Read Time: 4 minutes

If you started managing your Facebook Business Page a few years ago, you’ve probably noticed a decline in the amount of organic reach gained for the majority of your posts. The decline started in 2014 when Facebook dramatically increased in popularity and had more content published on the platform than ever. The high amount of shared content made it impossible for posts to get the same amount of organic reach they once did.

It was also in 2014 when Facebook debuted a new timeline algorithm. The social network was no longer showing its users all available content on their timelines, but only content that they believed would be relevant and interesting for each individual based on user data.

So, how do you get around this? How can your posts gain exposure and engagement?

One word: Boosting.

How to Boost Your Posts Effectively on Facebook

A boosted post is a type of Facebook ad that allows businesses to put money behind a post in order for it to rank higher and appear on more News Feeds. You can boost almost all the posts created on your Page, including your status updates, photos, videos, offers and more. The cost of a boosted post depends on how much reach you’d like to receive from the post. Remember to check Facebook’s Advertising Policies before running any type of advertisement on their platform.

1. Establish a goal

In order to successfully boost a post, you must have a goal in mind. Companies boost posts for a various number of reasons, including:

It’s fairly easy to spend a high amount of money boosting, especially if you plan to boost every post on your timeline. Guarantee that the money spent is used efficiently by determining what your goal is and which metrics you should use to track it.

2. Adjust your target audience

Decide who gets to see your boosted post by customizing your target audience. After all, the performance of your promoted post relies on your targeting. Facebook’s targeting system allows you to choose who gets to see your content by location, age, gender, and most of all, interest. You should create unique audiences for different types of content. Facebook saves all the groups you compose, making it easy for you to target similar viewers in the future.

boost-audience-example

It is very important for a brand to construct vertical-specific fans for their boosted posts. We’ve seen that adding at least a handful of interests to your targeted groups help the boosted post perform better. While this may make your reach smaller, it would guarantee that your content is seen by the right people. You don’t want people seeing articles or pieces of content that don’t pertain to them as it could result in the loss of a fan.

3. Find the perfect time and duration to boost

When you boost a post will also affect the level of engagement you may obtain. If you are just starting out, be sure to promote your posts at varied times so you can determine when your audience is the most active. Easily discover when your fans are online by using a social media management tool that tracks your engagement levels and tells you the optimal time to post.

The duration of your promoted post will also help determine the number of likes, shares, and comments it receives. Only boost your content for as long as it is relevant. For instance, don’t put money behind a post that discusses old tactics, events or updates.

boost-results-example

Here at SOCi, we’ve found that boosting for two to three days gets a higher amount of engagement than simply promoting it for one. We are reluctant to promote posts for any longer than that since it might not look new or fresh to audiences. Be careful to not over-boost your posts. If the same post appears on a user’s timeline too often they may view it as spam and unfollow or unlike your page.

4. Boost posts that provide value

While everything you share on your Facebook holds value, you should only boost posts that hold a high ROI value. While current followers love seeing photos from your latest company culture event, promoting them might not attract any new business. Attract your customer’s eye by promoting articles that will benefit them. This includes boosting content that helps solve a problem or provides tips on how to simplify a process. Additionally, single-image posts usually tend to boost well. Users like to read a tip, quote, or fact on the image and easily absorb it without having to click another link to read more.

Due to the low amount of organic reach that businesses have seen throughout the years, boosting your posts is now essential to your social strategy. Guarantee your posts get your desired amount of visibility by following these tips to boost efficiently.

Learn how SOCi can help take your
localized marketing to the next level.