It’s widely known that Facebook is the largest and arguably most influential social media platform in the world. However, the types of posts marketers can use on business pages are widely varied and can be confusing even to experienced Facebook users. In this guide, we will be going over the different types of Facebook posts and some best practices for each type.
What Are Organic Facebook Posts?
Just as it sounds, an organic Facebook post is one that has no money put behind it. All engagement the post receives is purely of its own merit. An organic post is not necessarily being pushed out to target audiences, but to your followers.
While these posts (typically) won’t have the same reach or engagement as boosted posts or Facebook ads, they are an important facet of your social media marketing strategy. Organic posts are important for interacting with your dedicated followers, establishing a brand identity and for making announcements.
How Often Should Home Service Brands Post on Facebook?
The answer to this question changes regularly, but here are a few best practices for how often home service brands should post organically on Facebook:
- Post when you have something to say, not just for the sake of posting.
- Whatever you do, post on a consistent schedule. For most of our clients, we post on a once-a-week basis and this varies based on a client’s company size.
- Don’t post too much or too little. In our experience, brands who post more than twice a day receive less engagement. We’ve also seen brands that only post every few months receive very little engagement. There is a balance that needs to be struck and you will likely find it if you stick with a regular posting schedule.
What Are Boosted Facebook Posts?
A boosted Facebook post is the middle ground between an ad and an organic post. These are posts that were originally organic but have money put towards them so they can target users within certain parameters you set. Creating a boosted post is simple and inexpensive for the average Facebook user. You can put as much money into a boosted post as you want as long as it hits the minimum of $1. These posts will reach more of your followers than the average organic post would, but it won’t help you further build out your audience.
What are the pros and cons of boosting a Facebook post?
Here are the advantages of boosting a post:
- Boosting is easier than setting up an ad campaign. All you have to do is click the little blue “boost post” button at the bottom of your organic post, set your audience parameters, set a target location and input credit card information.
- Boosting a post is generally cheaper than running an ad campaign.
- If you boost your post on Facebook, you can also boost it on Instagram without paying double. You don’t even have to have an Instagram account to do this.
- You will expand the reach of your post.
Here are the disadvantages of boosting a post:
- Even though you will be reaching more people, you still may not be reaching the right people. A Facebook ad has better targeting capabilities, so running an ad campaign will generally produce more bang for your buck.
- A boosted post will reach your existing followers without expanding your follower base.
- You can’t test out different versions of the post to see which one performs better. In the ads manager, you can switch out the copy or the image to optimize the campaign.
- You can’t daypart a boosted post, meaning you can’t turn the post on and off during certain times of day/night.
- Boosting posts can become addicting and while your engagement metrics may increase, the efficiency of your marketing budget can be in question.
What Are Facebook Ads?
Like a boosted post, a Facebook ad is a piece of social content that you can pay to put in front of a targeted audience. According to Facebook, the main difference between an ad and a boosted post is the level of customization that is allowed for each type.
Facebook ads are extremely customizable. You can customize your audience, when your ad is seen, the content within each ad, and ad objectives. That means you can choose the result you are targeting in each ad, like landing page views, clicks, form submissions and more.
Unlike Google ads, Facebook ads are better for driving brand awareness rather than genuine leads. Running Facebook ads may not give you as many conversions as a Google PPC campaign, but we have seen a correlation between increased direct traffic and Facebook ads for several of our clients.
What is the price difference between a Facebook ad and a boosted post?
In theory, there really isn’t a price difference between ads and boosted posts. Neither one has a maximum amount of money you can spend and they both have a minimum budget of $1. However, our expert opinion is that you should put more money into a Facebook ad than to a boosted post because of the customization features in the Facebook ads manager. Boosted posts should be used sparingly, especially if you’re already running ads and they should run for significantly shorter amounts of time. As for how much you should spend on a boosted post, we don’t recommend anything over 25 to 50 dollars.
What is a Facebook Pixel?
A Facebook pixel is a string of code that should be added to your website before you begin running ads. The primary function of the pixel is to make sure your ads are reaching the right audiences. It collects data that helps you customize your ad targeting and makes remarketing campaigns possible. This helps you drive more sales and keep better track of how well the ad is doing.
Why Can’t I See My Facebook Ad?
If you’re scrolling through Facebook and you’re wondering why you never see your business’s Facebook ad, there is a simple explanation. Facebook ads are not like posts, they aren’t going to be available for view on your regular feed. Ads are only meant to be seen by their targeted audience, not necessarily by all of your followers (though there is likely overlap).
It’s actually a good thing that you aren’t seeing your ad. Facebook charges by the impression and they charge even more for engagement, so if you do see your ad don’t click on it.
Variations of Facebook Posts
Over the years Facebook has evolved its post types to be more engaging in order to improve user experience and drive engagement. Business pages can now post five different variations of posts, including:
- Photo or video posts
- Photo Albums
- Photo Carousels
- Slideshows
- Instant Experience Posts
When you go to make a post, you will be given all of these options in a menu that looks like this:
Each type of post can be organic, boosted or used in an ad. Additionally, each type of post can be used for different purposes or goals. Here’s a breakdown of each type of Facebook post.
Photo or Video Posts
These are the most common posts that you will see across your whole feed. Anyone can publish a photo or video post, not just business accounts. Just because they are common doesn’t mean they are ineffective or that you shouldn’t use them. These work well for organic, boosted posts or ads.
Photo Albums
Photo albums are a way to post a lot of photos all at once. Each photo can get its own description so you can explain the intricacies or context of each photo. The most common uses for photo albums are after events or if you want to show off a big project your business has been working on. For example, if your business is a remodeling company, you can show the whole process of a remodel in one album. While you can boost a photo album or turn one into an ad, these are probably better left as organic posts due to the extensive nature of the post.
Photo Carousels
Photo carousels are a type of post that lets you attach multiple images. Your audience can then scroll through the images in either the left or right direction – like a carousel. When a viewer clicks on an image it will take them to a webpage of your choice. This is a great way to show off products or recent projects. These work well as ads or organic posts.
Slideshows
Slideshows are an easy way to turn a bunch of photos into a “video.” You can even attach music to it from Facebook’s royalty-free music library. These posts load faster than videos so they work well if you are trying to reach people who might not have access to high-speed internet services. These are not super common, especially for the home service industry.
Instant Experience or Canvas Posts
An instant experience post (formerly known as canvas posts) are fully-immersive full-page ads that consist of customizable photos, videos, text and CTA buttons. Before you start an instant experience ad you will need high-quality photo and video assets. These assets will also need to fit within Facebook’s specified dimensions. These posts are great for ads, especially on mobile. However, they are more time-consuming to produce.
Facebook is an essential platform for any home service business, so creating a social media marketing strategy to properly use the platform is vital. For expert home service contractor social media marketing or other digital marketing services, get started with Leadhub.
