There are a variety of different approaches you can take to attract new customers to your independent venture on Facebook. Using social media to spread organic word-of-mouth is an important tool to drive brand awareness and get new customers in the door – and paid content, including boosted Facebook content, has become a key element to help increase both brand awareness and exposure. Incorporating both a compelling organic and paid content plan into your Facebook strategy, by boosting Facebook content, is a very effective way to engage your loyal fans and reach the maximum number of potential new customers. Once you’ve posted something engaging on Facebook, you can take an extra step by boosting that content to get your message in front of the right audience.
Boost Your Facebook Content To Reach More Customers
Boosted posts on Facebook are a way to reach new people who are likely interested in your business but aren’t currently your fans on the social network. When you boost a post, you have the potential to reach more people and entice current fans (along with potential new customers) to visit your business. When you create posts on your Facebook page, there will be a blue “Boost Post” button that pops up on some posts after they’ve been published. You can choose to boost a post, or in other words, turn organic content into paid content, to reach both a wide and targeted audience and attract new customers.
Note: This is different than creating a Facebook Ad. While boosting a post is still considered an ad, Facebook ads are created through Ads Manager and have more customization options.
Get Your Page And Posting Strategy In Order
First, it’s essential that you build up your presence on Facebook before boosting any content in order to get the most for your money. Consider the following questions:
- Are you posting regularly on your Facebook page?
- Is that content getting engagement?
- Are the majority of your followers liking, sharing, and commenting on your posts?
- Are you doing anything to increase your number of followers?
The answer to all of these questions should be, “yes,” before you begin boosting any content. When you boost content, your post will reach people who don’t currently like or follow your page. Once they see your boosted content, they might navigate to your page to take a look at your other content. If these new visitors come to your page, you’ll want to make sure it’s telling your story and that it has other great content they can take a look at once they land there. That way, they’ll be able to understand what you business is all about — and they’ll be more likely to give your business a visit.
Choose The Post You Will Boost Wisely
Next, think about high-quality content you’d like to feature. Typically, a good post to put some money behind is for an event, special, discount or promotion. You’ll need a great photo, video or graphic to use for this post in order to engage customers – any image you use for Facebook will need to be less than 20% text. If you need to explain more about the promotion in addition to the image, include that information within the copy of the post.
Set Goals For The Results You Want
Before you boost a post, it’s important to understand who you’re trying to reach and why.
- Are you putting money behind this post to bring more customers into your business?
- Is this a campaign for brand awareness?
- Are you looking to gain more followers?
Once you decide what you’re trying to achieve with the campaign, that will help inform your copy, the audience you’re trying to target and how long you want to run the campaign.
Target Your Ideal Audience
The next step is to make sure you get in front of the right audience – as many of your ideal customers as possible. Boosting a post will ensure that your content reaches potential customers outside of your current network (who don’t currently follow you) and more of the right people in your community to bring them in your door, so think about who exactly you’re trying to reach. Facebook allows you to define a new audience based on several different things: location, interests and more. Targeting your posts effectively will maximize the number of impressions you’ll get – some people will see the content again and again, keeping your business top-of-mind with consumers who are likely to spend money with your business.
Don’t Overdo It
Don’t inundate your audience with promotional content. You’ll reach new audiences and engage your followers by posting high-quality, varied organic content. Use boosted posts to give that extra push to get quality posts in front of a wider audience and to get more eyes on your brand. Even 1-2 boosted posts per month can create successful results.
Track Your Results
To review the performance of your boosted post, go to your page on Facebook, and navigate to the Facebook Insights tab. Here, you should be able to see the extent of the reach of your post, any meaningful actions (link clicks, video views..etc) on the part of potential new fans and customers, and money spent. With these insights, you can strategize – analyzing what worked well for you and what didn’t to go confidently into your next campaign. Managing paid content can be difficult, but the rewards you get in the end can make it worth the time!
