Facebook is by far the largest social media platform with almost 3 million active users monthly. With such a large potential audience, it can be very difficult to pull your target audience out of that group. If you are having trouble gaining visibility and engagement, you might consider using Facebook Ads to push your brand to a wider audience. However, it is a process that can be complex and may require a great financial investment. If you are looking for a quick, easy and relatively inexpensive way to get your brand in front of more eyes, the Facebook “Boost Post” button may be the solution you are looking for.
What is it?
A Facebook boosted post is essentially just like any other post. The difference is that you spend a little extra money to promote it to users that would otherwise not see your organic post. It is available to anyone with a business page and eliminates the hassle of advertising on Facebook because you do not need any knowledge of Ads Manager. All you have to do is pick the post you want to promote and click on the “Boost Post” button.
What are the benefits?
As of 2021, Facebook’s organic reach is down to 5.2%. Organic reach refers to how many people you can reach for free on Facebook by posting any content to your page. This means that unfortunately, you cannot rely on solely the Facebook algorithm to get your content in front of all the users you would like to reach. Even the people who like your page will only see a small percentage of everything you post.
Facebook’s ‘Boost Post” button is the fastest and easiest way to get your content seen by more users. The key benefits that come with boosting a post include:
- You can reach more of the right people: The Boost Post button allows your page and content to reach people beyond those that have liked your page. Facebook’s built-in targeting options will also help you reach people who are most likely already interested in your offerings.
- You can create a basic Facebook ad in just a few minutes: In about five minutes or less, you can set up a basic Facebook ad by simply selecting the post and selecting your boost options (goal, call to action, audience settings, etc.). Not to mention this can all be done on your mobile device.
- You get access to analytics: After boosting a post, you will receive analytics that tell you how well the post performed. This will help you refine your Facebook marketing strategy along the way to eventually see the best possible results.
- You can extend your Facebook reach to Instagram: As Facebook and Instagram are affiliated, you can choose to have a boosted Facebook post appear as a boosted Instagram post as well.
How is it different from Facebook Ads?
As stated, boosted posts are just a simpler version of Facebook ads. However, it does have some key differences.
How Do You Create an Ad?
Boosted Posts: Apply a budget to extend reach of an existing post.
Facebook Ads: Create an ad in Facebook Ads Manager.
What Results Will You See?
Boosted Posts:
- Messages
- Engagement
- Video Views
- Website Visitors
- Leads
- Calls
Facebook Ads:
- Brand Awareness
- Reach
- App Installs
- Traffic
- Lead Generation
- Messages
- Engagement
- Video Views
- Conversions
- Store Visits
- Catalog Sales
Where Will The Ads Appear?
Boosted Posts:
- Facebook news feed
- Messenger
Facebook Ads:
- Facebook Desktop and Mobile News Feeds
- Facebook New Feed Side Column
- Messenger
- Instagram Stories
- Instant Articles
- Audience Network
What Are The Ad Formats?
Boosted Posts:
- Based on a standard Facebook post
- Standard Call-To-Action Buttons
Facebook Ads:
- Carousels
- Custom Call-To-Action Buttons
Who Are The Ads Targeting?
Boosted Posts:
- Interests
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Demographics
- Behaviors
Facebook Ads:
- Advanced Audience Targeting
- Lookalike Audiences
How to boost a Facebook post?
Go to your Facebook Page: This is where you will find all your previous posts.
Scroll to the post you want to promote: Click the blue “Boost Post” button below the post.
Select the goal for your boosted post: Boosted post goals include get more messages, get more engagement, get more website visitors, get more leads and get more calls.
Choose what the call-to-action button in your Facebook ad will say: The call-to-action options will vary by the goal selected in the previous step, but some examples include “book now,” “learn more,” “shop now,” “sign up,” “send message” and “call now”.
Choose the audience for your boosted post: You can choose a target audience of people who already like your page, people who like your page plus their friends or a custom audience using Facebook’s target options. These custom targeting options include things like gender, age and location.
Choose your duration and timing: Select how many days you would like you boost your post for. You can use the “run ad on a schedule” option to boost your post at certain times of the day or certain days of the week. This is a great option if you want to save your boosting for the times when your audience is most present online.
Use the slider to set your budget: This is the amount you will spend for the duration of the post. The minimum amount is $1 a day.
Choose your ad placement and select your payment method: Ad placements include Facebook, Instagram and Facebook Messenger.
Check your ad preview and estimated results: Once you are pleased with all your selected options, click the “Boost Post Now” button at the bottom of the screen.
Most social media marketing experts agree that it is more effective to boost your best-performing content as it is more effective than boosting a post that has little organic engagement. Before you decide to boost a post, wait some time for it to gain organic traffic. If there is high engagement without boosting, this means that users genuinely find it interesting, which means it is probably a good idea for boosting. Do keep in mind that the type of content you boost will be dependent on your goal.