Introduction

The advancement in technology and the increased use of social media platforms has put social media marketing as an essential element for businesses to reach their target audience. However, there are many instances when marketers and businesses find themselves at crossroads when deciding between running ads or boosting posts. This comprehensive guide will help you understand the key differences, advantages, and the use cases for each approach. Read more to be empowered to make informed decisions on how to optimize your social media marketing strategy.

What are Boosted Posts?

Boosted posts are a simple way of increasing engagement of your Facebook page. Essentially, this involves taking the post you have already created – it could be status update, photo, reel or video and paying the social media platform to deliver the post to a wider audience. The purpose of this is to make the social media platform prioritize the post ahead of other organically created content. This can help improve reach, impressions and engagement.

It is very easy to setup boosted posts. The first thing to do is to select the post you want to boost. The content should be clear, attractive, and have a clear call to action to drive conversions. After this, you can select the location and general audience for the ad so that the ad is served to only the audience that is relevant to the business.

The next step is to determine the ad budget and the date range you want the ad to run. Based on this, Facebook will estimate the total number of responses or clicks you will receive on the ad. One approved, the ad will run through a billing account that you have setup and voila, your first ad is completed.

Key Features of Boosted Posts:

• Quick and easy to set up
• Increases visibility of existing content
• Ideal for improving engagement metrics, such as likes, comments, shares
• Limited targeting options compared to full ads

When to use a boosted post in Kenya

• For simple goals: A boosted post is ideal when the primary objective is to increase engagement (likes, comments, shares), brand awareness and video views.
• To maximize a good post: If a post is already performing well organically, boosting it can give it the extra push and help it get a larger, yet still relevant audience.
• For Quick and easy promotion: The process of boosting a post is quite simple and does not require any prior experience. This makes it perfect for small business owners or entrepreneurs who do not have the time or resources to set up a complex ad campaign.
• To drive website clicks: Boosted posts allow you to add a “Call to Action” button like “Learn More” or “Shop Now” which can be effective for driving traffic to your website.

Limitations of Boosted Posts

• Limited Targeting Options: While boosting, you can set basic demographic characteristics (age, gender, location) and interests, you cannot create advanced audiences like Lookalike or retargeting audiences.
• Fewer Campaign Objectives: The objectives of boosted posts are mainly limited to engagement, website clicks and awareness. This means that it is not an ideal tool for driving direct sales or collecting leads.
• Limited Ad Placements: Boosted posts are primarily shown in the Facebook News Feed, with fewer placement options when compared to full ad campaigns.

What are Ad Campaigns?

Facebook ads are another way of getting content to potential audience and consumers. Facebook ads are built through Meta Ads Manager. There are three main components of the advertising process: campaigns, ad sets, and ads.

The ad campaign is the most basic level of Facebook advertising. It is from the ad campaign that you determine some of the most important information about the paid ads. The ad sets are what divides the campaign into different categories. Each of the ad sets has different goals, targeting different groups, and serve a unique purpose in the overall campaign. The individual ads are the intricate part of the campaigns.

Key Features of Ad Campaigns:

• Advanced targeting options
• Multiple campaign objectives
• Diverse ad placements
• More control over budget and scheduling
• Detailed performance analytics

When to use a boosted post in Kenya

• For specific business objectives: Ad campaigns are built for specific measurable goals. If you want to generate leads, drive e-commerce sales, increase app installations, or get people to fill out a contact form, a full ad campaign is the only way to go.
• For advanced audience targeting: With Ads Manager, you can create:
  • Custom Audiences: Target people who have visited your website, engaged with your social media pages, or are on your customer email list.
  • Lookalike Audiences: Find new people in Kenya who have similar characteristics to your best customers. This can be a powerful tool for scaling your business.
  • Detailed Targeting: Go far deeper with interests, behaviors, and demographics to create a laser-focused audience.
• For A/B Testing and Optimization: The Ad Set level allows you to test different audiences, budgets, and ad creatives against each other to find what performs best. This is crucial for optimizing your return on ad spend (ROAS).
• For e-commerce and direct sales: A full ad campaign is essential for e-commerce stores. You can create dynamic ads that automatically show products to people who have viewed them on your website, leading to higher conversion rates.

Differences between Boosted Posts and Ad Campaigns

I am sure you have already noticed how complicated ad campaigns are when compared to boosted posts. This is where the difference is at. Boosted posts are simpler and easy to set up. They are mainly liked by small business owners in Kenya because they do not require a steep learning curve to have one.

However, the simplicity of the boosted posts comes with the challenges. Ad campaigns are more complex to setup because of the additional customizations required in the campaigns. The additional customizations and control significantly improve the ad performance. Using full-fledged ads instead of simply boosting posts can give a business advanced targeting offerings that are otherwise unavailable for boosted posts.

What will work well for your business?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The answer depends on the size of the business and the objective they are seeking to achieve with their ad.

Choose a boosted post if:

• You are a small business, content creator or local service provider – such as salon, workshop, restaurant.
• The purpose of your ad is to improve brand awareness, engagement with a specific high-performing piece of content.
• You have a limited budget and want a quick, easy way to get more eyes on your page.

Choose a full ad campaign if:

• You are an e-commerce store, lead generation business, or an established company.
• Your goal is to drive specific, measurable actions, such as sales, leads, and website traffic.
• You want to build a long-term, data-driven marketing strategy and have the time to learn the Ads Manager platform.

Summary

Many businesses may not have the time to manage either type of ad effectively. There are other businesses that run poorly designed campaigns that cost more and deliver poorly. To get the best value for your ad budget, it is best to trust your social media management and marketing efforts to a trusted agency like Ciriz Digital Services. At Ciriz Digital Services, we have years of experience of creating and managing successful ad campaigns.