Facebook is a great social media platform for marketing, you can gain exposure and engagement by simply posting content. However, many businesses also rely on paid advertising to increase reach and boost their presence on Facebook.
Why? If you can post for free, why pay for advertising? With digital technology and mobile devices widely available, it makes sharing content much easier. This leads to a staggering increase in posts that appear in a user’s newsfeed. That is, on average, 1,500 stories each time a user logs on! And if your users happen to have many ‘friends’ or follow many pages, then as many as 15,000 potential stories could appear!1
As you can see, organic reach (unpaid, free reach) is becoming less reliable in getting your posts exposed, imagine competing with the average of 1,500 stories for the attention of your user! If your business isn’t advertising on Facebook, you’re missing out!
So what’s the difference between a Boost Post and a Facebook Ad?
A Boost Post is simply having your published post appear in front of more people (hopefully leading to more engagement in terms of Likes, Comments, or Shares), by paying Facebook to extend its reach. Boost Post allows you to select your audience (such as location, gender, age, interests). It is very easy to set up on your company page with the click of a “Boost Post” button located at the bottom right of your post:
A Facebook Ad on the other hand, has a lot more options. You will need to set up a Facebook Ad in ‘Ads Manager’, where you’ll be asked to specify an Objective for your Ad. This could range from Awareness — such as ‘reach’; Considerations – such as ‘engagement’ (eg. Page Likes); or Conversion – to get people to take action and make a purchase for example.
In some instances, you can even do a “Split Test” to see which Ad performs better.
In short, Facebook Ads have many more features to tailor your Ad with a specific goal and to the right people by the way it looks. You can create a video Ad, a slideshow, carousel, or use multiple images adding information and captions. The post will also have an extra button based on your Objective, such as a “Sign Up” button for people to take action. Depending on the Ad itself, it can also appear on Instagram and the Right Side bar of the user’s page. Boost Posts do not have that ability.
Lastly, as Facebook Ads are created specifically to be an Advertisement, it will not appear on your Business Page. This allows you to monitor your Ad strictly for the purpose of advertising, you can even exclude those who’ve already Liked your page so you can focus on just reaching those new customers.
In summary, if you just need some extra reach and engagement for your posts, then Boost Post is easy to get started in giving you some exposure. However, if you’d like something specific to happen, for example, increasing the number of followers on your page, or getting them to take action such as ‘Sign Up’ for an event, then Facebook Ads are better suited.
Still unsure which way to go or simply don’t have the necessary time to spend on Facebook for your business? Here at Concept Designs and Marketing, our experienced social media marketing consultants in Gold Coast can help you get started on Facebook Advertising. We will sit down with you to discuss your goals, your social media marketing plan and where you can improve your overall Facebook marketing to optimise the advertising budget. Get in touch today!
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