Boosted Post Vs. Paid Ad Pros and Cons
If you’ve got a digital marketing campaign for your business, you know that Facebook is among the most important places to advertise. In fact, in 2020, around 87% of all marketers in America were taking advantage of Facebook advertising. It’s one of the best ways to increase visibility, website traffic, and customer engagement. Close to three billion people use Facebook monthly, so it’s no surprise that this is an essential space to market your business.
There are a couple of main ways to use Facebook for advertising. The first is paying for traditional Facebook ads, which appear in users’ feeds. The other option is to create a regular post on your company’s newsfeed and then pay to boost the post. This will ensure it appears in more users’ feeds than it otherwise would. Which one will be most effective for your business? The answer might be complicated. In fact, the most accurate answer might be, “why not both?”. Read on to learn some helpful principles that may help with your decision.
Take Advantage of Ads Manager With Facebook Ads
Ads Manager is a powerful tool that Facebook offers to help you oversee your ad campaigns. Using this tool, you can select the best options to suit your needs, including:
Your marketing goals
Your target audience
Where you want your ad to appear
Your desired ad format
If you’re planning a long-term ad campaign, Ads Manager can make things simpler. For example, you can copy an existing ad, make some edits, and turn it into a new one. This way, you don’t have to start from scratch every time.
You can also make changes to multiple ads at once using the Ads Manager. For instance, if you want to increase your budget for all your ads simultaneously, you can perform a bulk action instead of changing every ad individually.
Drive Natural Engagement With Boosted Posts
One of the advantages of boosted posts is that they’re interactive. When your post appears in users’ news feeds, you’ve got an instant opportunity to start a conversation with them. Of course, the more your customers interact with the brand, the more familiar it will feel. Ideally, customers will react to, comment on, and share your posts and even tag their friends in the comments. The more you get users talking about your posts, the more Facebook will show them to new people.
How can you make the most of the opportunity when users see your boosted posts? A few beginner tips include:
Reply to every comment you get, at least at first. Get help with this if needed!
Post content that asks a direct question and invites users’ responses.
Post in a variety of different styles–don’t get into a rut!
Repost content that comes from your users, like comments, testimonials, and even photos and videos, with permission
Once your posts become a hub for discussion and connection, your customers will generate publicity for you–and it won’t cost you any extra!
Optimize Audience Customization and Targeting With Facebook Ads
Facebook’s Ads Manager gives you access to a wide variety of helpful tools that can optimize your ad campaign. In fact, when you first open Ads Manager, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the analytics available. However, all this information is a gold mine for you and your business! With Meta Ads Reporting, you can set up customized reports to your email address that let you know how your campaign is performing. The more you know, the more you can target your ads effectively.
Want to know how many people clicked on your ad and then went on to purchase an item? Curious about users’ first impressions when they scroll past your ad? Wondering whether any users are saving your posts to come back to later? Your customized reports can tell you all this and much more. With so much information, it’s easy to make quick changes to pivot your campaign when it’s not effective. You can also easily determine whether you should increase your budget for a particular campaign.
Kickstart Your Campaign Quickly And Easily With Boosted Posts
Boosted posts have fewer analytic tools available, so you won’t be able to do as much fine-tuning. However, boosted posts are quick and easy to use, even for amateurs. This means that your marketing campaign can quickly respond if something unexpected occurs.
One way to achieve simple wins is by boosting a successful post after it’s already been released. With ads, you’ll pay upfront and then hope the return on investment will be worthwhile. But if you already have a post that’s generated lots of engagement, you can choose to boost it and keep the momentum rolling!
Other Ways To Market Your Brand On Facebook
Boosted posts and ads are two major ways to market your brand on Facebook, but don’t forget about the other tools Facebook can offer! It’s important to maintain an effective Facebook business page, and you may also benefit from a branded Facebook group.
Business Pages
When customers want to learn about you, Facebook is one of the first places they’ll look. Make a good impression with eye-catching images, detailed information about your business, and regular, engaging posts.
Groups
When your business page runs a Facebook group, you can invite customers to an exclusive space to connect with each other–and your brand. Depending on your brand and product, this can be highly effective. For example, let’s say your company offers language-learning software. A Facebook group could let users share tips and tricks for learning a foreign language. Of course, you’ll need to do some group administration to keep things on track.
Need Some Help From The Pros?
There’s no simple answer to whether boosted posts, Facebook ads, or both will be the best choice for your business. If you need help figuring out your next move, get in touch with Personalized Creative today. We understand that the right strategy looks different for every business out there. We can help create a marketing plan for your business that’s as unique as you are!