The average Facebook Business Page post will only reach 16 percent of its audience. If you have 100 likes on your Facebook page, your posts will appear on the home feeds of approximately 16 people who have liked your page. This has a lot to do with the timing of content and Facebook’s Edgerank system. Facebook allows you to reach a higher percentage of your likes and people who have not yet liked your page with the Promoted Posts Feature. This is a low-cost, high-value tool for those of you looking to draw attention to an announcement, promotion, event etc.
Advantages of Using Facebook’s Promoted Posts
- Control – You have total control over who you reach and how much you pay. The cost of your promoted post will depend on the size of the audience you are trying to reach.
- Audience – you can choose to promote to “people who like your page & their friends” or “everyone on Facebook”. The cost will vary depending on the method you choose. The best part; Both methods will allow you to reach people that have already liked your page and those who haven’t. They may not “Like” you yet, but if Facebook’s algorithm thinks they may be into what you are promoting, then the post will appear on their homefeeds as “Sponsored”.
- Location – This feature really allows you to focus your efforts on the people who are most relevant to your page. It is important to set the location to target your region. If you do not modify this setting, your post about an event in your city may be reaching people across the country and even the globe!
How to Use Promoted Posts
- Create a post – It is recommended to use an image as it appears larger on the home feed. If you are going to use a link in your post, create a Bitly link so that you can track the clicks to your website (click here to learn more about Bitly and how to use it)
- Highlight over the post and click either the “Boost Post” button at the bottom-right of the post or select the megaphone icon at the top-right of the post
- Decide if you’d like to reach “people who like your page and their friends” or “everyone on Facebook” . The latter option is typically more expensive.
- Select your budget – It is important to remember the nature of your post when selecting your budget. If you are advertising an event that only has capacity for 100 people, it won’t make sense to spend $50 to reach 6,000+ people
- Set your target location
- click the target icon at the bottom left of the promoted posts feature
- select “add targeting” then “location” from the dropdown menu
- Click on “all locations”
- Click on “Countries” then select “Cities” from the dropdown menu
- Enter your City Name and select “save targeting”
- Click “Promote Post” and go through payment process
If you have experience using promoted posts in the past please share them below by leaving a comment.
