When to Boost a Facebook Post (and How to Choose the Right One)

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when every post you create on Facebook or Instagram seems to prompt you to boost it.

But how do you know which post is the right one to boost and how much money should you allocate?

That’s where I’m going to help.

Understanding Meta’s Business Model

First of all, let’s not forget that Meta is a business. They make money through advertising because they promise to reach a whole lot of people. They can keep this promise because a significant number of people are on Facebook and Instagram every single day. While you can say what you want about these platforms, they do have tremendous reach.

Why Not Every Post Should Be Boosted

Just because the social media giant suggests that you should boost a post does not mean it is the right one for you. After all, these are all based on their best interest, which is not necessarily yours.

So, how do we choose? Let’s walk through the steps.

Create an Amazing Piece of Content

Focus on Your Brand Values

Create a truly amazing piece of content that epitomizes one of your brand values. It should literally be the sword you want to die on. The reason behind this is that it is an evergreen post that does not lose traction because of a trend or seasonality. It is a strong pillar of your business and therefore can be utilized more than once over the coming months without needing to re-create content.

Examples to Consider

Here’s an example from the DCM brand.

Here is another example from my personal IG account.

Each one of these pieces of content articulates a value that, if people know absolutely nothing else about me or my company, I want them to know this.

Note on Campaigns

This guideline does not necessarily apply when you are creating lead generation campaigns or Facebook ad campaigns. Notice I use the word “campaign.” That is different from boosting a post and a story for another day.

Boosting Your Core Content Pillars

Creating a Custom Audience

First of all, go into your Meta Business Suite account and create a custom audience based on your ideal client.

(This is even more important now that Apple adds a service fee on any posts boosted via mobile 👎)

This goes a step beyond the “Recommend people like my followers” option that both Facebook and Instagram will suggest as an audience to target when you go to boost.

You, however, want to be more specific.

Why? So that you are truly utilizing your budget in the most effective manner possible.

Determining Your Ad Goals

Once you have created this, you need to decide what the goal of your ad will be.

Are you boosting to get more engagement on the post? 

Are you boosting to get more people to follow your page? 

Are you boosting to get more people to send you a message? 

Each one of these goals is different and therefore will have a different call to action on the boosted post. Remember: with boosting an existing post, you do not get to tailor these the same way that you can tailor your call to action on an ad.

Setting a Budget

So, once you have determined your goal and your custom audience, the next question is:

How much money do you spend?

In my experience, it does not take a large budget to see exposure. When I say exposure, I mean engagement on the post as well as new followers.

I have watched accounts I manage get upwards of 250 likes/comments and 3x the organic views on a single post for less than $10 total. I have had accounts grow by more than 150 followers by spending $20 across three days.

Whether you find these numbers impressive or not depends on both your goal and overall expectations. Nonetheless, for the client whose accounts follow this strategy, those levels of engagement and growth are well worth spending $10 or $20.

By understanding the nuances of boosting posts and strategically selecting the right content, you can maximize your reach and achieve your marketing goals without breaking the bank.