What Are The Key Differences Between Facebook Ads & Boosted Posts?

Have you or someone in your business considered doing your social media marketing yourself and wondered what the difference is between boosting a post and doing Facebook ads? I was asked this question by a business owner who is very active on social media and has been spending significant money on Facebook. They are now looking for a digital marketing agency to help them gain more visibility with Facebook ads, but they wondered about the difference.

If you’re in the same boat and have tried to do this yourself, you may have noticed that there are two options: Create a Facebook ad or boost a post. Thanks to the question from this business owner, this blog aims to explain the difference between the two so you know exactly how and when to apply each strategy for the best results

Facebook Ads Vs Boosted Posts 

When you create a Facebook post, you can boost that post to a targeted audience at a set rate. Boosted posts are still ads since they are paid for and they will show up as ads on your followers’ Facebook feeds.

A Facebook ad is also paid for and will reach a targeted audience. The difference is that it’s created in Meta Ads Manager, which you will find in your Facebook management toolbar. It offers many more customisations, filters and opportunities to reach a broader yet targeted audience.

Benefits For Your Business 

The most significant benefit of Facebook ads is that they are fully customisable. The ads manager allows you to tick or untick several boxes to customise your advert according to the audience you want to reach, the geographic location, age group, gender and much more.

However, a boosted post also brings its own benefits, like saving time on creating a new ad from scratch and simply boosting an existing post in just a few clicks. Both methods benefit from cost savings and flexibility as you can set your desired budget based on what works for you as a business.

Consider These Pros And Cons

Facebook Ads

Pros:

Customised ads

Determine your own budget

Creative control

Placement on Instagram or Messenger

Cons:

Takes a bit of time and technical know-how to create an ad using Meta Ads Manager, but a social media agency in Sydney like ours can help with this.

Boosted Posts

Pros:

Creates awareness, encourages audience engagement

Flexible ad spend

Professional-looking ads

Reach a specific audience

Cons:

Not as customisable as Facebook ads

Not suitable for long-term campaigns

Still not sure which way to go? Below are a couple of comparisons that may help bring clarity:

• Boosting is like using Wix for your website and Ad Manager is more like WordPress
• Or like Microsoft Publisher for boosting vs InDesign for Ads
• Or perhaps even Canva (boosting option) vs Photoshop (Meta Ads Manager)

Both can get the job done… but one has a lot more bells, whistles, and ultimately control which is great for those who want to maximise the potential, and ultimately understand how to use it but it may be too much for those who just want to put a little effort in and see what happens.

If you are searching for a social media marketing agency in Sydney or on the Gold Coast to help you with Facebook ads and boosted posts, contact Concept Designs & Marketing today at 02 7227 5025 or email us at [email protected].