by The Computing Australia Group | LinkedIn vs Facebook
Choosing the right social platform can make or break your marketing ROI. With limited time and budget, you can’t be everywhere. You need to be where your audience pays attention, where your message “fits” the context, and where your campaigns can scale without wasting spend. For most businesses, the decision quickly narrows to two giants: LinkedIn and Facebook.
This guide gives you a practical, modern, and evidence-based way to decide. We’ll compare the platforms across audience, content, ads, analytics, and sales impact; share playbooks for B2B and B2C; and provide decision trees, budget allocation models, and measurement advice. You’ll walk away knowing where to start, what to post, how to advertise, and how to prove it worked.
What Each Platform Is (Really) Best At
LinkedIn in a Nutshell
LinkedIn is a professional network built around identities that include job title, seniority, company, industry, skills, and interests. That structure makes it uniquely powerful for:
- B2B demand generation and ABM (Account-Based Marketing)
- Thought leadership and executive positioning
- Recruitment/Employer branding
- Partner ecosystems (e.g., ISVs, agencies, resellers)
- High-intent lead capture (e.g., Lead Gen Forms gated by profile data)
LinkedIn in a Nutshell
Facebook (and the broader Meta ecosystem) is a social graph oriented around personal interests, relationships, groups, and media consumption. It excels at:
- Mass reach and cost-efficient impressions
- Creative testing (images, carousels, short/long video)
- D2C/B2C acquisition with strong retargeting
- Community building via Groups and social proof via UGC
- Full-funnel campaigns using pixel/server-side conversions and catalog feeds
The Big Picture: How They Compare
| Dimension | ||
|---|---|---|
| Primary Context | Work/professional | Personal/social |
| Audience Mindset | Career, industry, business outcomes | Entertainment, family, lifestyle, interests |
| Targeting Strength | Company, title, seniority, industry, skills, ABM | Interests, behavior, lookalikes, first-party lists |
| CPC/CPM Tendency | Higher (often much higher) | Lower (more cost-efficient reach) |
| Lead Quality (B2B) | Typically higher; easier SDR follow-up | Variable; improves with high-quality creatives and landing pages |
| Creative That Wins | Thought leadership, expert POV, case studies, product explainers, event promos | Thumb-stopping visuals, UGC-style content, short video, offers |
| Organic Reach | Limited but credible; stronger for personal profiles than pages | Pay-to-play for pages; Groups and Reels can outperform |
| Best Use Cases | ABM, recruitment, partnerships, executive branding, high-ACV lead gen | B2C acquisition, remarketing, scale testing, communities, offers |
Thought Leadership & Brand Credibility
LinkedIn is architected for expertise. People expect to see industry takes, research summaries, playbooks, and case studies in their feed. This makes it the natural home for:
- Founder/Executive POV posts (from personal profiles)
- Carousel explainers and short educational videos
- Event and webinar promos anchored to clear business outcomes
- Employee advocacy (your team amplifying content to their networks)
- Full-funnel campaigns using pixel/server-side conversions and catalog feeds
Facebook still supports content marketing, but thought leadership competes with personal life updates and entertainment. It shines when your content is visual, emotional, and participatory—think behind-the-scenes, community highlights, social proof, and customer stories.
Actionable play: Put the “brains” of your brand on LinkedIn (insights, frameworks, benchmarks). Repurpose the most engaging pieces for Facebook with a more human, visual spin (clips, memes, testimonials).
B2B Potential, Sales Alignment & Lead Gen
If your buyer is defined by job function, seniority, or company profile, LinkedIn’s native targeting and Lead Gen Forms often produce cleaner MQLs and lower SDR friction. Expect fewer junk emails and more accurate role data because LinkedIn pre-fills forms from the user’s profile.
Winning B2B flows on LinkedIn:
1. Awareness: Insight posts + carousels from execs and SMEs.
2. Engagement: Video explainers, use-case posts, survey posts.
3. Lead Capture: Lead Gen Form offering a clear value (benchmark report, ROI calculator, event seat).
4. Nurture: In-feed retargeting + email sequence.
5. Sales Handover: Enrich leads, route to SDR based on ICP fit, book meetings.
Where Facebook fits for B2B:
- Cheap reach to saturate a niche with your positioning.
- Retargeting site visitors and LinkedIn engagers using email/phone hash lists.
- Creative testing (hooks, thumbnails, CTAs) at lower cost, then “port” winners to LinkedIn.
B2B Potential, Sales Alignment & Lead Gen
B2C brands (retail, hospitality, fitness, home services) tend to get more immediate scale from Facebook’s ad inventory and creative formats. Dynamic product ads, Reels, and UGC-style creatives paired with server-side conversion tracking can drive consistent revenue at competitive CPAs.
Winning B2C flows on Facebook:
1. Prospecting: Short video + strong hook in the first 2–3 seconds; carousels for collections.
2. Social Proof: Customer review graphics, UGC, before/after.
3. Offers: Clear price or value prop, scarcity or bonus.
4. Retargeting: Viewed product/content → Add to cart → Purchase sequences.
5. Community: Groups for enthusiasts and loyal customers (great for LTV).
Winning B2C flows on Facebook:
- Recruiting great staff (especially for specialist roles).
- B2B2C partnerships (e.g., corporate benefits, channel partners).
- Brand credibility for investors/partners.
Groups & Communities
- LinkedIn Groups: Useful for niche professional discussions; works best when paired with active moderators and regular prompts (AMAs, weekly themes).
- Facebook Groups: Excellent for active communities (hobbies, local businesses, customer user groups). They thrive on emotion, images, and recurring rituals (e.g., “Win-It Wednesday”, “Show-and-Tell Friday”).
Decision tip: If your community centers on career growth, industry tactics, or peer networking, LinkedIn. If it’s shared lifestyle, location, or product fandom, Facebook.
Advertising: Costs, Formats, and ROI Reality
- LinkedIn: Expect higher CPCs/CPMs, but better matches to your ICP. Winning formats include Single Image, Document Ads (native carousels/PDFs), Video, and Lead Gen Forms. Conversation Ads/InMail can work for events and niche offers.
- Facebook: Typically lower cost per impression/click, broader auction, and richer creative options, including Reels and catalog dynamic ads. Performance is strongly tied to creative quality and pixel/server-side events.
ROI perspective: Don’t compare channel costs in isolation. Compare pipeline and revenue by source. Many teams accept higher LinkedIn costs because win rates and deal sizes are better from that traffic.
Content That Performs (with Examples)
LinkedIn Content Ideas
- Carousel playbooks: “7 Signs Your Cloud Costs Are Leaking Budget (+ fixes)”
- Benchmark posts: “We analyzed 423 SMB sites—here’s where Core Web Vitals tank conversions”
- Founder diaries: A candid story about a product decision and its impact
- Customer mini-case: One chart + one quote + one outcome
- Teaser to assets: 30-second video summarising a downloadable framework
Posting cadence (typical starting point):
3–4 posts/week from brand page, 2–3/week from founder/SME profiles, 1–2 long-form articles/month. Engage comments for the first hour to lift distribution.
Facebook Content Ideas
- UGC compilations: Short video montage of customers using your product
- Before/after or problem/solution carousels
- Behind-the-scenes: Production, people, packaging, community involvement
- Offer drops: Timely, visual, with clear T&Cs in caption
- Live Q&As and how-to Reels
Posting cadence (typical starting point):
4–6 posts/week, 2–3 Reels/week, 1 live session/month, evergreen “pinned” offer or lead magnet.
Analytics, Measurement & What to Report
For both platforms:
- Define one North Star (pipeline for B2B; revenue/ROAS for B2C).
- Track Assisted Conversions and view-through where applicable.
- Always measure creative cohorts (per hook/angle), not just per campaign.
LinkedIn KPIs (B2B focus):
- Lead quality (ICP match rate), meeting booked rate, pipeline per lead, win rate
- Engagement on executive posts (comments > reactions > impressions)
- Document Ad view time and Lead Gen Form completion rate
Facebook KPIs (B2C focus):
- Thumb-stop rate (first-3-second video views), hook hold (3s→10s)
- Add-to-cart rate, checkout start rate, purchase conversion rate
- ROAS (ad + blended), MER (marketing efficiency ratio) for overall health
Decision Framework: How to Choose (and Sequence)
Use this quick decision tree:
1. Is your buyer defined by job role, company size, or industry?
→ Yes: Start LinkedIn for demand gen and ABM. Add Facebook for retargeting and creative testing.
→ No: Go to #2.
2. Is the purchase primarily consumer/lifestyle with visual appeal or offers?
→ Yes: Start Facebook for acquisition. Consider LinkedIn later for recruiting/partnerships.
→ No: Go to #3.
3. Is deal size high or buying committee complex?
→ Yes: LinkedIn first (quality > volume), then Facebook for scale.
→ No: Test both with small budgets; let CAC/LTV data decide.
Budget sequencing (starter model):
- B2B: 60–70% LinkedIn / 30–40% Facebook (retargeting + creative R&D)
- B2C: 70–90% Facebook / 10–30% LinkedIn (recruiting/partnerships)
Compliance, Brand Safety & Pitfalls to Avoid
- Audience mismatch: Don’t force B2B offers into Facebook without strong creative and landing pages. Don’t expect consumer impulse buys from LinkedIn.
- Creative fatigue: Both platforms degrade performance as frequency rises. Rotate hooks weekly; keep hero assets quarterly.
- Over-targeting on LinkedIn: Too many filters shrink reach and spike costs. Start broader, narrow with exclusions after data accrues.
- Under-investing in landing experiences: Fast pages, clear value, trust signals. On mobile, assume <3 seconds to first contentful paint.
- Ignoring privacy/consent: Keep consent language transparent for lead magnets. Use server-side events responsibly.
Mini Case Snapshots
-
Cybersecurity MSP (B2B):
LinkedIn Document Ad with “7-Point Incident Readiness Checklist” + Lead Gen Form; SDR books strategy calls. Facebook retargeting warms traffic with short SOC tour video. Result: fewer leads than Facebook but 2× higher close rate and larger deal sizes. -
Local Fitness Brand (B2C):
Facebook Reels of client transformations + limited-time challenge. Community Group fuels referrals. LinkedIn used for hiring trainers and corporate wellness partnerships. Result: steady CPA under target and improved LTV from community stickiness.
Jargon Buster
- ROI (Return on Investment): Revenue or value generated divided by the total cost invested.
- B2B: Business-to-Business—selling to organisations.
- B2C: Business-to-Consumer—selling directly to individuals.
- ABM: Account-Based Marketing—targeting specific high-value companies.
- MQL/SQL: Marketing-Qualified Lead / Sales-Qualified Lead in your funnel.
- CAC/LTV: Customer Acquisition Cost / Lifetime Value.
- MER: Marketing Efficiency Ratio—total revenue divided by total marketing spend.
FAQ
Is LinkedIn better than Facebook for B2B?
Usually yes for targeting, lead quality, and thought leadership. Costs are higher, but pipeline quality and win rates often justify the spend.
Is Facebook still good for lead generation?
Absolutely—especially for B2C and for retargeting. Strong creative and clean landing pages are essential.
What should I post on LinkedIn vs Facebook?
LinkedIn: expert POVs, frameworks, case studies, event promos.
Facebook: UGC, short video, offers, community updates.
How often should I post?
LinkedIn: 3–4 brand posts/week, plus exec posts.
Facebook: 4–6 posts/week, 2–3 Reels/week.
How do I measure success?
B2B: opportunities and pipeline sourced via CRM.
B2C: ROAS/MER and LTV:CPA ratio, not just CTR.
