When you post to Facebook as a business account you may see the option to “boost post” and this may seem like a good idea. However, there are still many things to consider. Using this option will surely boost your post engagement but it will do that alone, boost your post meaning you may get more likes, but this will not ensure a boost to your page or link clicks.
Boosting a post allows you to choose your audience. This can include choosing from boosting your post to your fans or to the friends of your fans. However, this sends your post to maybe millions of Facebook users who might scroll right past it because it has no direct correlation with them. For example, a post may have thousands of likes from people in Canada but is only truly relevant to people of Northwest Alabama. The audience reached may not end up being your intended audience. This is where the potential problem lies. While Facebook encourages you to boost and boost often, boosting without doing research first can ultimately lead to a waste of money. Boosting isn’t a bad thing, but boosting without extensive knowledge of your audience and what their interests are is.
In order to truly benefit from the occasional boost to your page, it is important to post consistently. This will remind people of your business often and increase your chances of bringing them to your page. This can be achieved by creating a schedule based around when your audience is online and sticking to that schedule. Keep your content consistent with your brand and make blatant sales posts only occasionally. We recommend sticking to what we call the “80/20 rule” of 80% original, curated, entertaining or informational content related to your business or organization and 20% promotional posts for your product or service. As of the newest update being announced for Facebook, content that is meaningful and provides value to your audience is even more important than ever.
While boosting may be advertised as a “magic bullet” designed to bring immediate business and revenue to you through posts designed to be seen by a specific audience, doing it without regard to your numbers or without a desire to continually keep your Facebook page active and consistent will not yield desired results. Boost occasionally, boost with a target and goal in mind, know your audience and always stay consistent on your page.