Written By Melissa Carrick

Wait…aren’t those the same things? Yes and no. Facebook terms can get a little redundant and confusing so we’re breaking down exactly what a boosted post is versus a paid ad and the strategy behind using both.

What is a boosted post?

A boosted post is a post on your page’s timeline that you can apply money to in order to boost it to a new audience and expand your reach. Hitting the “boost” button is the easiest way to advertise on Facebook. When boosting a post you only choose 3 things:

Who you want to reach (create a target audience beyond your current followers)
How much you want to spend
How long you want your ad to run

When should you boost a post?

When you want your content to reach people outside of your Facebook following
When you have a small budget (you can boost a post for as little as $1 a day)
When you want to save time, just hit that easy blue button!

What are paid ads?

While boosting a post is still considered an ad and will show up in Ads Manager, Facebook ads are created within Ads Manager and offer more advanced customization options. Choosing your campaign objective will help you reach different business goals and target audiences.

Facebook ads offer more options like different ad placements, specific ad objectives, creating your own ad, advanced targeting and more.

When to create an ad campaign…

When you don’t want the ad on your page’s timeline
When you have the budget to put behind it
When you want more targeting and placement options

Objectives for an ad campaign can be brand awareness, generating leads, driving traffic to your website, event registration and so much more.

When to use them

If your client has a small budget and runs limited-time offers, this is a great time to use the boost feature.

Some examples of successful boosted posts:

Ads with a short duration
Limited-time offers
Reaction or engagement posts

If your client has a large budget and wants to run a longer campaign without spamming their timeline, this is when Facebook ad strategy comes into play.

Some examples of successful ad campaigns:

Download our app (app promotion)
We’re hiring (traffic)
Rewards program (awareness)
Like our Facebook page (engagement)
Event registration (leads)

Next steps…

If you’ve only been doing one or the other, we recommend mixing both into your strategy! Boosted posts can make your life so much easier in the day-to-day and Facebook ads will help you reach more business goals in the long run.

Start by defining your goals, invest in a budget and take advantage of all Facebook advertising has to offer.