Why you should avoid hitting ‘boost post’!

I want to start this off by saying that ‘boosting’ shouldn’t be considered a dirty word. In all transparency… even I’ve boosted posts in the past. I’m not here to shame those who do it, because you know what? For those who are looking to simply and quickly get their post in front of more eyes on Facebook, this advertising tactic has merit. But, unfortunately, that’s where the brownie points end…

Overall, I get why boosting posts is enticing for small business owners. It’s a much more accessible and less intimidating entry point into Facebook Advertising. But, if you’ve ever boosted a post in the past, I want you to REALLY think about what you achieved from it (beyond a few extra likes). Did you, say… increase your booking rate by 5%? Or, perhaps get 10 new sales of that new shoe range you just launched?

No? Can’t remember? Well, you wouldn’t be alone. It’s HARD to track real success from just boosting a post. You may get the one-off fluke sale from this type of activity – but for the most part, the return on ad spend (ROAS) is just not there. Whilst it’s great that Facebook have made an accessible advertising offering like the boost post feature – for marketers like myself who are in the trenches of Facebook Ads Manager every day, and who see the capabilities of the platform, it just feels like this offering from Facebook is a way for them to make easy money off users who don’t know better.

So… I want you to know better. I want to share my knowledge so that you, as a business owner or budding marketer, can make informed decisions about your ad spend and know exactly how to drive the best bang for your buck.

Anyone who has come to my workshops, or who has worked with me, knows that I’m all about making the most of Social Media – particularly when it comes to advertising. And for me? That means making sure that I’m not only using the breadth of Facebook’s ad objectives to the best of their ability, but I’m also tracking every outcome to the nth degree. So, while I’ve got your attention… let me take you through some of the reasons why you might like to explore Facebook Ads Manager next time as opposed to hitting that tempting blue ‘boost’ button:

• Ads Manager has customised objectives for certain desired user outcomes. Want more video views? They’ve got an objective for that. More app downloads? You better believe they’ve got you covered. In fact, not only that, but depending on what type of ad objective you choose, Facebook will optimise your content to try and find users who are more likely to conduct that type of activity. (e.g. Peter likes to click through to websites from ads, so we’ll serve him Click to Website Ads). Dope.
• The targeting options available in Ads Manager are soooooo much more advanced. The types of audiences you target (and re-target to) can really change the game when it comes to your advertising – so why wouldn’t you want to deal with the best?
• You. Can. Track. EVERYTHING. Want to see how many people watched your video for 10 seconds? Ads Manager will have you covered. Or perhaps you want to see how many people purchased online? With the help of Facebook’s Tracking Pixel(something we’ll get into in another blog post) you can measure allll of that. Sounds a little bit beefier than simply getting those few extra likes from a boosted post, doesn’t it?

Ultimately, the full-throttle Facebook Ads creation process offers so much more customisation. You have more room to optimize for your exact campaign goals and develop creatives that will rock your customers’ worlds – something which boosting a post could never compete with.

I understand that stepping away from the ‘boost post’ button seems intimidating. But the alternative (throwing money down the proverbial drain) just isn’t an option in my eyes. So, if you’d like to get a bit savvier about how you spend on Social Media – invest in your learning! In my next #PropelWineWorkshop, I’ll be taking beginners through Facebook Ads Manager and showing you how to achieve success through increasing your understanding of how Facebook advertising works.