Is there a way you can test your first Facebook ad without committing to budgets over $100? You bet there is! Tune in to this podcast episode where I explain Boosty Posties (boosted posts) for beginners.

Watch this episode on: YouTube.

Listen on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts.

Transcript:

Hello and welcome! In this episode, I would like to talk about running your first Facebook ad, even if you don’t feel quite ready. I’m going to let you know how to experiment with a Facebook ad if you’ve never done it before. And we are going to do something that people in my circle like to call “Boosty Posty.” That’s right, my friends. We are going to go against the advice of many Facebook ads marketers, and I’m going to tell you about how to create your first ad with a boosted post.

Before You Start: A Word of Caution

Okay, before you go ahead and do this, please do not leave and go and click “boost” on whatever post you see first of your own. Please don’t do that. Please stick around and let me explain. Um, I, yes, I am encouraging you to do something that a lot of marketers tell you not to do, but please listen carefully. Boosted posts, yes, there are ways to do them wrong. But I would like to explain how to do a boosted post and actually do it in a way that, if it doesn’t get you results, it will at least be a helpful learning exercise for you.

Choosing the Right Post to Boost

But look, if you do what I’m about to tell you, it will put you in a much greater chance of actually getting a positive result than if you just boosted whatever you wanted, just click that button and walk away. Don’t click the “Boost” button and walk away. Listen carefully. What I would like you to do is find a post that has got lots of likes, lots of comments, and shares. I want you to look at this post and choose this as your boosted post.

Now, the reason why we choose a post that’s already got some love and not one that hasn’t is that boosting is a way of running an ad. And if you run an ad to something that’s got zero interest, adding money to it is just going to multiply zero by zero. So maybe you’ll get some responses, but if it’s on a post that didn’t get the response that you liked, there’s not going to be much information there for the algorithm to learn from. So, Facebook’s just going to show your ad to anyone who’s got a smartphone and some eyeballs, and it’s going to give you clicks and engagement, but it may not be with people who are like the people who you want working with you.

➡️ Related article: Episode 384: Reach preachers and the boosty posty – #TASHMAS Day 4 – Tash Corbin.

But if you’ve got a post that’s got tremendous engagement organically, there will already be some information, some data there for the algorithm to learn from. And the more, the better. Facebook will take a look at the traits of these people who have already engaged with your post and say, “Oh, okay, so there’s already some information here. I can see some common threads. I can, therefore, select an audience of people like this to boost to.”

Setting the Objective for Your Boosted Post

Now, when it comes to choosing the objective for this boosted post, I like, as a very early-stage ad for an account that hasn’t run ads before and to reach a somewhat cold audience, I’d like to ask for an easy ask. So, for instance, one type of objective that I like to run with is just “visit my Instagram page.” That’s all I want you to do. I’m not asking you to purchase something. I’m not asking you to give me your email address. Just go and look at my Instagram page.

Now, it would be ideal also if your Instagram page is looking schmi. What this is going to do is, when you boost your post, it’s going to show it to people who are like the people who have engaged with it, and then the “action” is going to get them to look at, not follow, look at your Instagram profile. That’s not a huge ask, and for a cold audience, it’s, you know, it’s not a big deal, not a big ask for them. If they like what they saw in your post and it made them happy or it intrigued them, then they’re far more likely to be curious about what other things you’ve done. Getting them to visit your Instagram post, your Instagram profile, is actually quite an easy ask.

And of the people who go and look, assuming that you nailed it, that piece of content, and you’ve got more like it on your profile, then they’re also likely to become a follower. That’s all we’re really asking for, just a very simple ask. With a small budget, you can make an impact. You may not get dollars back straight away from getting more followers, but what you will get is proof to yourself that, hey, yeah, people who are outside of my existing network saw this, liked it, and then followed my profile.

Conclusion: An Easy Way to Try Out Facebook Ads

So, there’s an example of a simple post, a simple ad that you can do if you haven’t done one before. If you’ve got any questions about how to do this, maybe how to do this better, because there’s plenty of ways to fine-tune the targeting for this, feel free to reach out. I’d like to see you be successful with Facebook ads and Instagram ads.

I hope you found this helpful, and I look forward to seeing you in the next episode.