With 2.38 billion active users per month (as of the first quarter of 2019), Facebook is the biggest social network worldwide and a highly effective social advertising channel. And, if you’re like many business owners, you may have started investing in social media advertising by boosting a post on Facebook. Perhaps you were the recipient of one of Facebook’s promotions for its boosted posts: “Get more likes, comments, and shares! Boost this post for $$” or “Claim your $$ credit now to boost your post to reach xxxx number of people.”
These promotions sound like a great deal. But thanks to the ever-changing Facebook algorithm, only a small segment of people will ever see your boosted post at any given time. But before you abandon boosted posts entirely, let’s examine exactly what boosted posts are and why they may or may not be worth your advertising dollars.
What is a Boosted Post on Facebook?
Boosted posts are paid content promotions that help you extend your reach across Facebook’s mobile and desktop news feed. To put it simply, they are a method of making your post stand out from all of the viral videos, photo shares, and status updates familiar to most Facebook users.
While you’re writing an update for your page, a little blue “boost post” button will appear on the bottom right of your post, prompting you to choose a target audience, the duration you want the ad to run for, and your total budget. You can also choose between two objectives. Do you want more engagement (likes, shares, and comments) or do you want to encourage people to visit your website? Note: this option is only available if your post contains a link.
Boosting a post is simple and quick—and available as an option for most of your older posts. Your content will likely reach more people than it would have organically, and it may also reach new people who are likely interested in your page or business but don’t currently follow you.
What is a Paid Advertisement on Facebook?
Paid ads are fully customizable promotions or product offers that businesses can create from the Ads Manager, Facebook’s targeted advertising platform. Using metrics such as gender, age, location, marital status, interests, and more, the Ads Manager allows you to the target specific people who are most likely to become your customers. These tools for customization and targeting also allow you to engage with your customers and track your campaign’s progress.
Facebook also gives its advertisers a choice of ad placement. While boosted posts can only appear in Facebook’s news feed, paid ads can appear in stories, messenger, marketplace, and the right sidebar. The full Ads Manager system also lets you choose marketing objectives such as store visits, brand awareness, conversions, and lead generation. And, if you decide to change anything about your ad, Facebook allows you to alter it at any time.
Facebook’s paid advertisement system relies on the auction model where businesses compete to show ads to their desired audience. Advertisers enter the auction by setting the amount they are willing to pay for an impression, action, or conversion from someone in their target audience. This amount is known as the bid. Advertisers can choose to have Facebook automate their bid or they can enter it manually to have more control over their costs.
After a bid amount is set and a campaign is scheduled to run, the Facebook Ads Manager offers a comprehensive tool for analyzing results. Here, you can separate campaigns by objectives and dates, and measure the performance of every single ad by cost-per-click, cost-per-conversion, impressions, unique link clicks, and more.
Conclusion
We’ve determined that Facebook ads offer more real estate and targeting options than boosted posts. They also offer more insights on campaign effectiveness so you can adjust your ads for a higher success rate in the future.
However, don’t discount the benefits of boosted posts. Remember, they’re quick and easy—and a great way to start becoming familiar with Facebook’s ad terminology and reporting features. Overall, they are less expensive than paid advertising and a great way to gain social exposure for existing Facebook posts.
Do you want to take advantage of everything that a Facebook ad campaign offers, but don’t have the time, social media savvy, or resources to do it yourself? Give the social media experts at Millennium a call. Our social media marketing plans help clients build social campaigns that increase lead generation and brand awareness.
About Millennium Agency
Millennium Agency is a national, award-winning, digital, creative, content/PR, and video marketing firm. With offices in Boston and New Hampshire, our team unites creative branding and data analytics to accelerate our clients’ growth, while combining our clients’ vision with our marketing expertise to increase sales opportunities and drive brand success. From video advertising and web design to social media and PR, Millennium can guide your marketing efforts every step of the way. Contact the professionals at Millennium Agency to learn more!
Linda Fanaras is the President and Founder of Millennium Agency (www.mill.agency) located in Manchester, NH, and Boston. She can be reached at 877-873-7445 or lfanaras@mill.agency.
