Facebook is still the most popular platform both for social media marketing and among social media users in general. With over three billion worldwide active users, Facebook allows you to reach a vast number of demographics. No matter what business you’re in, there’s likely a whole community on Facebook in need of your products or services. Yet, due to the workings of the algorithms, sometimes even your finest posts will only be seen by a fraction of your audience. You need more strategies under your belt than just posting organic content, and one of the best strategies is paid advertising.
You’ll find two main forms of paid advertising on the platform: Facebook ads vs. boosted posts. On the face of it, these two approaches may seem very similar, perhaps even identical, at first glance. But while boosted posts are the easiest form of social media advertising to get started with, the way they’re created and promoted is different from other advertisements.
As a full-service creative agency experienced in social media marketing, Anchor can help you find the right social solutions for your marketing strategy. In this article, we explain the differences between boosting a post vs. creating an ad and the pros and cons of each approach.
Facebook Ads Vs Boosted Posts: What Is the Difference?
While most marketers can benefit from both paid ads and boosted posts, boosted posts are usually the easiest way for beginner brands and marketers to get started. The number one difference is that boosted posts usually, but not always, begin life as organic posts. Facebook Ads are conceived from scratch using tools like Meta Ads Manager. While organic posts can turn into boosted posts with just a few clicks, Facebook Ads require a few more steps and a little more knowledge to create.
However, there are some similarities between Facebook ads vs. boosted posts. Both will help expand your reach, both show up on your bill as ads, and both help you to grow your follower count. But if you only rely on post boosting, you’ll eventually reach the limits of your powers and miss out on the benefits that Facebook advertising specifically provides.
Pros and Cons of Facebook Ads
A social ad is an ad you pay for to target a particular audience on social media. Created in Ads Manager, Facebook Ads have both advantages and disadvantages.
Pros:
- Plenty of creative customisation options. You can upload your own product image or video and use different crops, ratios, headlines, text and links, among other elements. Facebook Ads allow carousels, let you get creative with your descriptions and let you include call-to-action (CTA) buttons.
- The choice of where to place your ad: newsfeed side ads, Messenger ads, the Audience Network, etc.
- The choice of goals and objectives that align with your broader business strategy: awareness, traffic, engagement, sales, leads and app promotion.
- Increased options for targeting and reaching ideal audience demographics.
Cons:
- Facebook Ads can be complicated to create, which makes them more time-consuming for budding entrepreneurs and small social teams.
- Facebook Ads are often more expensive than boosted posts.
- Facebook Ads require in-depth research into the attitudes and habits of your target demographics in order to succeed.
Pros and Cons of Boosted Posts
Boosted posts help you reach new audiences that are as yet unfamiliar with your brand. Boosted posts are the simplest way to start advertising on Facebook. You don’t need any special strategy, design or copywriting skills. This approach also has its pros and cons.
Pros
- Boosted posts are the easiest form of Facebook advertising to set up. With just a few taps and clicks, you can turn any high-performing organic post into a boosted post.
- Boosted posts are one of the most affordable forms of online advertising.
- Boosted posts are versatile. With minimal set-up, they’re perfect for raising awareness of events, highlighting important updates and reaching both existing followers and others in their network.
Cons
- Boosted posts have more limitations than Facebook Ads. They have a more basic targeting set-up as well as a reduced amount of ad formats and customisation options.
- Boosted posts have limited performance insights as opposed to Facebook Ads, with less control over budget allocation. This makes them more appropriate for simple campaigns rather than more extensive ones.
When To Use Facebook Ads Vs Boosted Posts
When should you use Facebook Ads vs. boosted posts? While they both have their place in an effective marketing campaign, sometimes you need to decide which approach to take first. You may also have limited time or resources and need to prioritise one approach or another. When you’re choosing between boosting a post vs. creating an ad, here are the right times for each:
When to use Facebook Ads
- When you want to convert visitors to your website.
- When you need to generate leads
- When you want to drive traffic or generate orders to your store.
- When you’ve expanded your product range or opened a new brick-and-mortar business, and you want people to not only discover you online but take action and seek you out in other locations.
- When your social media following is strong, you want to attract attention to your offerings beyond your existing audience or customer base.
- When your goals don’t fit within the limits of Facebook posts, and you need to work with more advanced targeting options and analytics.
When to use boosted posts
- When you want to grow your following.
- When you have a small team or limited time, and you need to run your campaign in easy mode.
- When you have a new product and need to develop brand awareness for it.
- When you want to increase engagement among followers of your Facebook page.
- When you want to host giveaways or promotions.
- When you have an exceptionally good post, you want to improve visibility.
- When you need a simple and straightforward way to drive more clicks to your website.
Get the Most Out of Your Social Media with Anchor
If anyone knows when it’s the right time to use Facebook ads vs. boosted posts, it’s Anchor Digital. A digital agency based in Brisbane, we push limits, stretch boundaries and innovate new ways to grow your business. Using our creative services and embracing both the creative and technical aspects of marketing, we help purpose-driven businesses grow.
We stay on top of new developments in social media, including the most popular social media site around: Facebook.
As a Facebook marketing company, Anchor enhances your social media presence so it’s easier for your target market to find you on the world’s biggest social media platform. We conduct in-depth research into your customers in order to build the perfect foundation for your social media marketing campaign.
Using data and metrics, we track your results and identify cross-channel opportunities. We A/B test your landing page and your ad variations in order to build you the strongest Facebook advertising campaign possible. When you work with us, we’ll assign you a dedicated Brisbane-based content manager who will work with you every step of the journey, and we’ll keep you informed about your results using jargon-free plain English. To find out more, contact the Anchor Digital team.
