Is your business looking to dedicate a portion of its marketing budget to promotion on Facebook? If so, you should know this social media platform has two options that fit most budgets: an advertisement and a boosted post. But what’s the difference? Let’s take a look.

An advertisement

A Facebook advertisement is a customized, targeted campaign for a specific audience over a given time frame. This type of promotion is, or allows for:

• Opportunity to strategically plan and design ahead of time
• Is used to promote a sale, event, grand opening, and more
• Is typically more advanced and targeted
• Can be seen in the right-hand column of your newsfeed or throughout the newsfeed itself
• Views are limited to only those who have liked your business’ page can see the content
• Base fees are determined on the length of the advertisement. For example, Facebook Business says it costs $1.50 for each 1,000 impressions the post receives.

A boosted post

Facebook has a pre-existing algorithm that determines the order of posts on a user’s newsfeed. For a fee, a boosted post can appear higher on a newsfeed, increasing the number of impressions.This type of promotion is, or allows for:

• Typically an already shared post
• Intended to increase impressions (think: likes, shares, etc.)  
• Can be targeted to those who haven’t liked your business’ page by age, location, and more
• Can be seen in the right-hand column of your newsfeed or throughout the newsfeed itself
• Charge of the post is determined by the number of impressions and the demographics being targeted
• Facebook establishes a base rate fee for the post and keeps track of a money value the boost received through the number of impressions
• Prices vary by the budget and duration identified

The Differences Between an Ad and a Boosted Post

• The expense and budget
• The target audience(s)
• Time spent developing content
• Appearance of the post

Now that you know the difference, ask yourself these questions before beginning your next Facebook promotion:

1. What’s the goal?
2. Is there a clear call-to-action?
3. What’s the budget?
4. Who is your business looking to target?

Knowing the answers to these questions, will help you decide which type of promotion is best for your next campaign.