Boosting a Facebook Post vs. Facebook Ads Manager: The Critical Differences Explained
We have all been there. You post a photo of your product, and Facebook dangles a little notification in front of you: "This post is doing better than 95% of your other posts! Boost it for $10 to reach more people." It feels like an easy win. You click the button, you pay the money... and then what? Usually, nothing happens. Let's talk about why.
We have all seen it. You post a nice picture on your business page, and Facebook shows you a big blue button that says "Boost Post." It looks so tempting. It says, "Reach 1,000 more people for $10!"
You click it, spend the money, and get a bunch of likes. But did you get any sales? Probably not. Here is why.
What is Boosting?
Boosting is Facebook's "lite" version of advertising. It is designed to be easy, not powerful. When you boost a post, you are essentially using a megaphone in a crowded room. You are just making your post louder.
The Limitation of Boosting
Facebook's goal when you boost a post is usually "Engagement." This means they show your ad to people who are addicted to clicking the "Like" button. These people rarely buy things; they just like tapping screens. You get vanity metrics (likes) but no profit.
What is Ads Manager?
Ads Manager is the professional cockpit. It looks a little more complicated, but it gives you super-powers that the Boost button hides from you.
1. Better Objectives
In Ads Manager, you can choose specific goals like "Conversions" or "Leads." You are telling Facebook: "I don't care about likes, I want people who actually buy things." Facebook will then ignore the "Likers" and target the "Buyers."
2. Better Targeting
Boosting has very basic targeting. Ads Manager lets you do advanced things, like targeting people who visited your website in the last 30 days but didn't buy (this is called Retargeting).
3. Better Creative Control
When you boost, you are stuck with the post you made. In Ads Manager, you can test 5 different headlines on the same image to see which one works best.
Don't Be Intimidated
Switching to Ads Manager feels scary because there are more buttons. But it is necessary if you want to make profit, not just get popularity.
Need Help Making Ads for the Manager?
Once you switch to Ads Manager, you need actual ad creative—not just random social media posts. This can be tough to make on your own.
Check out Stirling. It acts like your personal ad agency. It uses AI to generate the perfect captions and images that fit the professional Ads Manager format, helping you get sales rather than just likes.
Generate your first professional ad with Stirling at TryStirling.com
