Social media can be intimidating, as you know it’s necessary — but probably don’t have a clue whether you’re really doing it right or not. If you’ve been posting on social media for several years, you may have lots of followers. But why do your posts only reach a few hundred people at a time?
Unfortunately, complex social media algorithms result in your posts only reaching a fraction of your actual audience. So regardless how great your content is, your entire audience won’t ever see it — or benefit from it. You may see an occasional like or comment or share from a follower, but you need more.
That’s when paid advertising is a good investment. It’s time to learn about Facebook Advertising. Facebook has two types of paid advertising: boosted posts and Facebook ads. We will look at each of these, their pros or cons.
What is a boosted post? This is a post on your page’s timeline; for a fee, you can boost that post to an audience of your choosing. This is a very easy way to push your posts in front of more people — many who are new to your brand.
When you boost a post, you’ll be asked how you wish to optimize the experience. These include:
Who do you want to reach? You can choose a targeted audience who may want your content.
What is your budget? Pick a max budget to invest during your campaign.
How long do you want to run your boost? Facebook will take your max budget and divide it by the number of days, then apply your investment accordingly.
Pros vs Cons of Boosted Posts
The Pros: Boosted posts are an excellent way to push new content to reach more targeted people. They are easily set up since you work directly from your timeline. Boosted posts are more affordable compared to other advertising.
The Cons: Boosted posts show up as “adverts” in the audience’s timeline. Also, you can’t customise the post for the specific audience.
What is a Facebook ad?
Facebook ads are created in the Ads Manager, which allows you to customise your message for your audience.
Pros of Facebook Ads: You have more choices where you ad is placed — Facebook, Instagram, Facebook News Feed side ads, Messenger ads, Instagram stories, instant articles, and Audience Network.
Set your objective early. You can then align your marketing strategy with your business goals. You can choose from options like store traffic, conversations, and lead generation.
Use your creativity. Facebook ads include carousels, specific descriptions, and integrate a call-to-action button to motivate your audience to take action. Use these elements to hone in on your audience’s motivations.
Customize your audience. Facebook ads provide options to identify and reach your ideal audience. Advanced tools allow you to create “lookalike audiences” and create overlapping audience types.
Cons of Facebook Ads: Facebook ads may require more time to create, as well as greater knowledge of your ideal audience. These ads are created from scratch, rather than boosting an existing post that’s already performing well. Facebook ads are often more expensive than boosted posts.
What Should You Do? Boosted Post vs. Paid Ad
Both options will improve your reach, but which is best for your needs? The decision comes down to your goals and your expectations for your money.
When to Use Boosted Posts:
- Increase your followers
- Develop brand awareness with a new audience
- Increase audience engagement on your Facebook page
- Get more website clicks
- Improve visibility on your best posts
- Host promotions or giveaways
Best practice is to boost posts that are doing well with organic reach. You will maximise your budget while increasing engagement.
When to Use Facebook Ads:
- Generate leads
- Convert website visitors
- Drive traffic to your online store
- Get orders for your online store
- Have your videos seen by more individuals
Boosted posts and Facebook ads both are essential in marketing and advertising. It’s important to choose the tactic that allows you to get the best results for your sleep industry business.
Bottom Line
You can’t afford to ignore social media marketing. Whether it interests you or not, you’ll miss out on a strong channel that the majority of people love. Find a team of social media specialists who can develop a campaign for your sleep industry business. You’ll be glad you did.
The Somnowell Marketing Team Can Help
Our team has helped many sleep industry businesses just like yours, to create and implement a social media campaign — Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more. The team will work with you to develop the plan, then create and post (with your approval) content that reflects your brand, your unique selling points, your goals.
The team will guide you on whether Facebook boosting or adverts are best for your situation.
If your sleep industry business could benefit from a well-developed social media marketing plan, let’s talk.
