It's pretty juicy, that big blue "Boost Post" button you see on every post you create. Then there are Facebook ads, so what's the difference? Will boosting your posts help you achieve your goals?

Here's a quick guide to tell you the difference between the two when advertising on Facebook. 

What Are Boosted Posts? 

A boosted post a form of advertising provided by Facebook where you can increase the visibility of your posts found on your companies Facebook page by spending money. This is the easiest form of advertising on Facebook. Facebook boosts allow you to reach specific audiences. Boosted posts are different than Facebook ads because this form of advertising is not created in Facebook Ads Manager which has a lot more customization and options available.

Here is what you can do with boosted posts: 

1. Choosing your audience: You can pick a specific type of person by location, their interests, age and if they like your page or not.
2. Setting your budget: Define how much money you want to spend over your campaign. 
3. Setting your duration: Define how long your ads will run for. 
   

After these options have been set for your boosted post, Facebook will review the boosted post and either approve or deny. If approved, your boosted post will appear in peoples timelines during the set duration of the campaign. 

TIP ALERT! If you want to reach more people for the budget you have set, use a photo with little no text on it. Images with text are seen less than images without.  

What are Facebook ads?

Even though Facebook boosts are still ads, Facebook ads are different. Facebook ads are created in Facebook Ads Manager and allow for more options and customization than boost posts. If you are will to invest more time, Facebook ads are certainly more effective when done properly. 
Facebook ads can be used for app installs, website conversions, video views, shop orders. awareness, messages, reach and more where boosted posts are used more for page likes, reach comments and shares. 

Here is what you can do with Facebook Ads: 

1. Advanced Targeting: Facebook Ads allows you to have all of the options in Boosted posts but allow you to use multiple audiences and lookalike audiences to reach more people who have shown interest in businesses like yours in the past.  
2. Define Your Ad Objective: Learning your marketing objective before you start an ad campaign is important to your success. Facebook Ads allow you to choose one of three objectives; awareness, consideration, conversion. Within these three options there are several types of variations that each have their own purpose.
3. Have More Creative Control: When you boost a post, you're doing just that but with Facebook Ads you can create an ad suited to your goals. This can be any variation of carousel ads, multiple descriptions, headings and specific call action buttons just to name a few.  

So When Should You Use Facebook ads VS Boosted Posts

In our opinion, Facebook Ads Manager should be used at all times. We understand there is more to it, it takes more time and is more confusing then clicking a button. If you can't always use Ads Manager then boosting a post is fine if you are looking for post engagement or getting your brand out there. This will help build your audience. If your goal is more specific than this then Facebook Ads Manager is the right choice for you.