I’m sure you’ve contemplated this very question hundreds if not THOUSANDS of times, right?
“Do I hit the little boost button?
Is this post doing well enough to create an ad?
Someone who says they do social media for a living said ‘never use boost’ – is that true? But, I saw someone else say ‘If you start running ads you can’t ever stop”‘ – is that true?”
The answer to this one isn’t simple – which is why there are so many conflicting opinions among professionals.
I’m going to tell you a secret, there is room for both ads and boosts in your social media strategy!
I recommend using boosts when:
- You are on the go. It is SO much easier to just hit the boost button on the phone instead of trying to pull out your computer and put together an ad campaign.
- You just need a quick little boost (pun intended). Do you want to quickly ramp up the engagement of a post? Think $10 or less.
- You aren’t super familiar with ads, playing with boosts is a helpful way to remove the fear of testing different kinds of posts and audiences.
- You’re waiting for ads to kick in. Boosts tend to get approved first so it’s not a bad idea to boost a post while waiting for ad approval.
I recommend using full-blown ads, set up with the ads manager, when:
- You or your clients’ goals are anything but engagement, reach, or social growth. This means lead generation or conversions of any kind.
- Your budget is more than $10, or your timeline is longer than a couple of days.
- If you know how to run ads and have the time to put an ad together.
Here’s when I recommend either one:
When you’re testing or trying something new. You’ve heard people say “I’ll try anything once” this can do attitude is definitely something social media managers need to adopt because your results might surprise you.
