Facebook Ads vs Boosted Posts: Understanding the Difference

Facebook is a globally popular platform. Nowadays, everyone has a Facebook profile. As a result, it is an excellent platform for promoting your company. Facebook Ads allow for extensive customization, including the selection of specific objectives (e.g., website clicks, app installs, lead generation), audience targeting (based on demographics, interests, behaviours, and so on), ad placements, and ad formats (e.g., carousel, video, slideshow).

Facebook also provides customization options:

Advanced targeting: With Facebook Ads, you can create highly targeted campaigns that reach users who are more likely to engage with your content or take the desired actions.

Budget Flexibility: For your Facebook Ads, you can set a daily or lifetime budget, and you have more control over how your budget is allocated.

Ad Manager: Facebook Ads are managed via the Ads Manager, which offers detailed analytics, A/B testing, and performance tracking.

Campaign Objectives: Facebook Ads are created to support specific marketing objectives such as awareness, consideration, or conversion.

Let’s move on to Boosted posts.

Boosted Posts: Boosted posts are a quick and easy way to amplify your social media content and expand its reach beyond your existing followers. It is frequently used to publicize important announcements, limited-time offers, special events, or other content that you want a larger audience to see. Businesses may choose more advanced advertising options that allow for more customization and targeting for more complex advertising campaigns with specific objectives, as discussed earlier in this Blog.

Let’s take a look at the Boosted Posts customization options.

Simplified Promotion: Boosted Posts are a simple way to promote your existing Facebook Page posts to a larger audience without having to create detailed ads.

Audience Selection: While Boosted Posts provide some targeting options (e.g., location, interests), they are not as comprehensive as those provided by Facebook Ads.

Budget Restrictions: With Boosted Posts, you can only set a basic budget and duration for promotion; Facebook handles the targeting algorithm.

Focus on Engagement: Boosted Posts are generally better suited to increasing engagement (likes, comments, and shares) on your content rather than specific marketing goals like website traffic or lead generation.

Simplicity: Boosted Posts are simple to set up and can be done directly from your Facebook Page without having to go through the Ads Manager.

To summarize, Facebook Ads offer greater customization, targeting options, and flexibility in terms of goals and budget management. They are appropriate for companies with specific marketing objectives and a desire for detailed campaign management.

Boosted Posts, on the other hand, is a simpler option for quickly promoting existing content and increasing engagement on your Facebook Page. They are better suited for businesses looking for a simple way to boost post visibility and social interactions.

The decision between Facebook Ads and Boosted Posts is influenced by your advertising objectives, budget, and campaign complexity.