Boosted Posts: Do They Really Matter?

With so many ways to advertise on Facebook (and its ever-changing criteria for businesses), it’s enough to leave both novice and seasoned Montessori marketing professionals wondering if paid advertising efforts on this social media platform actually make a difference.

Are they worth it? Do they really matter?

Overall, the answer is yes.

The trick is to make the most of all your paid Facebook advertising options, including boosted posts.

How do boosted posts work?

Boosted posts are the simplest way to promote a post on Facebook. I’m sure you’ve seen it – you upload a photo with a caption on your Montessori school’s page and the blue “Boost Post” button appears in the lower right corner of your post.

You may even get an encouraging prompt telling you something like, “When you boost this post for $20, up to 5,100 people will see it in News Feed and it can get more likes, comments, and shares.”

Note: This is the crux of boosted posts. They help you get “more likes, comments, and shares.”

If you decide to boost your post, you click the button and arrive at a window where you select options. Facebook wants to know your Objective for boosting the post. It asks, “What results would you like from this post?”

Next, the platform allows you to select an audience. You can choose from several different options such as:

• People who like your Page
• People you choose through targeting
• People who like your Page and their friends

Also, if you have already created a Custom Audience or a Lookalike Audience, you can choose those.

You then select a budget and duration for your boost and Facebook estimates how many people will see your post for that amount of money and the selected number of days. You can also preview how your post will appear in a Desktop News Feed or Mobile News Feed.

It’s that simple.

Click the button and your post starts showing up in the Facebook News Feed to your targeted, ideal audience – like families within driving distance to your school who are interested in Montessori education.

It sounds like a great way to spend your advertising dollars on Facebook, considering the potential reach and affordability.

Here’s the thing though:

As Facebook tells us, the biggest results (ROI) you’re going to get are more likes, more shares, and a larger audience.

That’s good news. Sort of. Boosted posts are great for building your audience and reaching more people.

But, what does getting more Likes really do for your enrollment?

Typically, the conversion rate from boosted posts is low, meaning that while you get a lot of new Likes to your post and perhaps even your school’s page, you won’t get a lot of people to take action by visiting your website or requesting more information, or signing up for a tour of your school.

So, why should you boost a post at all?

To build your audience, and to make important school announcements appear in front of your existing followers. Boosted posts are a stepping off point for Facebook advertising; a small piece of the whole picture.

Boosted posts are just one of 20 different marketing objectives you can use to advertise on Facebook. Some of these that are useful to Montessori schools include:

• Traffic: driving people to your landing page or website
• Conversions: capturing information such as emails from within Facebook, of visitors interested in your school
• Brand Awareness: getting your ads in front of more people who fit the criteria of your Target Audience

Ultimately, to be successful advertising on Facebook, to the point that visitors are seeing your promotions and taking action to visit your web page, or landing page, or to sign up for a tour you have to utilize the whole system, not just a small segment.

We hope this helps you understand how Facebook advertising works as part of your marketing strategy to build a following and increase your enrollment.

Have more questions? Schedule a free consultation with Nido Marketing, today. And, if you haven’t already, join our free community of Montessorians from around the country.