Why you should avoid boosting your Facebook posts
15 July 2019
15 July 2019
When advertising on Facebook, it can seem easy to simply click the ‘Boost Post’ rather than setting aside time to set up a detailed campaign.
However, we wouldn’t recommend this option as it usually only drives post engagement and isn’t likely to drive conversions. Instead of clicking ‘Boost Post’, why not build more effective ad campaigns using Ads Manager?
If you want to have a successful Facebook and Instagram advertising campaign, you have to be aware of your target audience and the objective you want to achieve when reaching them.
In this post we will discuss the different Facebook Ad objectives and tips on how to use them in order to deliver your business goals. How do I achieve my goals through Facebook and Instagram advertising?
Initially, it can be overwhelming when setting up a Facebook Ad and you could be tempted to take the easy option by clicking the ‘Boost Post’ button. Avoid this; instead create valuable Facebook Ads through Ads Manager. This allows you to focus on a specific objective, which will ensure you reach a more relevant audience and get better results.
If you want to get great results and the most out of your budget, you must first understand the different Facebook ad objectives and how to use them.
Facebook Ad objectives are segmented into three categories; Awareness, Consideration and Conversion.
Awareness objectives are useful if you want to raise awareness of and interest in your product or service. There are two awareness objectives you can choose from; Brand Awareness and Reach.
Brand Awareness – If your goal is to introduce your product/service to new customers or to increase awareness of a new product line/event then the Brand Awareness Objective is the best one to use.
Reach – If you want your ad to be shown to as many as people as possible within your target audience and budget, the Reach objective is your best bet! This may be useful if you have a broad audience or are a start-up business with the aim of spreading your message as far as possible.
Consideration objectives encourage users to consider your products or services, actively engage with your brand, or search for further information. Have a look at the below consideration objectives to see when you should use each one:
Traffic - If your goal is to drive traffic to your website, choose the Traffic objective. This objective can be beneficial if you want potential consumers to find out more information about your product or service, as it will send users to your chosen landing page. For example, if you want potential customers to complete an action such as ‘buy now’ you can send them to a dedicated landing page which has the option to purchase, therefore leading to conversions.
Engagement - If you want to increase engagement on Facebook or Instagram, the Engagement objective allows you to select what type of engagement you would like to create, such as page likes, post likes or event responses. For example, this can be useful if you want to increase your brand profile by advertising for page likes, especially if you are a new business and want to build your following. This can be very beneficial for a start-up brand as; if you have thousands of Facebook page likes, potential customers will trust your brand more and will be more likely to purchase. A page with a low volume of likes may appear unestablished and risky to consumers.
App Installs – If your business has an app, you might want to increase the number of users who have your app installed on their mobile. This is a great way to connect with your customers in a format they understand as the ads will redirect to the required app download service (this also allows you to choose which provider you want to target e.g. Android or IOS).
Using the App Installs objective along with copy highlighting how the app will benefit the users will encourage users to download your app, providing you with another way to engage with your customer.
Video Views - If you want to increase the amount of people who view your video content which may lead to more conversions, the Video Views objective can help you achieve this goal. With 72% of businesses saying that video use has improved their conversion rate, it is important that your video is viewed by the right people in order to increase brand awareness and ultimately lead to conversions.
Lead Generation - The Lead Generation objective is useful if you want to gather important data from your audience in order to communicate with them more frequently, such as users email addresses. These ads will lead directly to auto-fill forms and can be used in conjunction with offers to encourage users to sign up to your email list; for example, ‘Sign up for our free e-book on how to use Facebook Ads’.
Messages – If your goal is to increase the number of users starting a conversation with your business via Facebook Messenger, such as queries about your product or service, the Messages objective can help you achieve this.
Conversion objectives encourage users interested in your products or service to take a desired action. Conversion objectives consist of conversions, catalogue sales and store visits.
Conversions - If you have specific actions you want users to take such as; sign up for an event or course or make a purchase, the Conversions objective will help you to achieve these actions and accomplish your goal. This also allows you to create ‘Custom Conversions’ so you can fully track the desired outcome of your campaign, for example, ‘Completed Booking’.
Catalogue Sales – The Catalogue Sales objective can really benefit your brand by increasing conversions. These campaigns will automatically show your items from your on-platform product catalogues to targeted audiences to keep them engaged and to ultimately generate sales.
This can be really beneficial for dynamic remarketing purposes as the Ad users see in their newsfeed/stories features the product they were previously viewing on your site!
Store Visits – If you want to drive online traffic to your physical store, the Store Visits objective can help achieve this. This can be useful for small local businesses or those with multiple locations as it promotes your business location to people who are nearby and, therefore, may be more likely to visit your store. However, you must have more than one store to use this objective.
Overall, choosing the right Facebook advertising objective is important in order to; gain the desired results from your advertising campaign; ensure you are reaching your target audience at the right time; and maximise budget efficiency.
The next time you consider clicking the ‘Boost Post’ button rather than setting aside time to set up a detailed campaign, try building a more effective campaign using Ads Manager in order to fulfil your objectives.
Need help with Facebook Ads?
If you would like to find out how a Facebook Ads campaign could help generate more leads or revenue for your business, get in touch with us today!