@IScreamSocialMedia

The iScream Social Media Blog

Facebook Advertisements vs Facebook Boosted Posts

Educational Newsletters

When was the last time you saw a Facebook post from that local whiskey bar you followed a year ago with the Chapin & Gore Old Reserve 6 year that you couldn’t stop talking about?  Facebook is limiting the amount of true, user-generated content that it permits you to see — and this isn’t new! You probably heard the Facebook announcement that will push more friends and family posts and continue to limit company posts. However, your organic reach (people that follow you and can see your content) has been decreasing from 16% in 2012 to reportedly under 5% in 2016. So, as Facebook tries to constrain your company’s social media voice, what are the possible solutions?  Once you have optimized your posts and exhausted your ability to increase your organic engagement, where does one turn?  Read on for your guide to paid Facebook advertising

Facebook paid advertising consists of Facebook Ads and Boosted Posts. While both are executed through the Facebook Ad Manager platform, they are not the same.

 

1. Give Me (or my Facebook posts) a Boost  

Boosted posts are meant to “boost” the visibility of individual posts to your existing followers, in other words, get more of your existing follower’s eyeballs on your post. Boosting works well when you are looking to promote something to your already existing customers — perhaps you recently won an award or sponsored a charity event. Boosting is meant to maximize engagement, not attract new followers.

2. Target Practice With Facebook AdWords

Utilizing a Facebook Ad campaign can help you reach those that could be your customers. When you set up your campaign you will create a “target audience” for your ads.  At the most superficial level, you can choose to differentiate by: gender, age range, and geographic location.  If you dive into the platform you will see that there are over 25 different variables to pick from. You can get very specific with this targeting — Want a customer who likes to go out to a sports bar, makes over $50K per year, leases their car, and likes country music?  You got it!

After setting up your target audience, you must set a daily or total budget and bid amount. The amount of the bid is what you pay each time your advertisement is shown or clicked on whereas the budget is the total not to be exceeded. Think carefully about the bid as this is where you are going head to head with your competition. Facebook shows limited ads, so you need to be competitive enough that you win the space over your competition. Usually Facebook helps you figure it out by showing what an average bid looks like but you can decide if you want to go with their recommendation or place your own bid.

Facebook is a constantly changing platform, and one that has been slowly creeping towards pay for play. Stay tuned for more tips on Facebook advertising and general social media awesomeness by subscribing to our monthly newsletter.  And for more tips, tricks, and help managing your social media presence reach out to us at GetTheScoop@iScreamSocialMedia.com or call us at (305) 455-0720.