• As part of your social media strategy, you’ll need to balance out Facebook ads vs. boosted posts.
• Both of these options are worth considering, as they each have unique pros and cons.
• No matter which ad type you prioritize, you’ll get the best results working with knowledgeable ad experts.

Facebook Ads vs. Boosted Posts: Which Should I Do?

Despite significant competition from other social media platforms, Facebook is still the world’s biggest social network, and that success translates to a lot of ad money. In 2022 alone, Facebook and other Meta platforms brought in over $113 billion in ad revenue, which accounted for 60% of the total social media ad revenue collected that year.

Because of this, it should come as no surprise to learn that the world of Facebook advertising is highly competitive. To stand out from everyone else, you’ll need a strategy you can count on—and part of that is deciding what types of advertisements your company will run on Meta’s platforms. That means understanding Facebook ads vs. boosted posts and which one will deliver the biggest results for your business.

So how do you pick? This question is harder to answer than you might think, as these can both be powerful ways to promote your company’s products and services. Here’s how to figure out which one will best fit your company’s unique needs and find an ad expert who can help you maximize your results.

Boosted Posts and Facebook Ads: Know the Basics

To the end user, boosted posts and Facebook ads may seem similar. After all, these are both forms of social media advertising. However, these ad types also have some crucial differences:

Boosted Posts

Unlike standard Facebook ads, boosted posts aren’t created in Meta Ads Manager. Instead, they’re exactly what they sound like: pre-existing Facebook posts that you can “boost” to your audience of choice. Your ad team can boost a post on your Page by:

1. Switching into your Page and finding the post they plan to boost.
2. Selecting “Boost post.” (If this option cannot be selected, the post in question may not be eligible for boosting.)
3. Choosing the goal for your boosted post.
4. Providing your post’s ideal audience, total budget, duration, and payment method.
5. Selecting “Boost post now” to share your post with an expanded audience.

Facebook Ads

Though boosted posts can definitely be an effective form of advertising on Facebook, they aren’t technically “Facebook ads.” That phrase refers to ads built in Meta Ads Manager, which gives your business’s ad experts access to a broader selection of customization options.When you choose to run Facebook ads, your advertising agency will be able to:

• Select specific ad placements. Advertisers that boost posts can determine whether or not they want to run these ads on Instagram along with Facebook. Facebook ads go one step further by allowing you to choose placements in Facebook Instant Articles, Messenger Ads, Facebook and Instagram Reels, Facebook Feed side ads, Instagram Stories, and Meta Audience Network.
• Choose ad objectives. Meta’s ad objectives help companies run ad campaigns that are optimized with their goals in mind. Boosted posts can benefit from a partial list of ad objectives, but you’ll need to create a Facebook ad to choose from the complete lineup.
• Benefit from creative options. When your ad experts create Facebook ads, they can include call-to-action buttons, write detailed descriptions, and work with different ad formats like carousel ads. None of these options are available while boosting posts.
• Put powerful targeting capabilities to use. On Facebook, boosted posts can be targeted based on age, gender, and interests, but Facebook ads benefit from more advanced ad targeting tools. Your ad team can use these tools to create lookalike audiences, overlapping audience types, and much more.

Which Option Is Right for You?

After considering the nuances associated with Facebook ads and boosted posts, one thing should be clear: neither of these options is the best fit in every situation. Instead, you’ll need to carefully weigh the pros and cons associated with these ad types and pick whichever one best suits your needs.Boosted posts are an effective way to put existing content in front of more people. Along with that, they’re easy to set up and can help you save more money than other Meta ad options—but they won’t be as customizable. That means boosted posts are ideal when you want to increase brand awareness or build your audience as quickly as possible.

Compared to boosting a post, creating a Facebook ad from scratch requires significant time and effort. However, these ads are far more flexible than boosted posts. If you want total control over where your ad appears, what ad formats your marketing agency will use, and who will ultimately view your ad, Facebook ads are right for you.

Know When Boosting Isn’t Available (And Why)

As we alluded to earlier, boosting posts isn’t always an option for advertisers on Facebook. There are several situations where boosts are unavailable, and if that’s the case, your ad team can go to your Facebook Page, find the post in question, and hover over “Boost unavailable” to get more information.Some common “Boost unavailable” messages include:

• “This post can’t be boosted.” Meta has retired several boost formats that don’t get results, including profile pictures, albums, and notes.
• “Expired posts cannot be boosted.” Since expired posts won’t be helpful to your audience, there’s no reason to boost them in the first place. Ask your ad agency to create an identical or similar post and then boost that instead.
• “Request permission to advertise.” Different people have different roles on a Page, and some roles can’t approve advertisements. If someone wants to run an ad on your Page, they’ll need to contact an admin to get their role changed to admin, advertiser, editor, or moderator.
• “Payment disabled for the user.” If your Page has had unusual account activity, its advertising may be restricted and payment may be paused. If this has happened due to an error, you can ask for a review of your Page.
• “Advertising not allowed.” A Page’s advertising capabilities can also be restricted if that Page is found to violate Meta Advertising Standards or other guidelines. You or your ad experts can also request an account review in this situation.

Get a Boost (or a Facebook Ad!) from SocialKtchn

While anyone can boost a post on their own, getting results is another story entirely. Of course, creating standalone Facebook ads is considerably harder—at least, that’s the case when you’re handling your own social media marketing. But instead of spending valuable time doing this work by yourself, you could hire a professional ad agency and get better results.

To get the most out of your digital advertising budget, you’ll need compelling creatives, a rock-solid strategy, and in-depth knowledge of the advertising industry. At Social Ktchn, we can deliver on all these fronts thanks to our 15 years of combined experience in the field and a broad selection of social media marketing services. As one of the industry’s most trusted boutique marketing agencies, we also understand all the nuances of Facebook ads vs. boosted posts and can choose the right ad type for whatever results you’re looking for.

Would you like to find out more about what Social Ktchn can do for you? If so, get started by reaching out to us today!