How to Boost Your Business by Boosting Facebook Posts

If you run a Facebook page for your business, you’ve probably noticed the blue “Boost Post” button in the lower right corner of your social posts when you’re logged into your business account. When you hover your mouse over it, it says, “Boost your post to reach more people.”

You can boost almost any post from your Facebook page, so long as it meets Facebook’s advertising policies. But is it worth the investment? Let’s take a deep dive into Facebook boosting, including tips and budget recommendations!

What Are Facebook Boosted Posts?

Boosted posts are ads you create from posts that are on your Facebook page. (Learn how to create them here.) Boosting a post may help you reach new people who might be interested in your products or services, or get more people to react, share, and comment on your post.

Why should you spend money to have more people see your Facebook posts? Because your content may not be seen by the right people – or many people at all – otherwise.

Why Is Boosting on Facebook a Must For Businesses?

“But I used to get so much traffic from my Facebook page when I first started!”

Are you referencing a time before 2009? Because that’s when Facebook introduced the News Feed algorithm. They did so because they realized the chronological News Feed was unsustainable – there was too much content for any user to be able to sift through each time they used the app.

Much like Google’s, Facebook’s algorithm is designed to provide the best user experience possible by showing things it thinks the user will be interested in. When your business publishes a post, Facebook first shows it to a small sample of your audience. If that sample finds your post engaging – demonstrated in clicks, likes, shares, etc. – then Facebook shows it to even more of your audience. This is called organic reach.

When you boost a post, you’re paying Facebook to help that post reach more people than it would organically.

Boosted Posts vs. Facebook Ads: What's The Difference?

Facebook ads and boosted posts can both amplify the reach of your content, but they are not the same thing. All boosted posts are Facebook ads, but not all Facebook ads are boosted posts.

With a boost, you’re putting money behind an update that’s published to your Facebook page. Facebook ads, on the other hand, are created independently in Ads Manager, and they don’t show up within the posts on your page. They show up only in the News Feeds of the audience you select, which can be highly specific. You can target ads to users by age, gender, location, interests, and other criteria.

Boosted posts have targeting options too, but they’re basically Diet Ads Manager. They’re very simple to create, making them attractive to business owners who find Facebook Ads Manager overwhelming and complicated. But boosting doesn’t come with nearly as many options that are available to you in Ads Manager, where you can choose exactly who you want to target, where you want your ads to show, and what the goal of your campaign is. Facebook ads also have more creative options than Facebook posts, with options for carousel ads, slideshow ads, canvas ads, and more.

Are Facebook Boosted Posts Worth the Money?

For most social media campaigns, the added functionality of Facebook ads makes them a better fit than boosting. If you have a very small budget for Facebook, nine times out of ten, we will recommend putting it toward ads created in Ads Manager.

However, boosting has its place – it all depends on your Social Media Marketing goals. Boosted posts are a great strategy for increasing engagement and boosting your brand’s overall social presence. Remember – with Facebook's algorithm – your fans only see posts from pages they engage with. Therefore, using boosts to drive engagement can help all of your content reach a wider audience. It’s also an effective way to make sure your followers see a special post.

Here are a few scenarios where promoting a Facebook post might be worth the money:

• When a post is getting better-than-average engagement organically.
• When a post contains an important announcement, like an event or limited-time offer.
• When you want to make the most of your Facebook content by turning your best performing post into an Instagram ad.
• When you want a post to reach a specific audience.

How To Choose Which Posts to Boost and How Much To Spend

To be completely honest, choosing which Facebook posts are boost-worthy and setting a budget can be quite tricky. There are many factors to consider, including the audience you’re trying to reach, the area you’re targeting, your industry, and the type of content you’re boosting.

How much to spend depends on, well, how much you’re willing to spend to achieve your goal. For example, if your goal is to get 10 new followers and you’re willing to spend $2 getting each like, you could try a $10 boost over five days.

If you want a concrete example, Scott Ayres over at PostPlanner published a case study about a time where he spent $20 boosting a post and made $2,400 in sales. Just $20 helped him reach 4,600 people, gain 22 new followers, and earn 71 reactions on the post.

Here are a few things to consider when setting a budget and duration for your boosts:

• Facebook requires a minimum of $1 per day for ads, which can run up to 14 days.
• Many social media experts recommend boosting a post for a week or less.
• It will cost more to reach people when boosting a post close to a holiday season.
• Facebook advertising costs, on average, $0.97 per click and $7.19 per 1000 impressions.
• Spending $1 might reach 80-100 people on the low end, or as many as 400 people if you’re lucky. Spending $5 could reach 400 people or up to 2,000 on a good day.

Choosing which posts are boostable is another conundrum. Before you boost a Facebook post, ask yourself:

1. What is the goal of the post? There’s an obvious reason to boost a post you believe is going to give the viewer a reason to become a customer or follower. But if the post doesn’t have a clear goal, think twice about spending the money on a boost. If it’s unlikely to drive traffic to your website or get people to follow your page, you could end up paying for impressions from people you’ll likely never hear from again.
2. Does the post include a clear call-to-action? If your post clearly tells people to do something, boost away. If it doesn’t encourage people to take action, and you’re just looking for engagement, start with a small budget, and carefully analyze performance before increasing it.
3. Does the post link to a solid landing page? Posts with links are great boosting material – as long as the landing page you’re linking to is useful. Customers get turned off when they’re sent to a page that doesn’t match their expectations.
4. Is the post designed to generate leads or sales? If so, it’s probably a better fit for an ad created in Ads Manager.

Creating content to share on Facebook takes time and money. Facebook boosting can help ensure your hard work gets seen and noticed, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can quickly blow a lot of money boosting and get little results.

Do you want some help? Our social media experts can develop a content and boosting strategy that’s designed to produce real results for your business! Contact us today to learn more about our advertising options for social media.