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Does Boosting Posts on Facebook Really Work?

Posted at Jan 14, 2021 5:00:00 PM by Michelle Sternbauer | Share

Facebook’s news feed algorithm has made it more problematic for brands to get content in front of target audiences. To counteract this, smart brands have allocated a budget for promoting content to ensure their Facebook posts reach the right people at the right time. Thus, promoting content has become a regular activity for brands with evolved Facebook posting strategies. But what if I told you that boosting Facebook posts is not the best method to drive true business value for your brand? Before you close out of this blog, hear me out!

Does-Boosting-Posts-on-Facebook-Really-Work

Your social media strategy should absolutely include Facebook ads, and it's easy to choose boosting a post because it's quick and simple…but it isn't the solution to every problem.

To Boost or Not to Boost?

When you boost a post on Facebook, the post is delivered to the news feeds of users who fit within your general targeting parameters. While it's true that by clicking the little blue "boost” button next to a post on your Facebook business page, your content reaches more people than it would organically; the majority of these people don't respond to your content in a way that makes a big impact on your business. In a sense, by simply boosting posts, you are not leveraging the full power of Facebook’s advertising system.

Stop Boosting Facebook Posts - Do THIS Instead!

Do This, Not That

Before we break open the anti-Boosting can of worms, let us clarify that you would want to choose boosting a post IF (and only if):

  1. Your goal is post engagement.
  2. You are marketing the post to only one audience.
  3. You do not need to target placement or devices (desktop vs. mobile vs. column)
  4. There is a specified end-date for the campaign.

If you are new to the world of Facebook Ads, boosting your post is a good place to start, but there are many reasons why it isn't a sustainable long-term strategy.

The top reason we would tell you not to use Boost is because you want to get the highest return on ad spend (ROAS) and maximize your marketing efforts. When you use Boost, you miss out on many features that truly get you the best "bang for your buck".

Perhaps the best aspect of using Ads Manager is using Events tracking. If you are posting ads specifically to drive actionable traffic to your website, whether to add items to your cart, get leads, etc., using Events within Ads Manager gives you the ability to track how many people are being driven from your ad directly to that web-based action.

You can test audiences to see who performs best regarding the set Event, helping you further understand your audience and narrow down the list of people you're trying to target. Countless ad dollars have been spent poorly simply because the audience isn't optimized, removing any possibility of valuable ROAS.

Ad Budget Calculator for Social Media | THAT Agency

Instead of boosting Facebook posts, consider creating promoted posts utilizing Facebook’s ad manager. You can expand your content's reach while capitalizing on better targeting, more features, and higher contention for space in Facebook’s ad auction. Taking the extra step to promote posts through the ad manager goes a long way in terms of results.

Moral of the story: boosting a post is a good solution, but it's never the best solution. If you're going to spend the money, you might as well spend the extra time required to make that money work for you! Pro tip: if you take advantage of Facebook's Blueprint courses, you'll be an Ads Manager pro in no time.

How to Promote a Post on Facebook Using Ad Manager

Setting up a promoted post campaign in Facebook's ad manager is simple. Follow these six quick and easy steps:

  1. Click the green "create" button.
  2. Select either "brand awareness" or "engagement" as an objective. (Both work well, but in different ways!)
  3. Choose your targeting parameters to ensure your content reaches your target audience.
  4. Click the drop-down menu to designate a preexisting post.
  5. Launch the campaign!
  6. Repeat this process until you've promoted all applicable posts.

This process does require more time than simply boosting Facebook posts. However, according to my experience (and that of my colleagues at Facebook), this method generates better results at a more cost-effective rate. Go ahead and put it to the test! I'm confident you'll appreciate learning how to promote a post on Facebook using the platform's ad manager.

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Editor's Note: This post was originally published in September 2018 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

Tags: Social Media

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