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Over the past few years, Facebook has seen a huge decline in organic reach. On average, a typical Facebook post only reaches about 1-3% of the page’s fans.

Why is this happening?

There is way more content being produced on Facebook than there is time to absorb it. The competition in our News Feeds is fierce and increasing by the day, which means it’s harder to gain exposure.

Facebook’s updated algorithm has also specifically designed our News Feeds to show us content that is most relevant to us personally instead of showing every piece of content that is published.

So…what does this mean for business owners trying to accelerate their social media presence?

As most people have said, you’re going to have to pay to play.

Boosted posts are the quickest and easiest way to pay Facebook to ensure your content is being placed in front of more people. In basic terms, boosted posts are the simplest form of Facebook ads that anyone can master.

 

 

slim plate boosted

 

The best strategy is to boost a post you know will generate good engagement organically. Always give a post enough time to accumulate organic reach before you boost so you are able to assess the situation. If the post is gaining traction and great organic engagement on its own, it’s not necessary to boost. On the other end of the spectrum, it’s not worth spending $1.00 to $2.00 to save a “Dead” post (A post that doesn’t get any engagement at all). If the post truly isn’t going anywhere, don’t waste budget on it. It’s better to find a sweet spot between the two to get the most exposure and engagement for your money.

 

Boosted Post:

– 4,541 People Reached

– 90 People Liked

– 9 People Shared

 

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Not Boosted Post:

– 393 People Reached

– 2 People Liked

– 0 People Shared

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Here are three tips to maximize engagement even further:

  1. Alert your email list
  2. Blog about it
  3. Share the post on your other social channels

When you boost a post, you’ll start to see the difference between your paid reach and organic reach almost immediately.

 

Capture

 

To ensure your post is reaching your target market, Facebook gives you three separate audience options.

  1. People who like your page
  2. People who like your page and their friends
  3. People you choose through targeting

 

reach

 

Boosting your post out to people who like your page is the safest option because you know they’re already interested in your brand. Extending that to people who like your page and their friends accomplishes similar results but expands the reach to outside of your brand’s fan base and can aid in gathering new followers.

Using targeting allows you to pick a very specific niche audience and is the best way to make the most out of your boosted post. Using prior advertising data and Facebook insights, you can really narrow in on who is interested and what group of people will give you the best results.

When it comes to budget, you do NOT need to spend a fortune on “boosting” posts. We recommend spending anywhere from $1.00 – $2.00 per post to get a good amount of engagement. If you want a ton of engagement obviously boost it for more money. A big misconception is that you need to spend a ton of money on boosting posts, that is simply not true.

Now it’s your turn! Implement this strategy for your business and tell us how it worked for you! We want to hear from you! Have you had success using boosted posts? Tell us about it in the comments!

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About Mackenzy Marcks

Mackenzy Marcks is an Account Executive at Social Vantage. Her communication skills and background in client relations allow her to achieve consistent results among a list of international clients. She works to creatively build campaigns in multiple industries ranging from fitness to academic research publishing. She graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Public Relations and Advertising. When Mackenzy isn’t in the office, you can find her exploring Philadelphia and putting hot sauce on just about everything.