Social media marketing is an excellent tool to market directly to your intended audience on social media platforms such as Facebook – one of the most popular platforms in South Africa. On Facebook, you can boost a post on your page’s timeline by applying money to that specific post and targeting a specific audience. In turn, the post will act as an ad, appearing in your target audience’s news feed in the same manner that an ad would.
However, a boosted post is not created in Ads Manager, which limits its customisation options. Today, we will focus on the difference between a boosted post and an ad created in Ads Manager, and why you should not boost your posts, but rather employ an expert in social media marketing to set up a social media campaign for your Facebook page.
The Benefits of Running Facebook Ads over Boosting Page Posts
When you set up an ads campaign through Facebook’s Ads Manager, there is so much more that you can do in direct comparison to boosting a post. Boosted posts aim to generate page likes, comments, shares, and brand awareness for your specific Facebook page, while ads that are created through Ads Manager can shift the focus to app installs, website conversions, online shop orders, and video views. Let’s compare the 2 on specific elements regarding social media marketing:
- Ad Placement: A boosted post can only be placed in a Facebook or Instagram News Feed, while a proper ad can be placed in News Feed side ads, Messenger ads, Instagram Stories, Instant Articles, and Audience Network.
- Ad Objectives: Every ad campaign should have an overall objective. Boosted posts can only focus on generating page clicks and engagements, while Facebook ads created in Ads Manager allow you to choose from a variety of objectives that include store traffic, conversions, and lead generation for your website.
- Creative Control: Boosted posts are posted as they display on your page – leaving no room for any creative control over the post. By creating an ad through Facebook Ads Manager, you have complete creative control, with the ability to create carousel ads, add description text, and include a call-to-action button to only mention a few formatting options that are available to you as opposed to boosting a post.
- Ad Targeting: Boosted posts only have a few parameters regarding ad targeting, which cover interests, age, and gender. Facebook Ads, on the other hand, gives you access to more advanced tools to create an optimised approach to ad targeting over which you have more control and can ensure that your ads display to the ideal audience and not just go to waste.
The Verdict: Stop Boosting Posts and Start Running Facebook Ads
When it comes to social media marketing campaigns, you would want as much bang for your buck as possible. The fact of the matter is that Facebook Ads will give you more tools, options, and control over your ads – allowing you to optimise your ads campaign and make the most out of each click. With Laetus Life, you have social media marketing experts in your corner!
We can set up, manage, and report on Facebook Ads campaigns to grow your online presence and build your brand through social media channels. People commonly underestimate the reach of social media ads and how effective these campaigns can be for their businesses – not only to drive traffic to their websites, but also to grow brand awareness and reach a larger audience. Contact us today and let our experts take your Facebook Ads campaigns to the next level!
