Although Facebook once began as a way for college students to interact online, it’s since become one of the most powerful tools for businesses to connect with prospective customers. After all, 40% of consumers prefer businesses that engage with customers on social media. One of the ways this platform makes money is through its advertising opportunities. And as a business owner, you can leverage Facebook advertising for your own gain. But when it comes to running an ad on Facebook, you have a couple of different options at your disposal: Facebook PPC ads (or display ads) and boosted posts. What’s the difference here, really? And which one should you choose for your business? We’ll break down these ideas for you below.

Explaining the Difference Between Facebook Ads and Boosted Posts

First, let’s take a look at the differences between conventional Facebook PPC ads, display ads, and boosted posts.

There are a few different ways to develop a conventional ad on the Facebook platform. You can run Facebook PPC ads, which will charge you a fee each time the ad is clicked, or other kinds of display ads. With these kinds of ads, you’ll create them from scratch through Facebook’s ads manager portal. You can maintain more control through this process, as you’re able to customize the images, descriptions, and calls to action. These ads may appear within the main newsfeed or on the sidebar of the site and serve as a component of a larger advertising campaign. They also provide certain insights that may not always be available with other forms of promotion on this platform and may offer more detailed targeting opportunities.

Boosted posts, on the other hand, are more of a one-off way to promote certain content you create for your brand. Companies may use boosted posts to drive traffic to a specific piece of content on their site or to introduce new customers to their business through their social media pages. Bloggers might also boost a post in partnership with another brand to maximize reach. With boosted posts, you can control the length of the campaign, the amount you want to spend, and the audience you’d ideally like to target. However, you’ll generally have a little less control over who sees the post and what the promotion looks like. They can serve as a great introduction to social media advertising and can also be a great way to promote content that you already know is a hit with your audience.

Should You Use Facebook Ads or Boosted Posts?

Choosing between Facebook PPC marketing and boosted posts can be a tough decision, particularly if you don’t have a ton of experience with social media ads. Ultimately, each type of promotion serves a different purpose. It really depends on the marketing goals for your company. Boosted posts can help with overall engagement (like follows, shares, and likes) or brand awareness, while Facebook PPC ads are generally geared towards conversions like downloads and purchases. Many companies will use a combination of both, though display and PPC ads on Facebook are typically the way to go if you’re running a full campaign that’s part of a larger strategy. Boosted posts, on the other hand, can be a great supplemental option to consider to support your other advertising efforts.

In the end, choosing between these two types of Facebook promotions will rely on your brand goals and the recommendations made by your PPC management company. To learn more about running social media ads as part of your marketing strategy, please get in touch with Studio98 today.