Boosted Posts or Ads, Which One Works Best?

I frequently get this question and my response is always," it depends on your KPIs" (Key Performance Indicators).

Now, you are probably thinking… here we go again with the social media lingo! A little but I promise you that after you read the following definition everything will make sense once again.

KPIs

Meaning: Key Performance Indicators, are the metrics off which you are going to evaluate the results of the campaigns, posts, or any other action you take on social media. For example, if you are trying to drive more people to your website, and you create an ad with $5 that runs for 3 days, and you are hoping to get at least 30 people to visit your website. After the 3 day period, you see that 50 people clicked on your ad and consequently visited your website, and only 5 people commented on it. You can still say that your ad was a success because your KPI was website visits, not engagements.

Now that we cleared that definition out of the way, let’s pick up where we left! Once you stablish the metrics you are going to use to measure your success, you have to see the benefits that promoted posts (boosted) as well as ads have to offer. To make your life easier, I have included most of the benefits each of the options has to offer:

Boosted post

According to Facebook education, this type of paid social, allows you to get your post in front of more people but in a fewer steps. When you are boosting a post, Facebook gives you the following options:

• Budget: How much you want to spend

• Time: For how long do you want your post to be promoted

• Target audience:  The people you want your post to be seen by

Boosted posts are a great option when your KPI is reach.

Ads

An ad is another type of paid social but with far more options than a boosted post. With an ad you have the following capabilities:

• Budget: How much you want to spend by day or throughout the life of your campaign

• Time: For how long will your ad be running

• Target audience: It allows you to go deeper than a promoted post. Giving you options to target people based on their behaviors, preferences, interests, location, age, gender, level of education, etc.

• Objective: You can also pick the type of result you want to get from the ad. You can optimize for link clicks, conversions, engagements, reach, likes, store visits and lead generation

To learn more about all the ad options available, go to ads manager and run small tests, it’s the best way to learn what resonates with your audience.

Personally I believe that because of the extensive targeting options ads provide, it is easier to reach the ideal audience, get more accurate results, and better ROI (Return On Investment).

Overall, take a good look at your business objectives, KPIs, what you are currently doing on your platforms, and the results you are getting to be completely sure you are making the right choice when it comes to deciding between ads and boosted posts.