Facebook Ads or Boosted Posts which one is right for you?
When it comes to advertising your products and/or services the multitude of advertising platforms can be a little overwhelming. For this post we’re going to focus solely on Facebook and shining a light on the difference between boosted posts and Facebook ads.
Hopefully by the end of this blog you’ll understand the difference a little better, but if not feel free to drop our Social Media Manager an email, she’ll help you out!
So, what’s a boosted post?
Typically a boosted post is you dedicating a specific amount of budget to an organic post. One that is already on your feed and previously created by you, it may be a post that has great organic reach but you want to push further or possibly an upcoming offer/give away.
It’s a super simple way of advertising and comes without the involvement of Ads Manager which some are a little terrified of. So it’s easy to see why people use it but there are very limited features in comparison to ads, these consist of:
- Defining the target audience
- Your budget
- Length of time to boost post.
If you’re only looking to reach a new audience and grow your brand awareness then a boosted post is possibly a better option for you. However, if you’re looking to go hell for leather on your ads, like increasing revenue, driving traffic to your site or store then Facebook ads are where you want to be. So keep on reading 👇🏼
Let’s talk Facebook ads
Though you see Facebook ads on your newsfeed, you’ll notice if you head onto that brands page that ad you’ve just seen isn’t on their timeline. That’s because it’s an ad, often referred to as a ‘dark post’ (it’s really not, we’ll talk about dark marketing another time). In a nutshell, a Facebook ad is running in the background only showcasing to the audience you have specifically requested and are likely to act on the objective you have chosen.
Here’s where it might get a little more complex because these ads are built within the Ads Manager but they boast benefits that even a boosted post can touch such as:
- Eleven detailed objectives falling under the awareness, consideration and conversion categories. Examples being app installs, in-store traffic, lead gen, video views and so much more.
- Ad placement options, say goodbye to only advertising on the newsfeed. Facebook ads allow you to advertise pretty much everywhere, think stories, Messenger, Instagram, audience network and more!
- Try multiple variations, got a few ideas you want to test? Then test them! The beautiful thing is, your budget will be optimised to spend on the best serving ad.
- Budget optimisation works in your favour, Facebook will literally put your money where your customers mouth is. Depending on consumer behaviour, your ad will be monetised effectively meaning you are bound to get results.
- Stats, stats and more stats. Facebook Ads Manager shows a hefty amount of stats, some may not be relevant to your campaign but others definitely will. You’ll gain significant insight into how your campaign performed, what creative worked/didn’t work and so much more. All you have to do is take away the key findings and put them into practice next time.
But which one do you choose?
This is totally up to you, if you’re not totally confident in using Ads Manager and are only looking to increase your brand awareness then test out boosted posts. However if you’re looking for the hard hitting results then Facebook ads are definitely the better option and more often than not are a much more efficient use of your budget and time. Though, there is another option especially if you have the confidence of using Ads Manager - why not use both? Drive those results and reap the rewards.
