How to Boost a Post on Facebook

Gone are the days of posting content on Facebook and hoping people see it. Unless your Facebook content goes viral and gets a ton of shares organically, all that hard work is going nowhere. Part of being a successful online influencer is knowing how to boost a post on Facebook. In this blog post, you will learn the following about boosting a post on Facebook:

• Why to do it
• How to do it
• How often to boost a post on Facebook
• The difference between a Facebook boost and a Facebook ad
• How to measure the success of the boost
• How much money to spend on a Facebook boost

Why to Boost a Facebook Post

Boosting a post helps your content appear in the news feed of select audiences. The timing of a boost post occurs either when you create the content or once you publish. You can use the same audience you select for other posts you boost in the future if you choose. Boosting a post on Facebook can help:

• If you are interested in increasing awareness of your blog, your Facebook page, or a select post
• If you want to send more people to your blog or website by promoting your website in a boost

How to Boost a Post on Facebook

(1) Select a post you have published on Facebook and hover to the “Boost Post Button and click it.”

(2) A screen will appear as indicated below. This is your opportunity to decide what the objective of this “boost” will be on Facebook. Ask yourself why you are boosting the post and what you hope to gain in return. In other words, what is the return on investment (ROI) on your hard earned dollars for this boost?

 

 

Here is a screenshot of the objectives from which you may choose:

 

For this example, let’s use website visits to encourage people to visit your website.

(3) Choose a call to action button from the list if desired. This is an important step because your call to action button should reflect the goal of your boost. Do you want people to learn more? Shop now and buy something from your online store?

 

(4) Determine who you want to see your boost.

This is an important step because you can show your boost to any number of people with certain interests, demographics, and behaviors, as indicated in the tutorial below.

(5) Determine your budget and duration.

An estimate appears of how many people your post will reach daily.

Elizabeth Keene, founder of the highly successful Chronicles of Cardigan blog and its associated Facebook page, says, “If you boost posts or are likely to, in my experience (I’ve been doing it with success for a long time and have over 12 million ad impressions, and 850+ thousand unique people who engaged after seeing one, on my page), use small $ amounts regularly ($1/day can work), targeting a variety of audiences vs. dropping lots of $$ on one boost sporadically. Unless that one boost is SO engaging that it goes viral and then, as a result, all one’s newly engaged fans continue to engage with most future, NOT-boosted page posts. Since that almost never happens, what one likely will see, is a severe drop off in reach after that huge boost ends. (Some of you can attest to this, I know.)”

 

Click done and you are on your way! That is the first step in the process. There are things you need to do to gauge the success of your boost.

I Changed My Mind

If you no longer want to spend the money on a Facebook boost, there are ways to stop it or temporarily pause it. Here’s a step by step from Facebook on boost disruption.

Measuring the Success of a Facebook Boost

Discover how your boost is performing by visiting the Insights tab of your Facebook page and exploring the different post analytics available to you. This is an opportunity to see what works, what does not, and how you can improve for next time. Spending a ton of money on a post that does not have a clear call to action with a quality image or video may not bode well. Monitor analytics.

Facebook Ad or Facebook Boost?

Boosting a post is great if you are looking for engagement. Even with targeting, the options are limited, but folks tend to boost when they want engagement to a core audience or followers whom they know already like your content, i.e., your followers.

Boosted posts are set up by Facebook to be optimized for engagement, like LIKES and SHARES, so keep that in mind. Facebook should be optimizing your content to whom you wish, so an ad may be your best bet for driving conversions. That is why Facebook has tracking pixels.

Creating an ad is similar except that you can send posts to people’s news feeds that encourage them to Like your Page, go to your website, or interact with one of your posts just like a boosted post.

You can get very specific and infuse different placements of your content with a Facebook ad.

Fast Facts

• Do not fill your image or video with 20 percent of text or Facebook will not approve.
• Yes, you can boost videos or images.
• Facebook ads are created in the Ads Manager, and they do not have to be something organically available on your page.
• Most people who are already fans of your Facebook page will never see your updates unless you choose to boost them.
• The minimum budget for a boost is $1 per day.
• Don’t over-boost: Being seen too much and overexposing yourself may incite unfollows. Balance is key.
• Using insights and analytics, determine what is working and then do more of that!
• A boost can only be done on content you have already published.
• There are some things you cannot boost. 

Hands-on Tutorial

Don’t Stop Now

Need more help with your social media strategy and planning? Check out these posts:

Why Bloggers Need a Social Media Plan

Three Keys to Creating Engaging Social Media Content

Are You Making These Social Media Video Mistakes?

Your Turn

Do you ever boost Facebook posts? What has been your experience with it? Any successes? Tell us in the comments below.

Carol Bryant is the Marketing and Social Media Manager for BlogPaws and runs her own dog blog, Fidose of Reality and its fundraising arm, Wigglebutt Warriors. When not busy playing with her Cocker Spaniel, Dexter, she stays far away from cooking. Her trademark is her mantra and is tattooed on her arm: My Heart Beats Dog.®

Images:  Anna Lurye and SpeedKingz / Shutterstock