Boosted Posts vs. Paid Ads: All You Need to Know to Stay Ahead of the Game

In the dynamic realm of digital marketing, Facebook offers a treasure trove of options to boost your content's visibility and connect with a broader audience. Among these options, boosted posts and paid ads stand out as popular strategies. At first glance, they might appear similar, but they serve distinct purposes and come with their unique attributes. In this blog post, we'll embark on a journey to uncover the key disparities between boosted posts and paid ads on Facebook, shedding light on their individual strengths and best-use scenarios.

So, what’s the difference between boosted posts and paid ads? 
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Boosted Posts: A Closer Look

So, what exactly is a boosted post?

A boosted post represents a feature that empowers you to amplify the reach of an existing Facebook Page post. In essence, it takes content you've already shared on your Page's timeline and infuses it with an advertising budget to expand its visibility and impact.
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Key Characteristics of a Boosted Post:

• Effortless Setup
  The process of boosting a post is refreshingly straightforward. You handpick the post you wish to elevate, define your target audience, allocate a budget, and set the duration of the boost.
• Engagement-Oriented
  Boosted posts primarily aim to elevate engagement metrics, including likes, comments, shares, and clicks. They shine when it comes to connecting with your existing audience or their social circles.
• Customization Constraints
  While you can finely tune the targeting of your boosted post based on   demographics and interests, your control over ad placements and advanced features remains somewhat limited.
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Paid Ads on Facebook: Unveiling Their Power

Now, let's explore the world of paid ads on Facebook.

A paid ad on Facebook represents a meticulously crafted advertisement tailored to achieve precise marketing goals. It stands as a comprehensive and versatile tool compared to its boosted counterpart.
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Key Characteristics of a Paid Ad:

• Advanced Targeting
  Paid ads grant you access to a wealth of targeting options, encompassing demographics, interests, behaviors, and even custom audiences shaped by website activity or customer lists.
• Objective Diversity
  Paid ads offer remarkable flexibility in terms of marketing objectives. Whether you aim to boost website traffic, generate leads, foster app installations, or drive conversions, you can cherry-pick the objective that best aligns with your campaign.
• Creative Mastery
  You wield complete control over ad creative aspects, formats, and placements. This freedom fuels A/B testing and optimization, paving the way for peak campaign performance.
• Budget Strategy
  The strategic allocation of your budget across various ad sets and campaigns falls within your grasp, ensuring resourceful spending.
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Choosing Between a Boosted Post and a Paid Ad

The decision between a boosted post and a paid ad hinges on your marketing budget, objectives, and strategy.

• Opt for Boosted Posts when your aim revolves around heightening engagement on a specific piece of content, especially if you seek to connect with your current audience or their extended network.
• Embrace Paid Ads when you harbor specific business goals extending beyond engagement. These ads offer advanced targeting, more goal-oriented options, and greater control over creative elements.
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Use Cases

If your quest is to attain maximum reach for a particular piece of content you've already shared with minimal time investment, boosted posts can yield impressive results. They often boast some of the lowest costs per result, occasionally as low as $0.02 per post engagement, along with cost-effective reach, defining how many accounts lay eyes on your post.

When your ambitions set sail towards well-defined business objectives such as driving website traffic, lead generation, or purchases, your best companions will be ads designed for these specific goals. While you can still leverage reach and engagement objectives and repurpose previous posts within your ads, the advanced targeting and expanded goal options will play a pivotal role in steering you toward your desired outcomes.
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‍Are Boosted Posts Better Than Paid Ads? 

At Good & Gold, we understand that choosing between boosted posts and ads on social media isn't about what's "better." It's about selecting the right tool for your unique marketing goals and strategy. Both boosted posts and ads have their distinct advantages, and the decision should align with your objectives.
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Boosted Posts

Pros:

• Quick and Engaging
  Boosted posts are your swift ticket to increasing engagement on your existing content. They're like a friendly wave to your audience, encouraging likes, comments, shares, and clicks.
• Foster Connections
  These are perfect when you want to connect with your existing audience or extend your reach to their friends.
• Cost-Efficient Visibility
  Boosted posts can be remarkably cost-effective for increasing visibility among your loyal followers.

Cons:

• Some Limitations
  Boosted posts come with some limitations regarding customization, and they aren't the best choice for advanced objectives like lead generation or laser-focused targeting.
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Paid Ads

Pros:

• Precision and Versatility
  Paid ads are the Swiss Army knife of social media marketing. With advanced targeting capabilities, they allow you to pinpoint your message to a specific audience.
• Diverse Goals
  These ads support a wide range of marketing goals, from driving website traffic to lead generation, app installs, and conversions.
• Creative Freedom
  You have complete control over ad creative, formats, and placements, making it possible to craft compelling campaigns.
• Efficient Investment
  Smart budget allocation ensures your dollars are well-spent.

Cons:

• Time and Effort
  They may require a bit more time and effort to set up compared to boosting a post.
• Budget Considerations
  Costs can vary depending on your objectives and audience.
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The Good & Gold Approach

When deciding between boosted posts and paid ads, we believe in aligning your choice with your campaign objectives. If your aim is to quickly promote existing content and foster social engagement, boosted posts are your friendly companions. However, when you have specific business goals beyond engagement and require laser-focused targeting, paid ads become the strategic choice.

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Both boosted posts and paid ads on Facebook are valuable tools for expanding your reach. Understanding their nuances and making the right choice based on your campaign objectives is paramount. Ultimately, it's not about one being "better" than the other; it's about selecting the right tool for the job and ensuring it fits seamlessly into your broader social media marketing strategy. Whether you're nurturing engagement or steering your audience toward conversions, Facebook provides the tools to help your agency scale its digital marketing efforts effectively. At Good & Gold, we're here to help you make strategic decisions and create impactful campaigns tailored to your unique needs.

Need some help navigating the world of social media marketing? We’ve got your back. Reach out today!