What’s the difference between boosted posts and Facebook ads? We explain it here!
Many schools nowadays have started advertising on Facebook, Instagram, or other Meta technologies. However, when it comes to marketing strategies for private schools we frequently hear the question about the difference between Facebook ads and boosted posts. This can be confusing and unclear even if you’re familiar with Facebook. Although you as a school principal or owner might not manage this directly, it is important to understand the difference to get a better idea of what actions and tactics better benefit your school. According to your goals, some can reached by boosting a post and others can be reached by creating an ad. The following guide explains all the details regarding this matter.
What’s a boosted post?
A boosted post is the simplest way to advertise on Facebook. Contrary to ads on Facebook, boosted posts are not created in Meta Ads Manger and therefore don’t have all of the same customization features. You can do it right from the post on your Facebook page by applying money to it in order to boost it to reach an audience of your choosing. Even though it sounds easy, it is best to let a digital marketing for private schools professional manage this for better results.
When you boost a post, you’ll need to answer these questions:
- Whom do you want to reach?
- What’s your budget?
- How long do you want to run your ad?
Which objectives can you choose?
- Messages: Connect and chat with potential customers
- Post Engagements: Get more people to react, comment or share
- Link Clicks: Send individuals to your website
Whom can you target with a boosted post?
- Parents, students, or other community members who like your page
- Parents in your local area (select a radius around you from 1 mile to 50 miles)
If you create an audience, you can choose from age, gender, demographics, interest, and behaviors. If you are looking to boost a post to a wide audience, this level of targeting may be enough. Once a post is boosted, it’ll show up in your audience’s Facebook or Instagram Feed as an ad. It’s important to note that boosted posts are still regarded as ads because they require a budget to be shared with a broader audience. This is the core similarity it shares with Facebook Ads.
What are Facebook ads?
When creating marketing strategies for private schools, there are many objectives designed to help your school reach specific business goals as well as get to the audiences you care about most. Facebook ads (created through Ads Manager) let you choose objectives like leads, app promotion, and sales, as well as other more advanced customization options that are not available when boosting a post. Therefore, the quality of results you receive is better, as you can:
- Design an ad that fits your goals
- Create carousel ads, add a call-to-action button that’ll drive more of your audience to take action, etc.
- Get the added benefit of choosing placements in Facebook Feed side ads, Messenger ads, Instagram stories, instant articles, and Audience Network
- Optimize for website conversions, video views, and more.
Which objectives can you choose with a Facebook ad?
- Awareness: Brand awareness and reach
- Consideration: traffic, engagement, video views, lead generation, messages
- Conversion: catalog sales, store traffic, etc.
Whom can you target?
The options are pretty much endless, but the main targeting features available with Facebook ads include:
- Custom audiences (from your website, customer list, or offline activity)
- Anyone who interacted with your Facebook page or elements on your page like a video or post
- Lookalike audiences
When to use Facebook ads vs boosted posts
Deciding between boosting a post or running a Facebook ad, really comes down to your goals. If you want audience engagement on your page, boosting a post is a great way to grow your audience. If your goals are more lead generation and website-focused, then setting up a thought-out Facebook ad campaign will get you the best results.
As a school owner, it’s important for you to identify exactly what you’re hoping to achieve with an ad. That is why it all starts with creating good marketing strategies for private schools, with specific objectives that will help you achieve the best results. For more information on this or other digital marketing topics or concerns, contact us today.
