Facebook Ads vs. Boosted Posts: Which is better for my business?

Facebook Ads vs. Boosted Posts

There are a variety of Ad Types that Facebook has available to promote your business. It is important to understand:

1. The differences between the ads
2. Not all ads are created equal

Before we jump into the differences between Facebook Ads vs Boosted Posts, let’s make sure your Facebook account is set up correctly. The most common mistake that I see when working with clients is they do not have the necessary account settings to run the type of ads they want to run. You’ll want to have a Facebook Business account, not just a profile page for your business. I know, the semantics can get confusing. This resource should help you get started with creating a Facebook Business account.

 

Visual Differences: Facebook Ads vs. Promoted Posts

Boosted Facebook posts, sometimes referred to as promoted posts are not very flexible in terms of the actual ads. You may have recently seen something like this in your newsfeed.

Facebook Ads on the other hand, allow for a multitude of ad types in order to engage your prospects. Below is an example of a carousel ad.

Now for the good stuff

What is a Boosted Facebook Post?

Boosted Facebook posts are a type of Facebook News Feed ad that takes your Facebook post and amplifies it to a specific audience via Facebook’s News Feed. These posts will appear higher in the News Feed of your target audience, which helps more people see your post until your budget runs out.

Boosted posts are great for driving likes, but that’s about it. Don’t get me wrong, that is not a bad thing if the goal of the campaign is to drive more likes. The downside is that boosted posts don’t offer much flexibility or allow for advanced call to action capabilities such as book an appointment or getting a user to fill out a specific form.

What is a Facebook Ad & Should I run Facebook Ads for My Business?

When done right, Facebook ads can be used to:

1. Target your Ideal Customer
2. Engage the User and Create Value
3. Convert the User from a Visitor into a Lead

Facebook Ads allow us to create much more specific and strategic campaigns in the following ways:

Specific Campaign Goals

• Page Post Engagement
• Page Likes
• Website Clicks
• Website Conversions
• App Installs
• Event Responses
• Video Views
• More

Advanced targeting

• Age
• Gender
• Hobbies
• Income
• More

Putting it all together

Once you define the goal of the campaign, you can create the “workflow” of how you would like the user to interact or convert. Then you can create an ad with specific targeting to attract quality prospects.  

So which is better? Boosted posts or Facebook Ads?

My advice is to utilize all Facebook Ad Formats necessary to reach your specific campaign goals. The goal is to maximize your budget and get the results you are looking for at a sustainable CPA. This should give you a better idea of some of the ad types Facebook has available.

How do you think these tips will help you improve your marketing? Let us know in the comments section below!