Facebook Ads vs. Boosts

What’s the difference?
Simply put, boosted posts differ from ads because they are not created in Ads Manager and don’t have all of the same customization features.

Too simple? Okay, let's dive a little deeper.

Boosts
A boosted post is a post to your Page’s timeline that you can apply money to in order to boost it to an audience of your choosing. This is the simplest way to advertise on Facebook. When you boost a post, it will show up in your audience’s news feed as an ad. You can also select Instagram as an ad placement for your boosted post. You can choose a post that’s already present on your Page’s timeline and boost it. When you boost a post, you’ll tell Facebook 3 things:

1. Who you want to reach: you’ll pick a target audience of the type of people you want to connect with.
2. Your max budget: you’ll tell Facebook exactly how much you want to spend over the course of your entire campaign. Facebook will give you an estimate on the number of people you will reach based on cost and length.
3. How long you want to run your ad: once you click “Boost” and your ad is approved, people in your target audience will see your ad in their news feed for the duration you’ve set.

Note: boosted posts are still considered ads because they require a budget to be shared with a wider audience. This is the core similarity it shares with ads.

Facebook Ads 
While boosting a post is still considered an ad, Facebook ads are created through Ads Manager and offer more advanced customization solutions. There are many advertising objectives to help you reach your specific business goals and the audiences you care about most. For example, you may have a goal of simply reaching more people and building brand awareness or maybe you'd rather drive traffic to your website. You can choose your marketing objective for the ad.

A boosted post may initially optimize for Page likes, comments, and shares or overall brand awareness, Facebook ads can optimize for app installs, website conversions, video views, shop orders and more.

When to use Facebook ads vs Boosted posts
If you want audience engagement on your Page or to develop your brand awareness, boosting a post is a great way to maximize visibility and grow your audience. To create more advanced ad types and campaigns with a more targeted or specific audience, use Ads Manager.

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