When it comes to promoting an event or other content on Facebook, you have a few options. The two main ways are creating a Facebook event or making a regular post. There are pros and cons to each approach that are important to consider when deciding which is better for your needs.
What is the difference between a Facebook event and post?
A Facebook event is a specific tool on the platform for publicizing an event. When you create a Facebook event, it exists separately from your regular timeline and goes out to a distinct audience. People are invited to the event and can indicate whether they are going, interested, or declining. Facebook events also integrate with Facebook calendar.
A regular Facebook post is just normal content you would post to your timeline. This could be text, images, videos, or links. You can promote and boost regular posts just like events. The main difference is events have special features tailored for showcasing details around an event.
Factors to consider when choosing between events and posts
There are a few key factors to think about when deciding whether to use a Facebook event or regular post for promoting your event or content.
- Type of event or content – Is it a single date event like a concert, or an ongoing event like a sale? Events work best for one-time, date-specific happenings.
- Level of detail – Events allow you to include practical details like time, location, ticketing that may not fit cleanly in a short post.
- Integration with calendar – Events can integrate with Facebook’s calendar and reminder system.
- Ability to track interest – Events allow you to see who is interested, attending, or declining.
- Appeal to your audience – Consider whether your audience will best respond to an event invite or a post in their feed.
- Promotion budget – You can boost both events and posts using Facebook ads.
Looking at these key factors will point you towards choosing either a dedicated event or regular post for your content.
Pros of using Facebook events
Here are some of the main advantages of using Facebook events over regular posts:
- Specialized features – As mentioned, events have unique features like invite tracking and calendar integration that cater to showcasing event details.
- Clear call-to-action – Events prompt people to take a specific action by attending, being interested, or declining.
- Events listing – Your event gets included in Facebook’s events directory and search results.
- Segmented audience – You can see who is interested in your event vs just seeing a post.
- Appeal – For certain types of events, people may be more compelled to engage with an event invite than just a timeline post.
- Reminders – Facebook will automatically remind people about your event as the date approaches.
These advantages make events the superior choice for one-off, in-person events when you want to make practical details clear and track engagement.
Pros of using regular Facebook posts
On the other hand, regular Facebook posts have some of their own benefits:
- Familiarity – People are very used to engaging with posts in their feeds.
- Flexibility – You can include any type of content in a post – text, images, links, etc.
- Ongoing promotion – Posts work better for promoting something continuous or recurring, rather than a single event.
- Simplicity – Creating and distributing posts is typically quicker and easier than coordinating event invites.
- Broad reach – Posting on your timeline allows exposure to your full audience immediately.
- Metrics – You can track how many people your posts reach, how many reactions, comments, and shares they get.
For these reasons, regular Facebook posts tend to work better for general awareness campaigns, advertising sales or deals, and communicating news updates.
When to use a Facebook event
Based on their distinct advantages, here are some examples of good situations to create a Facebook event:
- You’re hosting a specific event on a set day, like a concert, conference, or party.
- You want people to RSVP so you know how many will attend.
- Your event has practical details like time, place, ticketing that you want to communicate clearly.
- You think people will want to save the event details directly on their calendar.
- You want to segment who is interested, attending, and declining your event.
- You may create follow-up reminders and communications just for event attendees.
Facebook events are ideal for physical get togethers or happenings focused on a fixed date. The specialized RSVP, reminder, and calendaring features make events the logical choice for one-off occasions taking place in the real world.
Examples of good Facebook event uses
- Music concert or festival
- Industry conference or trade show
- Fundraising gala or charity ball
- Networking mixer or happy hour
- Class reunion
- Gym open house
- Wedding or baby shower
- Book signing with a featured author
- Ribbon cutting for a new business
- Public lecture or speaker series
When to use a regular Facebook post
On the flip side, here are examples of situations where a regular Facebook post makes more sense than an event:
- You want to promote something ongoing without a set date/time, like a sale or special offer.
- You have important news or an announcement to share.
- You want to drive general awareness about your business or organization.
- You don’t need people to RSVP – you just want broad reach and engagement.
- You want to share content that isn’t event-specific, like a blog post or video.
- You want to advertise a contest people can enter anytime.
Posts are likely the better option if you simply want wide visibility for announcements, deals, blog content, or other less time-specific updates.
Examples of good Facebook post uses
- Launching a new product line
- Announcing expanded business hours
- Highlighting a special offer or sale
- Sharing a new blog post or guide
- Promoting an ongoing contest or giveaway
- Posting an informative video
- Welcoming a new staff member
- Advertising open job positions
- Expressing gratitude for customer loyalty
- Providing status updates around a company milestone
Consider blending events and posts
Keep in mind you can also use events and posts together as part of a coordinated promotion strategy:
- Create an event for the main fixed date or happening, and use posts to build anticipation and awareness leading up to it.
- Make an event invite the central call-to-action, then follow up with posts recapping event details afterward.
- Run some ads directly promoting your event, and other general awareness ads linking to your Facebook page or content.
This blended approach takes advantage of both the specialized event features, and the flexibility and reach of regular posts. Using both allows you to promote an event across multiple angles.
Boosting events and posts via Facebook ads
Once you’ve created event and post content on Facebook, you may want to boost their visibility through Facebook advertising. You can create ads to promote both events and regular posts.
With a Facebook event ad, you define your target audience and budget as usual. Event ads can be great for efficiently reaching more people who may be specifically interested in your event. These ads appear in the right column alongside other events people may like.
For regular posts, you can directly boost the post from your page, or create a standard Facebook ad that links to the post. This is great for cheaply exposing existing content to more people. Post ads appear alongside regular ads in the feed and right column. They also get additional organic reach when people engage with the boosted post.
No matter which format you choose originally, running ads is an excellent way to extend the reach of both events and posts. Taking out ads gives you the flexibility to customize the targeting and budget for any promotion.
Comparative table of event vs post ad options
| Facebook Event Ad | Boosted Post Ad | |
|---|---|---|
| Where ads appear | Event column | News feed & right column |
| Audience | Customized via ad | Customized via ad |
| Budget | Customized via ad | Customized via ad |
| Engagement | RSVP, comment, share | Comment, share, link clicks |
| Metrics | RSVPs, reach, link clicks | Reach, link clicks, reactions, shares |
Conclusion
Facebook events and posts both allow you to effectively promote occasions, news, offers, and other content to your audience. Events provide specialized tools for highlighting event details and gathering RSVPs that make them ideal for one-time, in-person happenings focused on a fixed date. Regular posts offer greater flexibility and familiarity that tend to work better for general awareness campaigns not tied to a single date.
Consider the type of content you want to promote, your goals and metrics, and what will resonate most with your audience. Often a blended approach utilizing both events and posts as part of a broader campaign can maximize reach and engagement.
No matter which format you choose, running ads provides a powerful way to expand visibility for your events and posts by targeting exactly who you want to see your content. Taking the time to strategically craft events and posts, and boost them through paid promotion, will help you cut through the noise and connect with the right people on Facebook.