Why you should be using Ads Manager instead of the Boost button for your Facebook Adverts

If you are a business then you probably have a Facebook page – either a personal one or one for your business. If not, then you should. Why? Among other reasons, there are 1.9 Million Zambians actively using the Social Media platform. That’s 1.9 Million potential customers your business can offer products and services to. If, however, you are on Facebook but not advertising, well, then we need to talk. Seriously. We need to talk.

If you have a Facebook page set up, then you’ve probably gotten one or two notifications that read something like “People are boosting posts like yours to reach more people”. In this article, you will learn about why you should be using Ads Manager instead of the Boost button to advertise on Facebook. I will show you the differences and why I think running Ads is better than boosting your page posts.

Why do you need to advertise on Facebook?

Your business page’s organic reach (the number of fans that your posts reach) has been dropping over the past years and continues to do so. Pages with over 500,000 likes can reach an average of 2% of their fans on a normal post. Yikes!! Let that sink in for a moment. With the ever changing algorithms that Facebook makes, it is logical for a business to advertise on Facebook to reach more people. How you advertise, however, is very crucial to the success of your campaigns, and ultimately your business.

4 of 5 times when I ask a client that has a Facebook page about Facebook advertising, I’d get a “Yes I do advertise on Facebook – I boost posts!” Let me say this from the get go, boosting is only a fraction of the type of adverts you can run on Facebook. It is, however, one way to grow your audience and business’ awareness especially if you are new to Facebook advertising. Plus, it is the simpler and faster way to advertise. And of course you can reach more people and gain some engagement in terms of likes, shares, comments, etc. But is this all your business wants to achieve? Here’s a few reasons why I think you should be using Ads Manager instead of the Boost button to run Ads on Facebook.

What type of Ads can you run on Facebook?

Your objective is predefined with two options, for video, as an example, you can only either run the Ad as a Video Views Ad or Direct to Messenger. Whilst for other posts, you are given the option of website visits or engagement.

Advertising objectives using the boost button

Compared to Ads Manager, you have up to 11 options for your Ad including, reach, brand awareness, traffic, conversions, engagements and more. Plus, Ads Manager helps you to advertise to the right customer according to their journey in your Marketing Funnel.

Advertising objectives using Ads Manager

What target audiences can you advertise to?

Facebook’s boosting option will allow you to select an audience to advertise to people based on their interests, age, location and whether they are your fans or friends of fans.

Ads manager has plenty of options regarding your target audience. This ranges from people that have watched your videos before, people that have visited your website before via a Facebook Pixel. You can also load a custom audience of customer numbers or email address in a text file. You can also use a ‘look-alike’ audience of people likely to purchase from you. With Ads Manager, you can re-market to various customers using all the available tools.

Creating Look-Alike Audiences using Ads Manager

Which places can one advertise on?

Depending on the post, boosting allows for 3 placements – Facebook Timeline, Instagram and Messenger. Which comes as an automatic placement. Using Ads manager instead of the boost button, gives you more options of placements where you can advertise on. For instance, you can advertise on Facebook’s Audience Networks – other online platforms other than Facebook and Instagram stories.

Ads Manager’s placement options

How about budgets and scheduling?

With the boost button, you only have the option of running daily Ads (24 hour based window) with the suggested option of running your Advert for either 3, 5 or 7 days. Using Ads Manager instead of the boost button, however, gives you the extra option of running Ads as a life-time event. Meaning, you can choose how long an Ad would run, even less than 24 hours. This enables you to run specials that have an expiration date lesser than 24 hours.

Budget and schedule in Ads Manager

Final thoughts on Facebook Advertising

The boost post option is easy and accessible. If you’re in a hurry to get your business more exposure, a boosted post can help you in a moment’s notice. However, this comes at the cost of rich customization options and fine-tuned budgeting.

“Companies that believe they’re doing enough on Facebook by simply boosting posts are, in all likelihood, leaving money on the table…or throwing it away.”

The entire premise of Facebook Advertising is to be extremely strategic and precise. Maximize campaign objectives to follow the buyer’s journey. Build hyper-targeted audiences. Nurture leads and build raving, loyal fans. And ultimately grow your business.

I strongly recommend you start using Ads Manager for advertising that yield returns on your Kwacha spend. We are passionate about amplifying other business’ digital presence. Do give us a call or start a WhatsApp chat to get started.