Facebook Boosting – What the Bleep is a Boost?!

If you’re the manager of a Facebook Business Page, you’ve undoubtedly seen the “Boost Post” option.

What the heck does that even mean? Are you wondering whether or not it could be a useful tool for your practice? Are you wondering if it’s worth the investment? It depends on what goals you’re hoping to achieve. If you are looking to drive more traffic to your website or physical location, Facebooks Ads are probably better suited to your needs.

But if you are looking to gain brand recognition, and get your name out there in your community, Boosting could be a great tool for you. Delving into your target demographics and the intended outcome will help you make an informed decision.

What is Facebook Boosting?

Boosting, simply put, is a way to increase the reach or audience of any given post. Anything you post on your Facebook page can be boosted, including standard text posts, upcoming events, giveaways, photos, and videos. You can even boost Facebook Live videos after the streaming has ended. Boosting is a great way to significantly increase your audience if you’re trying to attract attendees for an upcoming event, or you’re just trying to gain brand recognition.

Facebook Boosting vs. Facebook Ads

Do not confuse Facebook Ads with Facebook Boosting – they are two different things. So what’s the difference? As we discussed above, boosting is a great tool for increasing the reach of a post. Boosting does allow you to set some basic demographic targeting filters, but a boosted post is still just a post. Facebook ads, on the other hand, have distinct benefits that boosting does not offer.

For example, Facebook ads go more in-depth with demographic targeting (specifying age, gender, education, income, industry, location, interests, and purchasing behaviors – just to name a few). Ads allow you to clearly define the desired end result, schedule the exact time and placement of the ad, and feature a call to action button to increase conversions (view website, call to schedule, claim the special offer, etc.). If you’re looking for a positive ROI, Facebook ads are probably the way to go, but there is a time and a place where boosting comes in handy.

Know Your Audience

Your intended audience will be the most important thing to consider. Are you casting a large net, fishing for any and all new patients? Boosting a post may help you accomplish this through brand recognition and visibility. Are you casting a line with a unique type of bait, in hopes of attracting a very specific type of patient for a specific service? Facebook ads might be a better way to go.

You should carefully consider what type of people live in your community, and what type of content they might enjoy. What type of events do they like? What kind of music do they listen to? Where do they work? What do they like to do for fun? What are their core values? Answering these questions can help you determine what type of content to post, and whether or not that content is worth boosting.

Consider the Costs

Target demographics and end results considered, the other consideration is of course, the cost. How much does Facebook charge for boosting, and what’s the potential ROI? The fees associated with boosting are flexible, with the audience reach expanding based on how much you’re willing to spend. Facebook boosting gives you a good idea of how many people could be reached based on what you’re spending.

You could spend $1 or you could spend $1000, it’s up to you! You can also choose to spend that money on boosting for a single day, or you can spread your budget out over time. Because boosting is unlikely to return much of your investment monetarily, we don’t recommend spending too much here. A $5 boost can potentially double your reach and help get your name out there in your community, and may even attract a new patient or two.

“For more engagement on a live giveaway or an event, Facebook boosting can be really beneficial for a really low budget.” – Jenni Bollmann, PDA Marketing Coach

But what if the boost doesn’t generate activity? You might be left wondering if the investment should have gone to postage for mailers that will receive a more positive response. For boosting to be worthwhile, you should be willing to spend money for the sole purpose of brand recognition – which is very important! But if you’re looking for a positive ROI for each dollar spent, you may want to consider spending your money elsewhere.

To Boost? Or Not to Boost?

The best type of content for boosting is community centered. People love to see that their health care providers are human, too, and that they are active members of the community. Are you hosting a Q&A, doing a giveaway, or participating in a local event and hoping for a large attendance? If so, the details of the event could make a post worthy of boosting.

Do you have photos of you and your team prepared to run a marathon, or participating in a spaghetti feed? Boosting this type of content allows residents in your town and surrounding areas (even those that aren’t already fans of your page) to see the content and put friendly faces to your name and practice.

If you filmed a Facebook Live video, the video format is more memorable than a standard post and could keep you at the top of viewers’ minds, and newsfeeds with a simple boost! This type of interaction gives you the opportunity to inform and acquaint viewers with your practice on an even more personal level. To learn more about what type of content to post on Facebook, check out our blog: Facebook 101.

What Shouldn’t I Boost?

As a general rule, people on Facebook don’t want to be sold to. Nobody is on Facebook looking for dental services; they are there for fun, hoping to catch up with friends and family. Boosting a post about dental implants will only resonate with a small handful of people, and will likely fall flat. This type of service-based content will have a better response with Facebook ads, or better yet, Google ads. If you work with a local employer’s insurance and you want to target employees of said business, Facebook ads would be a better way to target this specific demographic.

The Takeaway

Your options when it comes to getting your name and brand out into the public are nearly limitless. You might appreciate the broad approach of boosting if you don’t have a precise goal in mind – if you’re just looking to gain brand recognition and attract new patients. If you’re trying to reach a specific demographic of patients, drive traffic to your website, or convince people to pick up the phone and call you, Facebook ads might be better suited for what you’re trying to achieve. Either way, monitoring and tracking results and engagement will be beneficial in determining the success of your marketing efforts. Used strategically, Facebook boosting could be a valuable tool for your practice.

If you have questions before diving in, we’d love to answer them for you! Fill out the contact form below if you’d like to have our team of experts review your social media presence.