As a small business owner on Facebook, you may have noticed the little Facebook boost post button down in the bottom corner, tempting you to hit it every time you post something. A quick google search or conversation with your online marketing expert will usually be met with a harsh scolding. “Do not EVER hit the ‘boost post’ button, you amateur!”
Here are a few of the articles that come up when searching on the topic:
- Facebook Boost Post – Never a Good Decision
- Don’t Touch That Facebook Boost Post Button
- Boosting a post is the #1 reason businesses and marriages fail.
Ok, I made up the last one, but as you can see, there is a lot of negative feeling surrounding boosting a post. I’ve been interviewed on a ton of podcasts about online marketing, and the host and I will often discuss Facebook marketing, where I will share some awesome tips and strategies including “boost that post!” More often than not, the host will immediately correct me and give me the opportunity to walk-back my insane statement. Instead, I tell them what I’m going to tell you. It’s ok, even a good idea, to use the Facebook boost post button. Here’s why.
For starters let me explain what the Facebook boost post button is. Hop out to your Facebook page and look at your old posts. See that dandy blue button that says “Boost Post” next to each and every entry? This is the controversial “Boost Post” button that tempts every Facebook Business Page owner.
Now that you know where the Facebook Boost Post button is, let me tell you why you should ignore the haters and use the Facebook Boost Post button.
If you are managing your business’s Facebook page yourself, you probably don’t have the time or knowledge to utilize the power of Facebook’s Ads Manager and mount a successful campaign. Even if you’ve hired a Social Marketing expert to handle the work for you, it may not make financial sense to set them loose on promoting your latest video or blog post. So, instead, you do nothing, hoping that enough of their audience will see your content.
Well, in Marketing 101, they teach Top-Of-Mind-Awareness (TOMA), which is the entire reason you’re creating that content in the first place! This means that your business is first and foremost in your customers’ minds when they are ready to spend their money. Hitting the Facebook Boost Post button a few times a week, for a few dollars a pop, will ensure that more of your targeted fans will have you and your business in their mind, giving you TOMA!
Why You Should Use the Facebook Boost Post Button
- Boosting a post is better than doing nothing! You created that content, let your fans see it!
- Boosting a post can mean a bump in website traffic, and remember, if done correctly, more website traffic means more leads. I have boosted posts for a few dollars which has led to visits to my website, which in turn has led to traffic opting in to my email sequence.
- Boosting a post is super easy and effective. It’s literally clicking a button.
- Boosting a post is really inexpensive. Each time I have a blog post or video I want my fans to see, I will boost it for a few dollars. I have 5000 fans and with literally $2.00, these posts get incredible reach and engagement.
Quick example: I spent less than $2.00 boosting this video to my fans and it got 125 actions, 300 people reached, 16 likes and 4 shares. Of course, I could spend more time and money making sure my post was seen by a larger, more targeted audience, but with something like this, I just wanted to make sure my fans see my content. Reminding so many of my fans of my name and message for $2.00 is a NO BRAINER, even if no action is taken by the user.
Now, with all that said, I want to put some rules in place.
When You Should Hit The Facebook Boost Post Button
- Only boost your post to FANS. If searching for new people to see your content or you are trying to track opt-in’s, etc. don’t use Facebook Boost Post. You are going to be better off spending some time targeting your fans and optimizing your ads.
- Only use the Facebook boost post button if you got your fans LEGITIMATELY. If you have fake fans, fans from a non-targeted “likes” campaign, or your fans are people that do not matter to your business, then you can’t use the button. Using “boost” post is like paying Facebook to be back in the “good ol’ days” when you would post something and a lot of your fans would see it. If your fans aren’t really people that may want to buy your goods and services, it makes no sense to pay money to make sure more of them see your content.
- Only boost your post if you have 5000 fans or less. If you have more than this, it may be smarter to start targeting your fans based on the content you write. If you have less fans then that, spending 2 – 3 bucks boosting your content will mean that each boost has a pretty decent chance of being seen by the same fans that saw the previous boost (hence you will achieve TOPA).
Now let’s address a few of the comments made by Boost Post detractors about why they don’t want you to use the Facebook boost post button:
- “The Facebook boost post button is for amateurs.” This may be true, but most small business owners are armatures! I have studied Facebook Marketing for years and it is complicated! Most small business owners just don’t have the time or money to learn Facebook marketing for themselves or to hire a professional. Therefore, yes, it may be for amateurs, but it’s a legit tool for most DIY small business owners.
- “You can’t target your audience.” This is true, but as I said before, if you have less than 5000 fans and you got those fans legitimately, and you’re just looking to achieve or maintain TOMA, then your $2.00 boost is targeted enough!
- “It does not give you full control over your ads.” True, but if you put some thought into the initial post itself and you feel like it’s quality enough for your fans to engage with it, you don’t need to change it anyway.
- “It will not allow you to set campaign objectives.” When you boost a post, you objective is automatically set to “engagement.” This means it’s going to reach out to those people who will like, comment and share the post. This may not be as sexy an objective as getting your audience to opt-in to an offer or spend some money! But, it’s still a fine objective and works at building a foundation and reputation to make those other objectives easier to achieve.
A quick success story. We run a holistic Facebook campaign for the best bed and breakfast in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. We performed the following steps and got some awesome results:
- Ran a targeted likes campaign for everyone within a 25 mile radius of the B&B. (Spent about $50.00)
- Fed these fans awesome content on a daily basis. (Spend $10.00 boosting pics of the venue and other cool posts.)
- Boosted the following post for $10.00 to her fans to promote a Valentine’s Day Special.
She called and said she filled up! It was simple and effective.
One more thing to remember, not everything is “boost worthy”. I wouldn’t boost a generic post that didn’t have some sort of branding on it. I also wouldn’t boost a post that promoted someone else’s content, unless you’re a really nice guy and want to give them some free advertising.
Now go… be free… and hit Facebook BOOST post and ignore the haters! At least you’re doing something!
