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Facebook Ads or Boosted Posts. Which Should You Use?

Do you know the difference between simply boosting your Facebook posts and running Facebook ads? Ads, which cost no more than boosts, will almost always perform better, hands down.

Hi, I’m Perry Alexander, and today, let’s dig into why you may want to move your digital marketing budget away from just boosting your Facebook posts, and create Facebook ads, instead. Ads run circles around boosted posts for who and how far they can reach, more precise targeting, greater flexibility and efficiency.

Be sure to subscribe to my channel and hit the bell icon to be notified when I share more videos about digital marketing.

But first, how is your Facebook marketing doing? Have you tried Facebook ads yet, and are they working? If so, leave a comment that says “Yes.” But, if not, leave a comment that says “No,” and tell me what’s holding you back, so I can make future videos that address your needs.

The “Boost” Button is Simplest—But Not Best

There’s no denying that that the blue “Boost” button is simpler and quicker than setting up a Facebook ad. From there, you choose an audience, set your budget, and you’re done. But that simplicity can come at a cost in results. Setting up a Facebook ad does take more time and effort. So, let’s take a closer look at both.

You can have Facebook optimize the delivery of your boosted post for only two objectives: website visits and Facebook engagement, such as likes, follows, and comments. But that same content, delivered as an ad, can be fine-tuned to meet any of eleven objectives you choose from this chart. So, right off the bat, your chances for reaching your specific goals get better with ads.

And, with a boosted post, there are only a few criteria for which you can filter your audience: behaviors, interests, demographics, and location. With ads, though, you can drill down on your core audience by filtering for job title, education level, income, relationship status, even device usage, and so on. By narrowing who sees your message like this, you’re not paying for wasted exposure to people who wouldn’t have much interest. So the same budget—put towards an ad—will get you in front of more people with a chance of being receptive, than you can reach with a boosted post.

If you know a lot about your current customers, and want to drive website visits and conversions, strengthen your brand, build your email list, reach “look-alike” audiences, and reach people both inside Facebook and beyond, Facebook ads are definitely the way to go.

Look-Alike Audiences

And let’s not gloss over the concept of “look-alike” audiences. These are people who aren’t yet your customers, but who share many characteristics with those who are. It stands to reason that these are people who’d be most likely to notice and respond to your message.

Facebook Ads Reach Beyond Facebook

Another important advantage that ads have over boosted posts: they can appear outside of Facebook—on Instagram, Audience Network (which reaches thousands of websites and apps), and Messenger. In fact, Facebook studied people who saw ads across Facebook, Instagram and Audience Network, and found that conversion rates were eight times higher than for those who saw them only on Facebook. And, Facebook knows a lot about a lot of people—including non-Facebook users. They collect that information from countless outside sources and distill it so that you can reach just the people you want to. Creepy? Sure, but it’s a cornerstone of Facebook’s business model, and it’s golden for impacting your business.

Summary

To wrap up: at essentially the same cost as a simple boosted post, using Facebook Ads, you can pinpoint who sees your message on Facebook, but also to an audience far beyond. And along with the potential of Facebook ads, of course, you get the hassle of setting them up. But it’s not rocket science—it just takes some patience, time, and tenacity. Once you get the hang of it, it’s fairly straightforward.

So, if Facebook ads intrigue you, but feel like too much to handle, it’s one of the things I do for my clients. Check out my digital marketing website and let’s talk about how we might work together to leverage your marketing with Facebook ads.

Thanks for watching. And, if you liked this video, please subscribe, hit the bell, tell others about it, like it, and leave a comment below or even a quick question, and I’ll be sure to answer.

Resources and Links

digital marketingPerry Alexanderfacebook ads, facebook boosted posts, social mediaComment