How to Boost a Post on Facebook

Thinking about clicking that little blue Boost Post button on your Facebook page? It's a powerful one-click way to get your best content in front of a much bigger audience, but using it correctly is the difference between wasting your money and driving real results for your business. This guide will walk you through exactly how to boost a post strategically - covering everything from choosing the right post and defining your target audience to understanding the results afterward.

Understanding the 'Boost Post' Button: The Basics

In simple terms, boosting a post is the most straightforward way to create an advertisement on Facebook. It takes an organic post you’ve already published on your Page - whether it's a photo, a video, or a link - and turns it into a paid ad to show to a wider audience than it would normally reach.

But how is this different from creating an ad in the more complex Facebook Ads Manager? Think of it this way:

• Boosting a Post is designed for simplicity and speed. You work with an existing post and focus on a few basic goals like engagement (likes, comments, shares) or website traffic. It’s perfect for giving your best-performing content an extra push.
• Facebook Ads Manager is built for power and control. It allows you to create highly customized advertising campaigns from scratch with more advanced objectives (like sales conversions or lead generation), incredibly detailed audience targeting (including retargeting people who visited your site), and A/B testing capabilities to see which ads perform best.

A good analogy is that boosting a post is like putting your best-selling product on a display stand right at the front of your shop. Creating a full campaign in Ads Manager is like designing an entire marketing campaign for that product, complete with billboards, magazine ads, and targeted online banners. Both are effective, but they serve different purposes. For most content creators, small businesses, and marketers just starting with paid ads, boosting is the perfect entry point.

The Pre-Boost Checklist: Setting Your Post Up for Success

Before you spend a single dollar, a little prep work goes a long way. The performance of your boosted post starts with the quality of the organic post itself. Don't boost just anything, be selective and strategic.

1. Choose the Right Post

Your best candidates for boosting are posts that have already performed well organically. Go through your Facebook Page feed and look for content that has naturally earned a high number of likes, comments, and especially shares. This is what's called "social proof." A post with existing engagement tells the algorithm - and the new people who see it - that this content is valuable and interesting.

Boosting a post that got no response is like pouring gasoline on a fire that’s already out. Boosting one that people already love is like adding fuel to a roaring flame.

2. Define a Clear Goal

Ask yourself: what do I want people to do when they see this post? The answer will guide all your other decisions. Your goal isn't just "to be seen." Get more specific:

• Do you want more comments and discussion? (Goal: Engagement)
• Do you want to send people to your new blog article or product page? (Goal: Website Traffic)
• Do you want people to contact your business directly via Messenger? (Goal: Messages)
• Do you want local customers to call your shop? (Goal: Calls)

Having a clear objective from the start is what separates strategic advertising from just "spraying and praying."

3. Double-Check and Optimize the Post

Once you’ve chosen your post and goal, give it a final review. Since you’ll be paying for people to see it, make sure it’s in perfect shape.

• Is there a clear Call-to-Action (CTA)? Does your caption tell people what to do next? Phrases like "Click the link to read more," "Shop the new collection now," or "Leave a comment with your favorite..." guide the user’s next step.
• Does the link work? If you’re sending people off of Facebook, click the link one last time to make sure it goes to the right page and loads correctly. A broken link is the fastest way to waste your ad budget.
• Is the visual stunning? Whether it’s an image or a video, it needs to grab attention. Is it high-resolution? Is it well-lit and visually appealing? Poor-quality visuals get ignored in a busy feed.
• Are there any typos? Read your caption out loud to catch awkward phrasing or spelling errors. Professionalism matters, especially when you're paying to reach new potential customers.

How to Boost a Post on Facebook: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Once you have your post ready, the actual process of boosting it is quite simple. Facebook walks you through it, but knowing what each setting means is essential.

Step 1: Find the 'Boost Post' Button

Navigate to your Facebook Page and scroll to the organic post you've decided to promote. Below the post, you will see a prominent blue "Boost post" button. Click it to open the boost settings window.

Step 2: Choose Your Goal

The first thing Facebook will ask is what results you'd like to get from this ad. Based on the objective you already defined, you’ll choose from a list of options. Common goals include:

• Get more engagement: Best for increasing reactions, comments, and shares. Good for building community and brand awareness.
• Get more website visitors: Use this when your post includes a link you want people to click.
• Get more messages: Prompts people to start a conversation with your Page in Messenger. Great for service-based businesses or for answering product questions.

While an "Automatic" option exists (where Facebook tries to select the best goal for you), it's highly recommended that you choose a specific goal yourself for better results.

Step 3: Add a Call-to-Action (CTA) Button

Depending on your goal, you can add a button to your post that makes it easier for people to take action. This is optional but highly effective. Some popular CTA buttons are "Learn More," "Shop Now," "Sign Up," "Book Now," and "Send Message." Match the button to your goal - if you want website visits to a blog, "Learn More" is a perfect fit. If you're selling a product, use "Shop Now."

Step 4: Define Your Audience

This is the most critical step of the entire process. Showing your post to the right people is everything. Facebook gives you several powerful ways to target your audience.

People you choose through targeting

This setting lets you build an audience from scratch based on their characteristics. It’s where you can get really specific.

• Location: Target users in specific countries, regions, cities, or even draw a radius of a few miles around a specific address. For a local business, like a restaurant or hair salon, this is invaluable. Example: 10-mile radius around your shop’s address.
• Demographics: Refine your audience by age range and gender. Think about your ideal customer - who are they? Be realistic, not aspirational.
• Detailed Targeting: This is where the magic happens. You can target people based on their interests, behaviors, and additional demographics. Think about what your target audience likes, the brands they follow, the hobbies they have, and the topics they care about. For example, a local coffee shop could target people who have expressed an interest in "Espresso," "Third-wave coffee," "Starbucks," and maybe even followers of local foodie influencers.

You can also choose audiences like "People who like your page" (great for sharing important updates) or "People who like your page and their friends" to expand your reach.

For your first few boosts, focus on building a detailed, targeted audience. Start with a few well-researched interests and then you can test and expand later.

Step 5: Set Your Duration and Budget

Here you’ll tell Facebook how long to run the ad and how much you want to spend.

• Duration: It's generally a good idea to run a boost for at least 4-5 days. This gives Facebook's algorithm enough time to "learn" who is responding best to your ad and optimize its delivery.
• Total Budget: You set the total amount you want to spend over the entire duration. Facebook will show you an estimated daily reach based on your budget and targeting. You can start with a small amount - even $25 or $50 over 5 days - to see a significant increase in reach and test what works.

Step 6: Confirm Your Payment and Boost

Finally, confirm your payment method. If you’ve never advertised before, you’ll need to set up an ad account and add a credit card or PayPal. Once everything looks good, give it a final review and click the "Boost Post Now" button. Your post will go into a short review process and should be live within a few hours.

Your Post is Boosted. Now What? Measuring Success

Your job isn't over once the boost starts. Checking in on its performance helps you learn what resonates with your audience and make smarter decisions next time.

You can see the results by clicking on "View Results" on the post itself or by looking in your Page’s Ad Center tab. Don’t get lost in vanity metrics. Focus on the numbers that tie back to your original goal.

• Reach: How many unique people saw your post. This lets you know how far your budget is going.
• Engagement: Total number of reactions, post clicks, comments, and shares.
• Results: This metric directly reflects the goal you selected. If your goal was "website visitors," this will show you how many link clicks you received.
• Cost Per Result: This is arguably the most important metric. It tells you exactly how much you paid for each action taken (e.g., $0.35 per link click or $1.50 per message). A low cost per result means your ad is running efficiently.

Use what you learn. Did a certain interest group respond really well? Did the video get way more link clicks than the image post? Every boost is a learning opportunity that makes your next one even more effective.

Final Thoughts

Boosting a Facebook post is a direct and approachable way to amplify your message, reach new customers, and drive specific actions. By selecting your best content carefully, defining your target audience and goal, and analyzing the results, you turn a simple button-click into a powerful marketing strategy that moves the needle for your brand.

Of course, having excellent organic content is the foundation of any successful social media strategy. Before you ever spend a dime on boosting, you need a steady stream of high-quality posts, and that is precisely where we designed Postbase to help. We built it with a visual calendar to make planning your content simple and a reliable scheduler to manage posts across all your platforms, so you’re always publishing compelling originals worthy of a boost.