Dear Facebook Users, please for the love of all that is good in this world, DO NOT hit the "boost post" button.
It's nothing but a waste of money, especially for producers.
First, let's talk about what this little button of trickery is... Often times when you manage a public Facebook page you'll get a notification from Facebook saying something to the effect of, "Your post is performing 100% better than other posts, boost it for $20 and reach billions of people." I'm paraphrasing, but you get the point. You may also see the option to "boost" or "promote" your page when creating a post.
Don't do it.
When you click "boost post" you are paying Facebook to show your post/ad in more news feeds so your page reaches people other than your followers. In theory, it's a great idea, but this truly isn't efficient.
The problem with boosted posts is that when Facebook sends your post out to all those news feeds it's completely random.
So for example, if you boost a photo of "Lot 23 in John Doe's Sale in Smalltown, Oklahoma" that post may be sent to folks from Big City, California who would never in a million years care to purchase a bull much less a bull all the way out in Oklahoma.
Yes, your post may get 15,000 views, but how many of those views were by folks who may actually be interested in purchasing your animal?
Thankfully, there's a better way!
It's a little thing called TARGETED ADS.
There's a few aspects that make targeted ads far superior to boosted posts. The biggest difference is the ability to select your audience. Communicating with the correct audience is quite possibly the most important part of marketing.
Now, when you boost a post, if you scroll down towards the bottom of the page there will be a tab to select "people you choose through targeting." If you're going to completely ignore my advice and boost your posts, the least you can do is try to target your post through this feature. But, again, there's a better way, so don't do it.
When you create a targeted ad in the Facebook Ads Manager, you're able to create a campaign, build videos and interactive content (not that you have to, but it's a cool option), control how much you spend on the ads per day (which you can set to as little as $2 per day), determine where they're posted (news feeds, stories, messenger, Instagram, Instagram stories, etc.), how long they run... but most importantly, you can determine a specific targeted audience.
So now through a targeted ad, not only does your "post" stand out from everything else in folks' news feeds, but it's going to your specific targeted audience.
This means instead of that random person in California, your ad for Lot 23 is going to individuals within Oklahoma and selected surrounding states, who follow pages related to that breed of cattle or commercial cattle, people who have used search engines to look for animals fitting Lot 23's description, or who have looked for sales in the area. Your ad is going to people with a real interest in what your trying to promote.
Now instead of 15,000 random views your getting 15,000 views by folks within that region who have a connection to the cattle industry.
Instead of maybe one response from someone who may or may not be interested, you're getting multiple responses from serious buyers.
If you don't believe me, take one of my client's word for it...
"Social media has played a critical role in our operation. Our first targeted ad was a massive success. We ran the ad for a total of 13 days leading up to a sale. Over those 13 days we received 10 phone calls that were directly attributed to the ad. We now have new customers on our waiting list spanning from Kentucky to Georgia. By ensuring our public page was set up correctly, posting regularly, and running one targeted ad, we've grown our page to almost 1,500 followers in a short 6 month period. Social media is not just any other tool... It's a must have for producers!" - Ella Mae Farms, Buffalo, Kentucky
There you have it folks, that's what social media, specifically targeted ads could do for your operation.