Don’t Click “Boost Post” and Call it an Ad Campaign
Facebook’s advertising tools can be deceptively simple. Picture this scenario: you’re developing your business’ Facebook page on your own, after hearing just how much your friends and colleagues praise its ability to boost sales and traffic. You post your new promotional video and - look at that! - Facebook displays a small, blue “Boost Post” button just dying to be clicked. It’s like they’ve done the work for you, right?
Well, not quite.
If using the “Boost Post” button is the extent of your digital marketing efforts, I have to be the one to tell you that you haven’t yet scratched the surface. With its wide variety of free, user-friendly tools for ad creation and targeting - tools like Power Editor, Mobile Studio, and Creative Hub - Facebook is one of my favorite advertising platforms to use; yet many small business owners find themselves sorely disappointed by the end of their boosts. Let’s dig a little deeper into this dilemma.
Boost Post Kinda Sucks.
Back in the early days of Facebook marketing for business, Mark Zuckerberg hand-selected each carrier pigeon designated to a business account.
...just kidding.
Early users of Facebook’s marketing platform found it difficult to navigate, and first-time users were turned off by the learning curve it took to properly set up an ad, so Zuck and his team decided to make it a little easier by introducing the “Promote Post” feature. This shortcut, which morphed into (you guessed it) Boost Post, allowed advertisers and social media managers to run quick campaigns without having to leave their profiles.
While it was initially a godsend, as the rest of the advertising platform evolved, Boost Post remained pretty much the same. That’s where the problem begins: whereas by going through Power Editor or Ads Manager you have the opportunity to choose your campaign type and optimize actions, clicking Boost Post restricts you to a Page Post Engagement campaign. Link posts are treated no differently than images or plain text, and you’re automatically optimizing for likes, comments, and shares - not link clicks.
Not good.
But There are Solutions!
What’s the best way to avoid the time and money drain that is Boost Post?
Don’t use it. With all the tools Facebook has to offer to help you set up a dynamic, engaging ad and deliver it to the right people, there is absolutely no reason to click that little blue button. Here are 3 on my must-use list:
Power Editor.
The pinpoint targeting offered by Facebook Power Editor is almost creepy. This tool offers you precise control over where, when, and to whom your ads are served - even more so than the regular Ads Manager. It also allows you to upload ads in bulk and adjust them as you go. If you’ve never used the tool before, I’d recommend reading a few handbooks. It’s not going to be as quick and painless as boosting your posts, but the number of qualified results makes the labor worthwhile.
Creative Hub.
One of my biggest hurdles starting out as a solo digital marketer was figuring out how to get or make compelling creative for advertisements. Sure, anyone can subscribe to Shutterstock and download some HD stock photos, but that doesn’t mean they’ll look like anything more than just that - stock photos. Creative hub allows you to create mockups of any type of ad you can set up through Facebook, including Canvas and Instagram ads. Once you’re happy with your draft, you can share it with colleagues or preview it on mobile to make sure it looks good wherever it’ll be seen. There’s no excuse for a bad ad!
Less of a tool and more of a killer set of guidelines, Mobile Studio can help anyone create professional-looking videos right from their smartphones. This page offers the best mobile apps to help you create attractive gifs, and videos, even if you’re shooting from scratch. It also offers best practices in easy-to-understand tidbits, so the only thing you need is a smartphone. And let’s face it: if you don’t have one of those, you’re probably not in marketing, anyway.
Over the years, there’s no denying that Facebook has made it more difficult for business page managers to generate organic traffic. But what they’ve done in return is created a rich, fully formed advertising platform that makes it a breeze to get seen. It’ll return as much time and effort as you put in.
For more information on Facebook advertising for your small business, email Lex. alex@theelephantsocial.com