Increase Reach and Target Facebook Users with Updated Boost Post Feature

how-to-increaseFacebook continues to experiment with Ad services and types.  It makes sense as it helps Facebook earn income (see 2nd Qtr earnings great report).

Hopefully it offers businesses better and easier tools to improve their marketing on Facebook.

The new “upgrades” to boosting a post in the News Feed are solid and helpful features page Admins should be aware of for potential use.

‘Boost Post’ Offers Targeting of News Feed Posts for Facebook Pages

One of these recent changes is with the ability to “Boost” a post (formerly ‘Promote’) that can be done by Facebook Page Admins right from their Timeline.  This feature has undergone multiple changes in the last year.  Until very recently it was not very worthwhile because it only allowed you to market to existing fans or friends of fans.  While reaching more of your fans can be a good idea, there was a desire to reach new people as well!  Some users who used the “friends of fans” feature received negative feedback because some friends of fans of your page may not be interested in what you provide, so this triggered higher spam reports and lower results.

Now, however, Facebook allows some significant and helpful targeting that was really only available in the more difficult to navigate Ads Power Editor before.  So this is a great move by Facebook to help pages advertise more easily key News Feed posts!

boost post on facebook image 1

Using “Boost Post” can extend reach via Sponsored Stories in the News Feed

The Quick Overview of “Boost Post” for Facebook Pages

 What’s the value?

  • Boosting a post can help an existing post reach more of your fans, and/or reach beyond your fans to targeted people.
  • Generally any post a Page makes will be seen by 12-20% of the Pages fans, so boosting a page can help it reach many more of the fans, as well as target non-fans who fit your target criteria.
  • It can be setup easily in a matter of a minute right on your Facebook page.
  • Target by multiple variables including Location, Gender, Age and variant combinations.

Why would a Page Boost a Post?

There can be a number of reasons to boost a post including things such as:

  • The post did really well and so you know it has good traction so keep the traction going on days 2-4 by boosting it to reach even more.
  • You launch a contest or sweepstakes on a tab and you want to get the word out about the promotion so boost the post that invites participation and links to the custom tab. (Be sure to use the Smart Mobile friendly URL).
  • You want to drive awareness of a event, webinar, or other special offer so you want to reach friends of fans and other targeted demographics

What Options Do I have?

Boosting a post creates 3 types of ads that are by default shown to both mobile and desktop users.  Here’s how to get started:

1. Click the Boost Post button on the post you want to create an Ad for.

2. Select “People you choose through targeting” in the Audience section.

3. In the “Add Targeting” dropdown, select your preferences in Location, Age, and Gender.  You can select multiple.  For example, you could target users in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that are male ages 21-35.  The default for “Location” is countries but there is a drop down for Cities, etc.

4. Enter your budget you want to spend and then complete by selecting “Boost Post”.

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 Option 2:

Repeat Step 1 above and then proceed with:

2. Select “People who like your Page and their Friends” in the Audience section.

3. Then click the “target” button at the bottom of the pop-up Ad window (see image below). This enables the “Add Targeting” drop down.  From within target you can select your preferences in Location, Age, and Gender.

boostpost4

Can I make changes to my Ad?

Facebook creates the Ads for you based on your targets.  The ads are then in the Facebook Ads area and can be adjusted there.  Simple things such as adding budget and stopping the promotion can be done on your Facebook page by going back to the “Boost” button.

Is it better than creating Ads using the Ads Manager or Power Editor?

It is simpler, faster, and can be helpful.  It is not as granular or detailed as what you can do with Power Editor that is launched in the Ads Manager. So whether it is “better” is based on your needs and goals.  It is better for speed and general targeting for location for example.  It is not nearly as detailed as what the Power Editor in the Ads Manager offers though.

How much will it cost and how much Reach can I get?

That depends on our Page fan count.  For pages with 500-1500 fans you can reach many more Facebook users that meet your target demographic for as little as $10-$15.

The updated “Boost Post” options are not for everyone.  Some will still prefer the more advanced options in the Power Editor.  These updates, however, are a GREAT step forward and can be a helpful and convenient way to quickly extend the reach of posts to mobile and desktop Facebook users that meet your target.

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About Mike Gingerich

Mike Gingerich, President of Digital Hill & TabSite is a business blogger Marketer and Consultant. Part geek, part marketer, part strategist, total fitness and running junkie. Mike is an author and speaker, having presented at Social Media Week Lima, Social Media Camp (Canada) and more. Mike is a marketing, social media, and business startup enthusiast with 10+ years experience building apps, consulting, and training businesses with winning integrated strategies. Mike loves deploying tactics to increase awareness, sales, and maximize ROI in both B2B and B2C markets via digital media.

17 thoughts on “Increase Reach and Target Facebook Users with Updated Boost Post Feature

  1. I’ve used the targeting option the way you describe it here without much success. However, when I boosted a post to fans and friends and used the targeting feature in the lower tape of the post, it worked much better.

  2. @veronica_athanasiou:disqus We agree that both options can have value. We added the targeting of Fans and Friends of Fans to the post. You are doing what we recommend, testing different options and analyzing results to see what is working best for you!

  3. How’s this…”We hereby give credit to @veronica_athanasiou:disqus for adding great insight to this blog post and make her an honorary co-author of this post!”

  4. I’ve tried this twice so far. The first time it was denied for being too long, even though it was a short post and an image. The second one was denied because: Your ad wasn’t approved because it violates Facebook’s Ad Guidelines by making claims that are unrealistic or unlikely. The funny thing is, I had posted my personal 90 day goals and an image that was well received and I got a message from FB suggesting I boost it. FB may think my 90 day goals are unlikely, but I don’t.

  5. Interesting Maureen! I’ve never seen an ad denied for being too long. Always a first I guess! The Ad Guidelines I have seen and it appears there is some key triggers that Facebook has in place. I’ve had good success with sponsored stories in general and this new Boost Post method has been good for me so far.

  6. does anyone tell me i have page on funny pictures and i need to boost its posts,facebook can accept this or not because i am not doing a business??

  7. boost post does not work. I ran a campaign for 20 $s for a video in demark and I got only 3 clicks and these 3 profiles were non-native danish people living in denmark ! Then I did the same for an image with 20% text in it , it was even worst than the video campaign. I did not know about power editor and ad manager. Facebook doesnt state that explicitly and benefit from the mistakes people are making in running the first campaign. Hate Mark Zuckerberg for his dirty tactics

  8. My big question that no one has a definite answer for: if I target my audience… say, Baltimore, Maryland for location and for interests I target fans of James Bond, will it target ONLY people who match BOTH criteria (which is what I want… Bond fans in California might not be interested in a local Baltimore event) or will the boost reach ALL people in Baltimore whether they are or are not fans of James Bond? HELP!!!!

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