What is the difference between boosting a post and creating a Facebook ad?

I get asked this a lot and it’s a great question to ask when you’re ready to incorporate ad spend into your digital marketing plan. 

When you boost a post, you have the choice of putting ad spend behind a post on your Facebook page timeline.

It’s important to understand the difference between a boosted post and a Facebook ad and also why you want to incorporate ad spend into your Facebook marketing plan so you can make an educated choice as to whether you need to boost posts or run Facebook ads.

Who can I target with a boosted post?

You can boost your post to reach one of the following audiences:

• Custom audience (targets an audience based on their interests, age and gender of your choosing)
• People who like your page 
• People you choose through targeting 

Where does a boosted post appear?

You can boost your post to reach one of the following audiences:

• Custom audience (targets an audience based on their interests, age and gender of your choosing)
• People who like your page 
• People you choose through targeting 

Is there a difference between a boosted post and a Facebook ad when it comes to budget?

You can choose the budget of your choice for both a boosted post and a Facebook ad.

An ad is more flexible and customizeable, and has more budget options.

That said, there isn’t a major difference between the two when it comes to ad spend.

One caveat is that specific ad objectives have different minimum ad spend requirements. Boosted posts can be run for a minimum of $1 per day.

What is a Facebook ad compared to a boosted post?

A Facebook Ad is created in the Facebook Ads Manager and has more capabilities for customization.

This includes:

• targeting a niche audience
• choosing an objective
• creating ads that retarget audiences
• choosing a button option of your choice to be included in an ad

A post is “boosted” when you put ad spend behind a post published to your Facebook timeline. The post cannot be changed, you are simply choosing the audience to reach and putting ad spend behind the post.

Will I have better data from an ad as opposed to a boosted post?

The analytical data is more defined for a Facebook ad compared to a boosted post.

You can choose to retarget the audience of a Facebook ad with another ad when the ad is created in the Facebook Ads Manager. 

Does a Facebook ad show up somewhere other than a Facebook and Instagram Timeline?

Yes, here is a list of the places a Facebook ads can be placed:

• Facebook news feed (including side ads)
• Instagram news feed
• Messenger app
• Instagram stories
• instant articles
• Audience Network

You can customize which placements you prefer in the Facebook Ads Manager.  

If I want to make a sale, should I choose to boost a post or run a Facebook ad?

It is going to depend on several factors but I recommend using a Facebook ad to sell a product. The reason being is that it takes several touchpoints (the latest data shows 8 on average) to make a sale.

The Facebook Ads Manager will allow you to set up a range of ad objectives that can build on one another to retarget your audience and eventually, turn the audience into paying customers.

It’s a process that takes time and you will need to gather data through the Facebook Ads Manager first, but it’s a more streamline and strategized process when running ads in the Facebook Ads Manager opposed to boosting a post.

What is the overall difference between a boosted post and a Facebook ad?

Overall, boosted posts are limited in features and capabilities compared to ads because they are not created in the Facebook Ads Manager and cannot be customized to the extent of a Facebook ad.

Boosted posts can be optimized for page likes, comments, shares or brand awareness.

Facebook ads can be optimized for these options and more which include targeting audiences from data gathered outside of Facebook, such as an email list or website traffic. These optimization options include website conversions, video views, shop orders, placement on third party affiliated websites, and more. 

Facebook ads can be customized extensively based on the objective you choose. Therefore, you can create an ad that meets your marketing goals.