If you’re new to the advertising game, you may be wondering about the array of different promotional options that are available to you on Facebook, Instagram and beyond. 

From boosting an already existing post, to creating a targeted ad campaign, the possibilities are endless and each advertising option comes with its own list of advantages.

Keep reading as we walk you through the differences between boosting a post and creating an ad from scratch!

Advantages of boosting a post 

When choosing the right ad strategy for you and your business, consider what you want to get out of it first and foremost. If you’re looking to maximize visibility and grow your audience, you might consider boosting an already existing post. 

Boosting a post allows you to define audience characteristics like: 

• Gender
• Age
• Location 
• Demographic
• Interests
• Behavior

See the images below for a few examples:

Boosting a post also allows you to target potential customers based on things like: 

• People who like your page.
• People who like your page and their friends.
• People in your local area.
• Your custom audience.

Once you’ve decided on which post to boost, you can set a duration as well as a budget and your boosted post will then begin to show up in your chosen audience’s feed on both Facebook and Instagram. 

Advantages of starting an ad campaign.

While a boosted post is a quick and easy way to get started in digital advertising, if you want more control over your ads, you might want to explore customizing your audience in Ads Manager.

Ads Manager lets users be more specific with their ads, allowing for different ad placement choices, as well as customized images. Additionally, Ads Manager lets users choose from more specific ad objectives than those offered on boosted posts. Here are some examples: 

Another big advantage of ads created with Ads Manager, is the element of creative control. If users don’t want to promote an existing post, they can create an ad from scratch with custom text, headlines, landing pages, custom call to action buttons, etc. 

Lastly, this method of advertising allows for advanced targeting methods that aren’t available in boosted posts, such as lookalike audiences.

Conclusion