Facebook’s boosted posts VS Facebook ads. What is the difference?
- Visibility and Reach:
- Boosted Posts: Boosted posts are essentially regular organic posts that are amplified to reach a wider audience. They appear in users’ news feeds like regular content but with increased visibility due to paid promotion.
- Facebook Ads: Facebook ads can take various formats, including image ads, video ads, carousel ads, and more. They appear in various locations on Facebook, including the news feed, right column, and in Messenger. They can also be displayed on Instagram and the Facebook Audience Network. Ads often have more placement options and can reach a larger audience compared to boosted posts.
- Targeting Options:
- Boosted Posts: While boosted posts offer some targeting options such as demographics, interests, and location, the options are generally more limited compared to Facebook ads.
- Facebook Ads: Facebook ads offer a wide range of targeting options, including demographics, interests, behaviors, connections, and more. This allows advertisers to create highly targeted campaigns and reach specific audiences more effectively.
- Creative Control:
- Boosted Posts: Boosted posts are created from existing organic content, so businesses have limited control over the creative elements. They can add a call-to-action button and customize the audience, budget, and duration of the boost.
- Facebook Ads: Advertisers have full control over the creative elements of Facebook ads, including ad format, images, videos, text, headlines, and calls-to-action. This allows for more customized and visually appealing ads tailored to specific campaign goals.
- Cost and Budgeting:
- Boosted Posts: Boosted posts typically have simpler budgeting options, allowing businesses to set a daily or lifetime budget for the duration of the boost. The cost is based on factors such as audience size and competition.
- Facebook Ads: Facebook ads offer more advanced budgeting options, including cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM), or cost-per-action (CPA) bidding. Advertisers can also set overall campaign budgets and schedule ads to run at specific times.
- Campaign Objectives:
- Boosted Posts: Boosted posts are primarily designed to increase the reach and engagement of existing content. While they can drive traffic and conversions, they may not be as effective for more specific campaign objectives such as lead generation or app installs.
- Facebook Ads: Facebook ads support a wide range of campaign objectives, including brand awareness, website traffic, lead generation, app installs, conversions, and more. Advertisers can choose the objective that best aligns with their goals and track performance accordingly.
While both boosted posts and Facebook ads can be effective tools for advertising on the platform, they serve slightly different purposes and offer different levels of control and customization. Businesses should consider their specific goals, target audience, and budget when deciding between the two options.
