Should you use Boosted posts or Facebook Ads to promote your page and grow your web brand? Read on to learn about the pros and cons of each.

Boosted Posts vs. Facebook Ads

Social media marketing is a key part of any successful brand’s marketing strategy for good reason. Facebook alone has over 1 billion daily active users and 2 billion monthly active users. It is available in over 70 languages. This means that over the course of a month, roughly a quarter of the world’s diverse population goes on Facebook.

While some internet marketers say this number will plateau and stop growing, others say that it will keep growing until it runs out of new users to sign up. Either way, Facebook users are a huge and important audience that cannot be ignored.

Obviously, social media marketers want to use this to their advantage, but it is not always clear which steps to take to do so. Many Facebook page admins wonders which of the advertising tools Facebook options will work best for them. One common question is this: Are Facebook ads are boosted posts a better option?

Are you thinking of including Boosted posts or Facebook ads as a part of your social media marketing strategy? Are you not sure which will help you achieve your goals? In some situations, it makes more sense to boost a post. In others, using the Facebook ads manager to create your ad is the better option.

The In’s and Out’s of Boosted Posts

The Boost feature lets you choose a post that you have already made on your timeline and promote it. It allows you to choose from a limited range of customization options for the post. You can choose a target audience, total budget, and the length of time you want it to run. You and any other page admins with access to your account can take advantage of this feature at any time. It will often pop up as an offer to page admins, like this:

How to Choose the Right Posts to Boost

One pro of using Boosted posts is that it is incredibly easy. All it takes is to click and set a few parameters. When you choose this option, you can promote your brand and page in as little as a minute. Many small businesses prefer using Boosted posts.

Facebook often encourages users to Boost posts and makes it very easy to do so. You may want to do this push your message farther into the News Feed, as getting into the News Feed organically can be tricky these days. In order for your Boosted posts to be effective, keep things in mind:

• Pick a post that will benefit you
• Boost your post after you have waited a few hours for it to generate organic reach and engagement
• Orient your objective around your goal
• Add relevant targeting
• Pick your budget and schedule
• If you have both Facebook and Pixel installed, Pixel tracking must also be enabled

Which Posts Should You Boost?

It can be hard to know which posts you should boost and which you should not. If you choose posts that are not engaging enough, you will get less reach but also spend more on advertising. Your Facebook Insights can actually help you make this decision.

Go into your Facebook Insights and check the engagement rate of your post. See how it compares to your usual engagement for posts. If your posts generally have about 5% engagement, but your latest post only has 2%, you should not spend money on boosting it. The key is knowing your bassline engagement rate and choosing to Boost posts that either meet or exceed it.

The Limitations of Boosted Posts

While Boosting posts is easy to do, that doesn’t mean that it is always the best strategy. They should not be used instead of Facebook ads. There are a few cons to Boosted posts that make it less effective than creating an ad from scratch in certain situations. These include:

• You can’t edit the photo that is pulled when you have a website link for a post
• Ads Manager has more targeting options
• If you have the Facebook Pixel installed you won’t be able to optimize your ad to get more conversions
• There are fewer placement options and budgeting choices

While Boosting posts is an easy and effective tool, it should not be your primary Facebook advertising tactic. With ads, you can target more specific groups and work toward more complex objectives.

Boosted posts only allow you to focus on website clicks or engagement. The full ads system lets you focus on objectives such as store visits, conversions, and lead generation. There are types of campaigns you simply have to make Facebook ads for, because Boosted posts do not offer those options.

Most of your budget and focus should be on Facebook ads you create with the Facebook Ads Manager.

Focus 90% of Your Budget on Facebook Ads

Facebook Recommends that 90% of your budget be spent on Facebook ads, while the other 10% be used for Boosted posts. Many of those who advertise on Facebook have more concentrated times of promotion where they spend a lot in a short period.

While you should focus most of your resources on ad campaigns, Boosted posts are a great way to keep your audience engaged and aware of your brand in between those campaigns.

SEE ALSO: Everything You Need To Know About Facebook Ads

Using Boosted Posts and Facebook Ads

Ultimately your social media strategy should involve multiple social media channels. Whichever you pick, Facebook should definitely be included. It is the most used social media platform in the world.

At roughly 2 billion monthly active users, its numbers almost double the massively popular app Instagram, which is another channel you might want to explore.

Your Facebook marketing strategy can include both Facebook ads and Boosted posts. While it should include both for optimal efficiency and reach, you should invest more into your ad campaigns than Boosted posts. Facebook recommends a strategy that is 90% Facebook ads and 10% Boosted posts. This way you can give your ad campaigns the resources they need to succeed while keeping your fans and community engaged between campaigns.

Would you rather use Facebook ads or Boosted posts? Why? Comment below…