Glossary

Boosted Post

Definition

A boosted post is an existing social media post that you pay to show to a wider audience. It is the simplest form of paid advertising on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, you select a post, set a budget and audience, and the platform promotes it beyond your current followers. Unlike a full ad campaign, boosted posts are set up directly from the post itself.

Why It Matters

Boosted posts are a quick way to get more eyes on a specific piece of content, but they offer limited targeting and optimisation compared to a properly structured ad campaign. Many business owners default to boosting posts because it is easy, but without a strategy behind it, the budget often gets wasted on vanity metrics like impressions rather than meaningful outcomes like leads or sales.

Example

A local gym boosts a post promoting a January special for $50 over five days. It reaches 8,000 people, but because the targeting is broad and the call to action is weak, it generates only two enquiries. A targeted Meta ad campaign with the same budget could have driven significantly more leads.

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