How Ethical B2B Companies Fix LinkedIn Ads

Most B2B software companies are burning money on LinkedIn Ads.

Not because LinkedIn doesn't work.

Because they're using the wrong approach.

I realized this after studying dozens of campaigns from mission-driven companies. They'd tell me the same story:

"We're spending $10K/month on LinkedIn. We get clicks. But the leads are terrible. Sales won't even call them back."

Here's what's happening.

The Spray & Pray Problem

Traditional agencies target everyone.

"B2B software companies, 50-500 employees, marketing decision-makers."

Audience size: 100,000+ people.

Budget: $5,000/month.

Result: Your ads show up once or twice to each person. No frequency. No impact. No memory.

And worse, you're reaching people who aren't ready to buy.

Someone who just implemented your competitor's tool last month.

Someone whose budget is locked until Q3.

Someone who's never even heard of your company.

You're treating LinkedIn Ads like a lottery. Hoping the right person sees your ad at the right time.

The Intent Signal Shift

Here's what changes the game: Intent-based targeting.

Instead of targeting all B2B software companies, target companies showing buying signals.

Companies that:

• Just raised Series A or B funding (they have money and need to show growth)

• Are hiring for marketing or sales roles (they're scaling and need lead gen)

• Recently expanded to new markets (they need pipeline in those regions)

• Launched new products (they need awareness and customers)

These aren't random prospects. These are companies that need your service right now.

The difference:

Traditional: 100,000 people, 10% in-market = reaching 10,000 potential buyers (but spreading budget across 100,000)

Intent-based: 5,000 people, 60% in-market = reaching 3,000 potential buyers (concentrating budget on 5,000)

Lower volume. Higher quality. Better ROI.

Why This Matters More for Ethical Companies

If you're building privacy-focused tools, sustainable platforms, or mission-driven software, you can't afford to waste budget.

Conscious buyers are rare. They care about values, not just features.

Generic targeting means you're paying to reach people who don't care about your mission.

Intent-based targeting + values-driven messaging = reaching the 5% of buyers who actually care about what you stand for.

That's the difference between:

"Another B2B SaaS tool spamming my feed"

&

"Finally, a company that gets it."

How to Actually Do This

This intent-based approach is used by leading LinkedIn Ads specialists like Philip Ilic, who's proven it works for B2B SaaS. What I've found is that it's even more powerful for ethical companies, because conscious buyers are already a small segment. Concentrating budget on high-intent conscious buyers is the ultimate targeting precision.

Step 1: Build your intent signal list

Use tools like Crunchbase (recently funded), LinkedIn Sales Navigator (hiring activity), or company websites (expansion announcements).

Identify 200-500 companies showing buying signals in your ICP.

Step 2: Upload to LinkedIn as a matched audience

Create a "Company List" audience. LinkedIn will match these companies and target decision-makers there.

Step 3: Allocate 60-70% of budget to this audience

Keep 30-40% on broader targeting for awareness. But concentrate spend on high-intent.

Step 4: Message matters

Don't use generic ads. Speak to their situation.

"Just raised funding and scaling fast? Here's how [Your Product] helps companies like yours build pipeline without compromising on privacy."

They know you're talking to them specifically.

The Uncomfortable Truth

Most agencies won't tell you this because it's harder work.

Building intent lists takes research. Updating them takes maintenance. Explaining the approach takes education.

It's easier to set up broad targeting, let it run, and blame "the algorithm" when results are mediocre.

But here's what I've learned: Ethical companies don't need more leads. They need the right leads.

10 conscious buyers who care about your mission > 100 tire-kickers who just want the cheapest option.

Intent-based targeting gets you those 10.

What This Looks Like in Practice

One of the first campaigns I studied: Privacy-focused analytics tool, competing with Google Analytics.

They were targeting "all SaaS companies" with generic messaging about "better data."

Cost per lead: $180. Lead quality: Sales closed 2% of them.

The shift:

Targeted only companies that:

• Recently switched away from Google products

• Mentioned privacy concerns publicly

• Were B-Corps or privacy-certified

• Had marketing teams of 5-15 people (sweet spot)

New messaging focused on "analytics that respects your users."

Cost per lead dropped to $85. Sales closed 15% of them.

Same budget. 7x more customers.

That's the power of intent + values alignment.

Where Most People Get Stuck

"This sounds great, but I don't have time to research 500 companies."

Fair. That's the work. That's also what makes it effective.

If it were easy, everyone would do it. Your competitors would already be doing it.

The companies winning on LinkedIn right now are the ones willing to do the harder, more strategic work.

Not just "set it and forget it."

Build. Test. Refine. Repeat.

The Bottom Line

LinkedIn Ads work for B2B software companies.

But only if you:

1. Target the right people (intent signals, not everyone)

2. Speak to the right motivations (values, not just features)

3. Concentrate your budget (narrow and deep, not wide and shallow)

Ethical companies have an advantage here.

You're not trying to compete on price or feature checklists.

You're competing on mission. On values. On doing business differently.

Intent-based targeting lets you find the buyers who care about that.

And those buyers are worth 10x more than generic leads.

Want to implement this for your company? Feel free to reach out.