To Boost or Not to Boost a Facebook Post

If you use Facebook for your business, there’s a good chance you’ve used the boost button to increase your reach.

Clicking this magical little button can result in your posts reaching more people, and getting more engagement, traffic, and even sales. Sounds good, right?

The Boost Post button can be found at the bottom right of any post on your page

The problem is, this strategy can also be a HUGE waste of money when done wrong. I see it all the time: business owners who use this strategy to (successfully) increase their reach, but then have nothing to show for it…no increased traffic, no additional page likes, and no sales.

This article shares WHEN it’s worthwhile to boost a Facebook post, so you don’t throw away your hard-earned money!

1. Only boost Facebook posts that help you achieve a specific business goal

Getting increased reach and even increased engagement can feel really good, but it usually doesn’t help you meet specific business goals.

Before you even think about boosting a post, consider WHY you’re boosting it. What tangible business goal do you hope to achieve? This could include:

• Increased traffic to your website or blog
• Increased page likes
• Increased leads (usually gained through directing fans to an opt-in page on your site)
• Increased sales
• Increased awareness of your brand or of a time-sensitive promotion

Once you’ve decided on the specific goal you want to achieve, be sure to include a strong call to action (CTA) in your post.

For instance, if your goal is to get increased clicks to your website, be sure to include a CTA like ‘Click to read more’ at the end of your post. This will ensure your fans know exactly what you want them to do after reading your post!

2. Boost Facebook posts that have already proven popular with your fans

I see it all the time: business owners get frustrated at the lack of reach they’re getting for a particular post, so they boost it. Sounds reasonable, right? I mean, isn’t that the whole point of the boost button?

Let’s look at it from a different angle. As you know, Facebook gives increased reach to posts that are performing well with your audience. This means that the more people who like it, comment on it, share it, etc., the more visibility Facebook will give it in your fans’ newsfeeds.

So, if a particular post isn’t getting much traction, there’s probably a reason for that. Maybe your audience just doesn’t find it that interesting, valuable or entertaining.

You may never know the reason it’s not performing well, but one thing’s clear: your fans just aren’t interacting with your post.

This is why it’s so important to only boost posts that have already gotten a decent amount of reach and engagement.

Using this strategy, you can be assured that your audience finds them interesting/engaging…and getting increased reach for your post will undoubtedly mean even more positive results: more likes, more shares, more clicks, etc.

This is a strategy we use often at Boom Social. In our Facebook Insights, we look to see which posts have performed well during the week, and then spend a bit of money to boost them. Since we already know those posts are useful to our audience, we can feel confident spending some money to get it in front of even MORE of our fans!

More reach for popular posts = more results!

3. Give your Facebook post a chance to get some organic reach before you boost it

This is an important one! It’s always a good idea to give your posts some time to get some organic reach before you boost it.

This is important for one primary reason: as already mentioned, you only want to boost posts that have already proven popular with your audience.

So, how long to wait? My friend, Jay Baer, from Convince and Convert, recommends waiting at least 6 hours.

If you’re in a hurry, you can probably get away with waiting just an hour or two. By that point, you’ll probably have a good idea of whether the post is going to be popular with your fans or not.

4. Know when to boost a post and when to advertise

The beauty of boosting is that it’s quick and simple. You can do it right from your page, and there are no complicated settings to select or adjust.

Facebook ads, on the other hand, have a bit of a steeper learning curve. It can take time and practice to get the hang of them, and this can be intimidating to some business owners.

However, Facebook ads also bring some distinct benefits that you can’t get with boosted posts. These include:

• In-depth targeting options: For instance language, behavior, etc.
• Ad scheduling
• Call to action button: “Shop now”, “Sign up”, “Contact us”, etc.
• Campaign goals: clicks to website, website conversions, offer claims, etc.

Because of these benefits, I recommend investing more heavily in ads than in boosted posts.

Conclusion

The good news is that even with the limitations of boosted posts, you can absolutely achieve a great ROI when you follow the tips above!

Want proof? Check out this post by Scott Ayres of Post Planner. With a meager $20 investment in boosted posts, he made $2,400 in sales!

Looking for more tips and strategies for making the most of Facebook ads and boosted posts? You might like:

Facebook Ads – 3 Ways to Boost a Post Like a Pro!

Get Amazing Results With Facebook Ads and $10 A Day!

The Ultimate Facebook Ads Jumpstart Guide

Do you regularly boost your posts? Are you getting the results you want? Share below!

About Author

Kim Garst

Kim Garst is a renowned marketing strategist and speaker who is trailblazing the use of artificial intelligence in digital marketing. With over 30 years of experience as an online entrepreneur, Kim helps entrepreneurs grow their business and authority online by using AI technology. She is leading the way with proven AI frameworks that help entrepreneurs build authority in their space.

She is keynote speaker and an international best-selling author of Will The Real You Please Stand Up, Show Up, Be Authentic and Prosper in Social Media.

Named by Forbes as a Top 10 Social Media Power Influencer, Kim is well-known for her skill to simplify complex technology and make the use of AI understandable for business growth. Her relatable, actionable advice helps guide new entrepreneurs to harness the power of AI to succeed in digital marketing. Kim is leading the way in combining human and technological skills to create a new model for AI-powered marketing.

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