problems, but by the rate of uncovering it a few at a time, it would take us so many years to perfect our product and market. I wanted things to move faster.

The classic act of shaking hands with people at conferences wasn't going to work due to COVID-19, so I had to dig deep to find other means of solving the problem (that didn't involve the traditional method of launching an ad on Linkedin).

On Linkedin, it would be too costly to pay $5 to $15 per click given that we weren't even sure about who we are targeting, whether it be the CISO, technical security manager, or someone entirely different.

My search process took around 3 months until I stumbled upon how to target C-levels on Facebook and Instagram for the price points of 100K+ SaaS Products.

What made me feel at ease with this decision, you ask?

Ultimately I decided to try this method because I had complete freedom to develop the best strategy available. The company I was working for acquired an additional 5,000,000, so I wasn't too concerned about the deadline or the company being in any distress during the hard times of COVID-19.

I had the liberty and freedom to think about the best solution.

It felt amazing!

Targeting C-levels on Facebook and Instagram Saved Time & Money!

When I began targeting C-levels on Facebook and Instagram, it quickly increased the number of available MQLs because it allowed me to get in front of many people at $5/10000 impressions.

I implemented this methodology myself, although I had a kickass team consisting of designers, a community manager, VP of Growth, Director of Communications, and the CEO.

Everyone else in product and sales indirectly supported and cheered me on through this new process as well.

You may be thinking, "wow, developing and implementing this method must have taken a long time and effort."

In actuality, it saved time in the sense that I didn't have to do the typical 30 audiences, 4 creatives, and 5 ad copies, and then wait until the MQL came in to do another round of audience building.

I could skip the first step and get to the point much faster, which saved a few thousand dollars in my situation. So, I am sure it would save you precious budget dollars in the long run, as well!

Also, during round 1, it is challenging to conclude creatives and messaging because the targeting is immensely flawed. So, it takes a lot longer to actually optimize anything.

The other thing that you can't do is optimize based on CPL because that doesn't mean anything. A lead you acquired for $2.00 could be better or worse than the lead you received for nearly $200!

The Benefits of This Targeting Method Were Incredible

The results were nearly immediate once I started targeting C-levels on Facebook and Instagram for price points of over $100,000. Some of the most significant results I witnessed were acquiring FBI and paychecks.

It took me just 3 months to see these results from the new method, and what went better than expected during the process was the email open rates and text open rates.

I didn't think my email and text campaign would be effective on the first try, but check out these stats!

[insert screenshot of open email rate]

[insert screenshot of open text rate]

Although it's important to note that this was not achieved without its roadblocks.

One roadblock I experienced was that even the FBI would provide random information, so we leaned into preemptively addressing those objections by having them give us a burner account email.

When I think back to the beginning, targeting C-levels on Facebook and Instagram for price points over $100,000 changed how I felt about the process of increasing the number of MQLs available.

It gave me a sense of control and certainty, knowing that I could conduct this method at my own will. Plus, considering that I spent a lot of time setting up with admin access on different platforms in tight cybersecurity situations, without testimonials and case studies, we weren't allowed to use some big-time results because that was from homeland security.

Thus, technically, in an ideal situation without loopholes, this method can be conducted in an even shorter amount of time, and in my opinion, that's extremely powerful.

Professional Advice From Someone Who Has Done It

One piece of advice I have for SaaS companies who are stuck in this process or haven't gotten started with increasing their number of MQLs would be to just give it a whirl!

If you struggle to get your socially constructed 5 demos day ideals and wonder what to do about it, give my methodology a try. I promise you won't regret it, and those benefits will come rolling in.

Suppose you're still not 100% sure about implementing this and feel apprehensive because you aren't entirely sure how this would impact your current pipeline. In that case, my advice is to not reduce your budget and allocate to this experiment because that clouds your thinking process.

Try increasing your budget and think about the worst thing that can happen.

Don't sweat: it's not that bad!

In the worst-case scenario, you only receive more brand awareness, even if no actions are taken from the method, which is still a win at the end of the day.

The Long-Term Impact of Targeting C-levels on Facebook and Instagram With Over $100,000 Price Points

If you take anything away from this article, I hope it is these milestones, and that you feel inspired to act now and get to increasing your MQLs!

Here are the milestones in order:

First Lead
3 leads from one ad set
1 MQL from an ad-set
3 MQL from an ad-set
- Shotgun (more people)
- Increase by 10% (more people)
- Increase number of ad-sets and creatives (this is to increase conversion technically, not more people)
Successfully scaled the ad-set without breaking the ad, meaning your CPL will jump by 10X (or more!)
Creating look-alike of the winning ad-set(s) and then redo the whole process while keeping your successfully scaled campaign running
Every 100 MQLs an ad-set produces, grab all your MQL, place them into an audience, and then look at doing this process over again until your audience is refined. Instead of getting 20% of your audience as MQL, you get closer to 50% or more.
Have a backup ad account. Have a backup business manager running $5 and have a backup Facebook account as well. The last thing you want is for everything to disappear overnight!

Having clarity around your buyer's persona is very important. You can never be 100% sure about your buyer's persona, but you can get close to 90% confidence in being familiar with some of their traits.

Some of the ways you can learn about them are to read your competitors' reviews, interview people in the field, create a podcast and interview them, watch their interviews, befriend them, and lastly, hang out with them!

If you find this article helpful and you'd like me to help you implement any of the above methodologies, you can find me here using the button below!

I hope to hear from you to get more leads in less time and for less cash.