Boost Post vs Ads Manager: Which One Should Businesses Use?
As businesses begin advertising on Facebook or Instagram, one question is often asked immediately. Do you use the easy “Boost Post” feature or the more advanced “Ads Manager”?
Knowing the difference between Boost Post vs Ads Manager is vital if you want to succeed with social media advertising campaigns.
Boost Post and Ads Manager are both part of the Meta advertising suite. However, they are used differently depending on the level of control and marketing objectives. While some businesses use Boost Post to advertise their products, others use the more advanced Ads Manager to implement their advertising strategies.
In this post, we’ll explore Boost Post vs Ads Manager and how businesses should use them.
What Is a Boost Post?
A Boost Post is the most basic way to advertise a post on Facebook or Instagram. The feature allows you to convert a regular social media post into a paid ad with minimal clicks.
When you make a post on your social media account, Facebook automatically offers you a Boost Post option. By clicking on the Boost Post button, you can easily promote your post to a wider audience.
Boosting a post generally allows you to select:
• Basic audience
• Budget for the campaign
• Ad duration
• Goal for the ad, such as engagement or website visits
For new advertisers, Boost Post is the first step to learning about paid social advertising. The feature is easy to use and requires minimal technical knowledge.
However, when you compare Boost Post vs Ads Manager, you need to be aware of the limitations of a boosted post.
What Is Ads Manager?
Ads Manager is a professional ad platform run by Meta and is used by digital marketers and businesses for creating and managing advanced ad campaigns.
Ads Manager is quite different from Boost Post in the sense that with Ads Manager, you are in complete control of your ad campaign. You can create ad objectives, target audiences, and track the results of your ad campaign.
Ads Manager helps advertisers:
• Create multiple ad campaigns and ad sets
• Use advanced audience targeting features
• Track the results of ad campaigns
• Control ad budget at a deeper level
• Use A/B testing for ad variations
When you compare Boost Post vs Ads Manager, you can see that Ads Manager is more powerful and is meant for businesses and marketers who are looking for strategic results from their ad campaign, not just the promotion of their posts.
Meta Ads Manager is the advertising tool that marketers use to manage ads on Facebook and Instagram. It enables businesses to set ads for specific objectives, target the audience in detail, and track the ads’ performance. According to the official Meta advertising guide (outbound link), the Ads Manager tool enables marketers to optimise ads through advanced tools.
Targeting Differences
One of the biggest differences between the Boost Post vs Ads Manager is the level of audience targeting that is allowed.
Boost Post offers the following basic level of audience targeting:
• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Interests
This level of targeting allows businesses to reach a larger audience. However, this level of targeting is limited compared to Ads Manager.
Ads Manager offers the following level of audience targeting:
• Custom audiences
• Lookalike audiences
• Detailed demographic targeting
• Behaviour-based targeting
• Website visitor retargeting
This allows businesses to reach people who have already visited their website, people who have already dealt with the business, and people who resemble existing customers.
The level of audience targeting that Ads Manager offers makes the Ads Manager campaigns perform better compared to the boosted posts.
Budget Control
Another significant factor that differentiates the Boost Post vs Ads Manager in the Boost Post vs Ads Manager comparison is the budget management.
In the case of the Boost Post, the advertisers have the ability to allocate a single budget and duration. After this, Facebook will allocate the budget according to its algorithm.
This is easy for new advertisers but has limited features.
The Ads Manager has advanced features in the budget management of the advertisements. Advertisers have the ability to allocate:
• Campaign-level budgets
• Ad set-level budgets
• Daily budgets
• Lifetime budgets
Additionally, advertisers have the ability to optimise the campaign based on the results obtained in terms of conversion, clicks, and impressions.
This provides advertisers with the opportunity to maximise the return on investment.
When Should Businesses Use Boost Post?
However, the benefits of boosting a post still apply in some cases.
Businesses might consider using the “Boost Post” feature when they want to:
• Increase the reach of a popular post
• Promote a quick announcement
• Reach more followers with minimal setup
• Run a small promotional campaign
For small businesses that are new to paid advertising, boosted posts can be a good way to get started.
However, when considering the “Boost Post vs. Ads Manager,” boosted posts are better for short-term visibility and not for long-term campaigns.
When Should Businesses Use Ads Manager?
Ads Manager is the better choice when businesses need to carry out structured marketing campaigns and measure significant results.
Businesses that need to:
• Generate leads
• Drive website traffic
• Increase product sales
• Retarget website visitors
• Test various types of advertising strategies
should use Ads Manager. In most professional environments, Ads Manager is the better choice for advertisers because of the level of insight that can be gained.
This is why many digital marketers stress the importance of learning Ads Manager over boosted posts.
Final Overview
Understanding the difference between Boost Post vs Ads Manager can assist businesses in becoming better advertisers.
Boost Post is easy to use, efficient, and can be very useful for advertising. Boost Post is best for new advertisers or businesses looking for a way to quickly get engagement.
Ads Manager, on the other hand, is a powerful advertising tool built for complex advertising strategies, audience targeting, and optimisation.
For businesses looking for long-term growth and better advertising results, it would be better to spend time learning Ads Manager.
With an understanding of how Boost Post vs Ads Manager can be used, businesses can develop better social media advertising strategies.
For businesses that want quick visibility, there is an option called Boost Post that is available for promotions. However, businesses that want better targeting and results over time prefer to use the Ads Manager feature.
For businesses that want to grow over time, it is better to use advertising in conjunction with Social Media Marketing.
| Feature | Boost Post | Ads Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Difficulty | Very Easy | Moderate |
| Targeting Options | Basic | Advanced |
| Budget Control | Limited | Full Control |
| Campaign Types | Limited | Multiple |
| Best For | Quick promotion | Strategic campaigns |
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is Boost Post the same as Ads Manager?
No. Boost Post is a simplified advertising tool, while Ads Manager provides advanced campaign control, targeting options, and performance tracking.
2. Which is better: Boost Post or Ads Manager?
Ads Manager is generally better for businesses that want advanced targeting and measurable results.
3. Can beginners use Ads Manager?
Yes, but it requires more learning compared to Boost Post.
