Facebook offers two main options for increasing the reach and engagement of Facebook pages – promotion and boosting. While both can help grow your audience and get more eyes on your content, there are some key differences between promoting a page versus boosting a post.
Page Promotion Overview
Page promotion allows you to get your Facebook page in front of more people who may be interested in your brand, business, or organization. When you promote your page, you choose a daily budget and target audience. Facebook will then show your page to more users in your target demographic each day, essentially advertising your page to people who are likely to engage with it. Some key things to know about Facebook page promotion:
- Promotes the overall page, not individual posts
- Increases visibility and reaches new audiences
- Budget is spread over multiple days
- Works best for long-term growth vs short spikes
- Goal is to get more page likes and followers
Page Boosting Overview
Boosting allows you to promote specific posts on your Facebook page. When you boost a post, you pay to increase its reach and engagement for a certain period of time. Some key things to know about boosting Facebook posts:
- Promotes a single post rather than full page
- Quickly increases reach/engagement on specific content
- Budget is used within a short timeframe (daily)
- Works well for short spikes around important posts
- Goal is more likes, comments, shares on boosted post
Main Differences
While both page promotion and post boosting can expand your Facebook presence, they have some core differences:
| Factor | Page Promotion | Post Boosting |
|---|---|---|
| Objective | Gain more overall page followers/fans | Increase reach/engagement on specific posts |
| Duration | Ongoing exposure over multiple days | Short-term boost for a post (hours/days) |
| Budget | Spread out over a daily budget | Spent quickly on individual posts |
| Results | Gradual increase in page likes/followers | Immediate spike in post reach/engagement |
When to Promote a Page
Some best uses cases for promoting a Facebook page include:
- Growing your overall follower base
- Raising awareness for your brand/business
- Reaching new demographics and audiences
- Increasing traffic from Facebook to your website
- Gaining more fans ahead of a product launch
- Getting your page in front of cold audiences
When to Boost a Post
Some best uses cases for boosting Facebook posts include:
- Promoting time-sensitive posts like events or sales
- Driving traffic to important new content
- Engaging your current followers
- Getting more eyes on a post quickly
- Hitting follower growth milestones
- Promoting contest/giveaway terms
Targeting Options
Both page promotion and post boosting allow you to target your ads to reach specific demographics and audiences. Some key targeting factors include:
- Location – target people in certain cities, countries, or regions
- Age – target specific age ranges like 25-35 years old
- Gender – target men, women, or all
- Interests – target people interested in relevant topics/hobbies
- Behaviors – target people exhibiting certain online behaviors
Page Promotion Targeting
With page promotion ads, you can target broad audiences by location, age, interests, and more. This works well for generally increasing your page followers among large demographics. You can also narrow down your targeting, but typically you’ll select wider targeting categories when promoting a page.
Post Boost Targeting
For boosting posts, you may opt for more precise targeting focused on people likely to engage with that specific post. As you’re trying to get engagement on one post rather than general followers, precise interests and behaviors work well here.
Setting Budgets
Both page promotion and post boosting require setting a budget to get your content in front of more people. Here are some tips for budgeting:
- Page promotion has a daily budget that spreads costs over time
- Post boosting sets a lifetime budget used quickly on one post
- Start small at $10-20 per day for promotion, $20-50 for boosting
- Increase budget slowly as you optimize targeting/messaging
- Consider your goals, audience size, and engagement rates
- Monitor results and calculate ROI as you scale budget
Promotion Budget Tips
For ongoing page promotion, a daily budget between $10-100 is typical depending on your goals, audience, and industry. Stick to the lower end of budgets at first. Consider increasing your daily budget if you see high engagement and conversions.
Boosting Budget Tips
For post boosting, budget depends on objectives and audience but $20-50 per post is common. Boosts usually last 1-7 days. If you’re not getting enough reach at lower budgets, try increasing budget while making the timeframe shorter.
Measuring Results
It’s important to track your Facebook advertising results to see what’s working. Some key metrics to watch include:
- Page likes and followers gained (promotion)
- Post reach and engagement (boosting)
- Clicks and traffic to your website
- Conversions for sales, email signups, etc.
- Impressions delivered
- Click-through rate
- Cost per result
Page Promotion Metrics
For promoted pages, focus on how daily budget translates to new page likes and followers. Watch your overall follower number and demographic data to optimize targeting.
Post Boost Metrics
For boosted posts, track reach, engagement rate, clicks, and conversions specific to that post. Monitor how different targeting and budgets impact a post’s performance.
Pros and Cons
Below is an overview of some core pros and cons of promoting a page versus boosting posts:
| Page Promotion | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Ongoing exposure to gain gradual followers |
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| Post Boosting | Pros | Cons |
| Quickly increase reach/engagement on specific posts |
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Best Practices and Optimization
Some top tips to get the most out of promoting and boosting on Facebook include:
- Test different targeting options and budgets
- Make ads and posts visually appealing
- Use videos and images for engagement
- Write compelling ad copy
- Call out incentives like discounts or contests
- Highlight new products/services/content
- Include links to drive traffic to site
- Create sense of urgency or exclusivity
- Monitor results closely to optimize
Page Promotion Optimization
For promoted pages, regularly update targeting choices, creatives, and budgets based on performance. Try expanding locations, interests, and behaviors that drive conversions. Test different page designs and messages.
Post Boost Optimization
For boosted posts, tweak budget and duration to balance reach and cost per result. Try mixing up post content types, framing, and visuals. Target fans of high-performing posts. Make your CTA and messaging clearer.
Tools and Analysis
Facebook provides analytical tools to assess your promotion and boosting performance. Some key options include:
- Facebook Ads Manager – central dashboard for your campaigns
- Page Insights – tracks page promotion metrics
- Post Insights – analyzes reach and engagement
- Audience Insights – helps refine targeting
- Facebook Analytics – integrates ad data with site analytics
Page Promotion Analysis
Use Page Insights to view follower demographics, sources of new followers, and growth trends. Audiences Insights gives data to optimize targeting. Check Ads Manager for budget pacing and results.
Post Boost Analysis
Analyze Reach and Engagement metrics in Post Insights to see how your budget impacted performance. Use the Ads Manager to monitor spend and clicks. Integrate Facebook Analytics for site traffic data.
Alternatives to Consider
Beyond promoting pages and boosting posts, here are some other Facebook marketing tactics to consider:
- Facebook advertising – dedicated campaigns beyond pages/posts
- Instagram advertising – reach audiences with visual content
- Facebook Live video – drive engagement through real-time video
- Facebook groups – cultivate niche communities on relevant topics
- Messenger marketing – connect with fans directly via messaging
- Influencer outreach – work with relevant influencers/creators
When to Use Other Tactics
Alternatives like dedicated ads, influencer partnerships, or Facebook Groups may better suit a specific campaign goal compared to general page promotion or post boosting. Factor in the audience, content format, and your objectives.
Conclusion
Both promoting your Facebook page and boosting posts can be effective ways to grow your following and engagement. The main differences come down to:
- Page promotion = Ongoing exposure to gain gradual followers
- Post boosting = Quick spikes in reach/engagement on specific posts
Ideally, use a mix of both page promotion ads and post boosting. Promote your page periodically to increase general awareness and followers. Then boost key posts to engage followers and drive actions on your important content.
Monitor your performance data in Facebook’s analytics tools. Adjust your budgets, targeting, creative, and tactics over time to maximize results. With the right promotion and boosting strategy tailored to your goals, you can expand your Facebook presence and drive value for your business.