Facebook is one of the most widely used social media platforms internationally. With over two billion people active on the social network, Facebook gives companies an ideal platform to advertise their business. In this article, I will be discussing the differences between two widely used advertising methods that Facebook offers: Facebook boosted post vs ad. Furthermore, I will help provide insight into which advertising method will be more beneficial to you and your business.
Here’s what we will be covering in this article
- The basics of Facebook ads
- The basics of boosting a Facebook post
- How your budget will affect your overall advertising
- The cons of both advertising strategies
Both advertising approaches have pros and cons, but through my research and experience, I have found ads to be the most effective method of advertising a business. Let’s start by discussing why.
The super simple way to navigate Facebook ads
Incorporating advertising on social networking platforms into a marketing strategy can be a complex process, but Facebook designed the ads setup in a way that is simple to navigate and utilize. Facebook clearly walks you through all of the necessary steps, which is one of the main reasons why I preferred the ads option over boosting posts.
When choosing to ‘Create Ad’ on a page, Facebook directs you to a series of prompts. The prompts and questions about you and your business are designed to communicate to Facebook what specific target demographic your business is hoping to reach, and in my personal experience, Facebook has done very well in directing advertisements towards the correct audience. After completing the questions, Facebook gives the option to select where the ad should be posted, and there are many options that are not offered when boosting a post. The options are listed below:
- Desktop newsfeed
- Facebook sidebar
- Instagram feed (Facebook even allows businesses to advertise on another social media platform!)
- Mobile marketplace
- Messenger inbox
- Mobile newsfeed
Another reason why I prefer ads over boosted posts is because ads are more customizable. Ideally, a business wants as much customization as possible in order to most effectively find the right potential clients or customers. Not to mention, there are so many other businesses advertising on Facebook, so it is very important to be able to differentiate your ads in order to stand out in an economy that is increasingly competitive.
While it is apparent that ads have their benefits, boosted posts also come with a variety of awesome perks as well.
The super simple way to navigate through boosted posts
You may be thinking, “She just told me all of the great things to expect when using ads, why would I even consider just boosting a post?” Well, I’ll go ahead and answer that, because if you have a smaller business and haven’t quite developed your marketing strategy, boosted posts might be the better option for you.
Boosting a post on Facebook is simple and effective; therefore, a new small business entrepreneur might prefer this method. We all have to start somewhere, right?
Boosted posts are different from designing a whole new ad because essentially, you are just promoting or boosting a post that you have previously posted. Don’t look at it as recycling content, think of it as appealing to all new viewers as you have the option to select new target audiences when exercising this option.
Boosting a post is a quick route to get the job done. When selecting a post to boost, Facebook asks questions similar to the prompts given when creating an ad. Yet, the questions are less detailed, making this option a little bit simpler.
Another feature I personally liked about boosted posts is that a business does not have to go out of their way to do it. Right after something is posted to a designated business page, Facebook automatically asks if you would like to boost the post, allowing it to reach more readers. This includes those who have already liked a page or joined a group and those outside of the group that fit the target demographic. This option is ideal because little to no effort is required, and you really don’t have to have a creative eye to advertise this way.
My absolute favorite thing about boosting a post, aside from the fact it’s pretty straight-forward to set up, is that it takes around a minute (yes—ONE minute). This is a total game changer of a marketing strategy because you can spend more time focusing on kick starting your business, rather than tinkering with Facebook ad details.
Both of these options obviously come at a price, as Facebook’s main revenue streams come from ads and boosted posts. Both allow for you to select a payment plan to suit your needs.
How your budget will affect your advertising
Starting a business can be expensive, but the marketing portion of your business doesn’t have to be. Both Facebook ads and boosting posts allow you to create a custom budget to accommodate your needs.
Facebook does have a minimum spending limit for both ads and boosting a post. Both of these start out at one dollar per day, and the price continues to climb from there based on a company’s choosing. Facebook also offers a ‘lifetime budget,’ which is a set amount spent throughout the lifetime of a post/ad.
As far as Facebook’s website shows, there is no maximum you can set to boost a post or run an ad.
With that being said, the more money spent, the more your post or ad will be seen. If the minimum budget is one dollar per day of boosting a post or sharing an ad, and your company wants it to run for two weeks, you will invest a grand total of $14.
Even with flexible budget options, nothing is perfect, and both ads and boosted posts have their faults.
The cons: Facebook boosted post vs ad
Now it’s down to the nitty-gritty on which route to take for your business, so let’s discuss the flaws within creating a Facebook Ad:
- The time it takes to create an ad opposed to the time it takes to boost a post was significantly longer.
- Ads are generally more expensive because they offer multiple platforms and destinations to advertise on.
There are very few downsides to Facebook ads which is amazing.
While boosted posts have proven thus far to be the easy alternative to creating an ad, sometimes easy is not always best. Here are some kinks within boosting a post:
- Boosted posts are not as specific in the targeting portion of setup, making it hard to display posts to the correct audience.
- Once a post is boosted, it will only be shown on Facebook, which eliminates the chance to appeal to people on Instagram and different websites.
- The price of boosting is essentially the same as creating an ad, but simply boosting a post does not give you the same angle to reach as many potential buyers/clients.
Both methods have minor flaws, but what one is lacking the other one seems to have. This makes marketing through Facebook an awesome choice for your business.
In conclusion
When it comes to choosing between Facebook boosted post vs ad, it’s the small details that determine which one has the potential to be more beneficial for you.
If you would like my personal opinion, I prefer creating an ad over boosting a post, because it’s more customizable and you have more options for advertising.
Like anything though, nothing is perfect, so don’t give up–results will happen! Continue to read our marketing blog so that you can continue to grow your business.
I hope this article was useful in helping you choose the right Facebook marketing strategy. Read our article on content marketing strategy to get the basics on how to incorporate Facebook advertising into your marketing mix.
