Boosted posts - why you should stop using them!

I often speak to business owners that tell me they spend hundreds of pounds a month on social media advertising but never see any return.

With the insights and analytics available with social media platforms, how can it be that they are spending hundreds of pounds, thousands over a year, without seeing anything back from it?

It turns out that what they mean is that they are paying to BOOST their posts.

Social media platforms are vital to businesses.

They have your entire audience (for the most part) captivated. 

An unbelievable proportion of the general public report that checking social media is the first thing they do in the morning. They are not even getting out of bed first!

So it makes perfect sense that businesses are spending a large portion of their marketing budget on these platforms. 

But why does the boost button not work?

The platforms are governed by algorithms used to select the posts that each individual is most likely to find interesting. 

So only a third of your followers are actually going to see what you post on their news feed. 

But if your post is getting a lot of engagement, the algorithm will push that post out to more people that may find it interesting, increasing the reach to your audience.

The boost button is simply asking the algorithm to show your post to more of your followers.

And there is a catch!

It is a boost, not an advert.

This means that if your post reaches 5 people, and you spend £20 to boost it, you will only reach a few more people. 

The only time a boost really works is if you have high reach in the first place. 

If you have a post that is getting great reach organically, a little boost here and there can help it to really gain traction. 

But if there is no engagement, you are boosting from zero and have probably wasted your money.

Paid marketing on social media is better if you create an ad and select the demographic that most resonates with your content. 

This will make sure that you are being seen by the right audience.

To really make this work, try testing which posts work well.

Once you have a post that gains traction organically, turn that content into an ad.

This will ensure that you are not spending money trying to promote something that no one is interested in, saving your valuable marketing budget!

In conclusion, only boost when you have something worth boosting. Otherwise, save your money and spend it on a targeted advert instead!

If you are thinking of starting some advertising on social media but don’t know where to start, get in touch. I am happy to help!