Did you know that as of 2020, Facebook had over 2.6 billion monthly active users? Yes, that is over 1/3 of the entire world’s population!
Consequently, if you want to reach the greatest number of potential customers possible, Facebook advertising is number 1 in terms of reach.
However, a significant number of businesses, both small and large, struggle to know how to properly advertise there. For a start, do you know the differences between Facebook Ads vs Boosted Posts?
Many people are unaware that these are two separate services and end up only using Boosts to varied results.
Facebook Ads vs Boosted Posts: What’s the Difference?
If you have been operating a page on Facebook for business over any length of time, you have already likely been nudged to boost a post that may be outperforming other recent posts.
Facebook Ads are a little harder to find and take more effort to use properly.
As a result, boosted posts are primarily used by businesses in their infancy regarding advertising via social media.
This is not entirely negative, boosted posts have their benefits, as an example, one of the most appealing aspects of boosted posts is that they are straightforward, you just need to know three things to get up and running.
How much can you spend, how long do you want it to run and who do you want to see it.
This simplicity does come at a cost as the customization offered with ads is lost but giving a post that is performing well an added boost could be an excellent step forward.
However, where boosted posts deliver a general bump to the posts engagement, it does not tend to have the same ROI or clickthrough rate as Facebook Ads tend to yield.
This is largely down to the extremely customizable targeting and adaptability of Ads and where they can be featured.
On average, people are spending 2.5 hours a day on social media and messaging services, all of which can be targeted with Facebook Ads to improve exposure, build leads or convert sales when used appropriately.
As a result of this shift in behaviours and how people spend their free time, social media has absolutely changed the face of marketing.
Where boosted posts are just like other posts in every Newsfeed, ads are able to be implemented along the sidebar on a desktop, with featured listings in a Newsfeed and on platforms like Messenger and Instagram as well as in stories.
Therefore, this reach means that the exposure goes to the right people with extremely effective placement, and ultimately the real benefits from both boil down to whether your goals are focused on Long Term vs. Short Term goals.
The Benefits
Weighing up the pros and cons for which will yield the best results and enduring returns is important.
Below, we have outlined some of the key differences and best features of each.
Benefits of Facebook Ads
Ads are effective at driving people to your website and great as a tool for promoting a product or service, while boosted posts can be helpful in order to establish your brand and broaden awareness or when promoting an event.
You have far more control with Facebook ads which allows you to customize and target a specific audience where boosted posts target the audience according to basic details you enter.
This is an excellent option when creating targeted ads that will progress cold leads into real sales.
Instead of just posting a single ad and awaiting results, you can retarget Facebook ads. Warm them up with ad A and then later send ads B and C their way by selecting the option to retarget people who saw previous ads, slowly warming them to the sale.
Overall, ads fit campaigns better as the appearance is more customizable and the analytics to check performance give you greater insights that you can use to drive future sales too.
Facebook ads deliver ROI far more effectively. Additionally, it is also more effective in regards to established advertisers and larger budgets. Whereas boosted posts can be a cost-effective way to test the waters.
Benefits of Boosted Posts
Boosted posts that already receive engagement are likely to perform better when boosted and they are more successful at keeping people on the platform rather than driving them to your website or product.
Another benefit to boosted posts is that they stay on your page after the boost ends where ads disappear. the engagement and interactions you received will remain improving the presence of your page.
If you’re promoting a new product, have an announcement, or want to develop brand recognition in a target market, boost the post, it will present it in front of a wide range of eyes and increase brand recognition and awareness.
How to Begin Utilizing Facebook Marketing
Boosted Posts are incredibly simple to set up. All you need to do is choose a post already on your page and hit the large blue button that says Boost in the bottom right.
From there, you are asked a couple of questions about budget, duration, and target audience and once you make your selection, the post is reviewed and once it’s accepted, the boost starts.
With Facebook ads, you’ll need to visit the Facebook Business Suite where you can set up your ad and customize the audience to your campaign.
Remember, with a boosted post, you cannot edit the text or image once it’s live, Ads do allow you to edit after it’s live but each revision will again need to be approved before going live.
The Nitty Gritty
Creating a clear growth plan for your business is a fantastic way to improve results with so many shoppers online. There is a multitude of things that can be done to utilize social media within this plan.
Initially, this plan can be as simple as creating a text or image-based post once a week or you can delve deeper into more details.
If you possess any concerns or wish to have some assistance creating this plan, we can provide advice to help you start.
Within your plan, you should definitely define what your circumstances are
Which Is Better When It Comes to Your Business?
We have a brilliant guide aimed at start-ups to mid-level businesses and how they can utilize social media marketing but the choice of which to use is ultimately down to you and your needs.
Do you need to advertise a product you want to sell or grow your funnel of customers with data collection? Then Ads are probably your best option.
If the purpose of your ad is slightly more general and more about acquiring more exposure or even testing the market, boosted posts are an excellent and relatively cheap way to do that.
Greater insight into the pricing around social media marketing can be reviewed here.
And if you are interested in learning more about social media marketing and the associated costs, why not check out this article.
Start Using Facebook Marketing
So, with all the information from this guide, hopefully, you have a clear idea of where you’d like to start marketing. Facebook ads vs boosted posts and which will win you business and help you to achieve your targets.
There are a number of platforms you can make use of when advertising your business, to weigh up options between Instagram vs Facebook, click here.
If you do have any questions or would like a little extra help, we are happy to help, just drop us a line.
