Your Boosted Facebook Post isn't Performing. Here's why...
So, you did it. You pressed the blue button and boosted your post. Now you can sit back and watch the money just roll in right? WRONG. Social media is a great tool for marketing, but like any tool, you need to know what you're doing. It's like picking up a hammer and nailing with the wrong end. You'll make progress eventually, but efficiency is out the window.
Let's reflect on your last Boosted Facebook Post...
Everyone can see your comments, likes, and shares, but only you can see the backend. If you're not looking in the backend of Facebook you're not getting the full story. To see how your post is doing go to your page and click "Promotions", then select "Promotions Summary." (Note: Ad Campaigns will be under the Ads Manager, not the Promotions Summary.) Use the post results to better understand your audience and make informed decisions to target your audience in the future.
#Goals
When you boosted your Facebook post you did it for a reason. Did your post meet those goals? If your goal wasn't to increase post engagement, you missed your mark. Boosted posts just aren't built to get people to your website, collect leads, or even increase your Facebook following. Unfortunately, Facebook makes this clear in the Help Center, but not when you're initially boosting your post.
“If you’re boosting a post, your goals should be to either reach more people with your post or increase engagement on your post.”
For this reason, boosted posts are only seen on Facebook. This means you will never reach your targeted audience if they aren't using Facebook! Campaigned posts are placed on Facebook and third-party platforms in-between paragraphs in articles, Instagram, and that game on your phone you can't put down. If someone has a Facebook page, but never logs in, you can still reach them with a campaigned Facebook post.
🎯Hitting your Target
Boosted Facebook posts let you target an audience with the same basic demographics that markets have been using for years. One of the major advantages of digital marketing is knowing so much more about your audience. When you choose to campaign a Facebook post rather than boost you can have a more focused strategy. You can then select your audience by things like their search behavior, email address, or a look-a-like audience designed to laser focus on what is working within your target audience and use that data to expand your reach.
You can go even further with targeting by using pixels in Facebook campaigns to focus on a warm audience who has almost completed your desired action. If your goal is to get someone to your website and make a purchase, a boosted post might make them aware of the product but without a pixel, there is no way to prove that resulted in a sale.
Rules of Engagement
Whether you're on Facebook, Instagram or any other form of social media it's important to engage with your audience. The set-it-and-forget-it method of traditional media does not work in the social media ad space because it's an environment made for (you guessed it) socializing! Establish a brand personality that can be carried through your copy, content, and comments that goes beyond trying to make a sale. That means interacting with someone that comments on your post, no matter your goal. Building a relationship with your followers on social media is as important as making a good impression at a brick-and-mortar location.
💸 Being cost-effective (and just effective)
Social media marketing is arguably one of the cheapest ways to reach an audience. Cheap doesn't often equate to value. Making an informed decision with targeting, tailored content, and interacting with your audience is more valuable to your customers and your business than any billboard or 30 second TV spot could ever be.
RIP Boost
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that light is Facebook campaigning! Campaigning helps you focus in on your real marketing goals (not just likes), its precise targeting and larger advertising space make it much more cost-effective than boosting alone. If you're up for the challenge, we'd love to teach you a thing or two with our DIY Digital Social Media Marketing Course. If you're looking to hit another easy button, we have that too (and it works better than boosting 😏).