Boosting Posts vs Facebook Advertising

Facebook Advertising is a great tool for small businesses to grow their audience as well as to generate sales. We know business owners LOVE to hit that boost button on their Facebook posts because it’s easy and “for just $10 you can reach 5,000 people”… BUT Boosting posts on Facebook may not really be worth it.

Breaking Down Boosting Facebook Posts

A boosted post starts as a post on your Page’s timeline. You can help that post reach an extended audience by applying money to that post. 

What does boosting posts do?

  • Generates Post Likes, Comments & Shares
  • Gets more people to Like/Follow your Facebook Page
  • Increases Brand Awareness

Cons of Boosting

  1. You cannot test your campaigns. Consider this the spaghetti on the wall approach. You’re just throwing things against the wall, hoping something sticks.
  2. The audience targeting is extremely limited compared to Facebook Advertising
  3. It diverts budget and attention from your marketing goals.

The short story, it’s not a good use of budget. Remember, Facebook is a business. They want your money. There’s a reason they make this extremely easy. They include highly attractive CTAs and regularly remind you to engage in these microtransactions. It’s how they became a billion-dollar giant. 

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Breaking Down Facebook Advertising

Facebook Advertising or “Dark Ads” can either be specifically designed ads with an image or video, ad copy, ad headline, and website URL or a Facebook Pages timeline post.

What does Facebook Advertising do?

  • Facebook Ads can be optimized for App Installs, Website Conversions, Video Views, Website Traffic, and just about anything else you desire. 
  • The Facebook Ads interface allows you to create multiple ad sets with different targeting parameters to test what’s most efficient for your campaign.
  • You have access to Facebook’s entire repertoire of targeting, features, and optimization strategies.
  • Extensive analytics… like a creepy amount of extensive.

Facebook Ads Compared to Boosting Posts

The ethos behind Facebook ads is that you can be more precise and creative to create a smooth advertising campaign. It is designed to maximize your campaign’s objectives and follow the buyer’s journey while nurturing leads.

Boosting posts has its place in a digital marketing campaign. But don’t let the desire for likes and follows to get in the way of generating business through your digital marketing.