This past May 2012, Facebook unveiled a new feature that allows businesses to opt for a paid “promote” option that will ensure your businesses posts show up in more users’ Facebook feeds. As a company that focuses on internet marketing in Vancouver, I can tell you that my colleagues and I certainly took notice.

Facebook’s promoted posts feature gives a well needed boost to your page postings. For instance, currently when you post something on your page, it might only reach a limited amount of the people in your contacts and then it’s viral abilities (sharing) is limited to the people in your network that decide to ‘like’ or ‘share’ it on their own Facebook profile.

Alternately, the paid “promote” posts feature increases the number of people who will see your post among your own personal social network as well as those who “like” or subscribe to your business page so it gets better readership (or placement) in the Facebook fan news feed. For instance, if a hair salon wants to let its Facebook fans know that it’s having a “free cut with color special, the business owner can promote that post and ensure their fan base will see it.

So now that you understand how Facebook’s paid “promote” feature works, here are the pros and cons.

The Pros Of Paid “Promote” Option:

1. Offers specific targeting

If you’re a business, freelancer, or social marketing, this new Facebook feature allows you to target users based on geographical location and language so you can really cater to your specific audience.

2. Provides analytics functions

The new function also allows users to track of how many people see your posts.

3. Sharing posts is as easy as 1-2-3

To promote a post, simply:

i. Create a post you want to promote

ii. Click the sharing tool

iii.Click on the “promote” tab and set the budget (i.e., price depends on length of promotion)

The paid “promote” feature ensures your post is seen by a larger percentage of friends and people who like your page than would normally see it (i.e., friends of friends and friends of those who ‘like’ your fan page will see it too).

The Cons of Paid “Promote” Option:

1. Too many ads

You have probably noticed as a normal Facebook user you are already seeing promoted posts (or “Sponsored” posts) in your news feed in the right column? These are often viewed, like any online ads, as annoying to the user and they are oftentimes ignored.

2. You can spend a lot with meager results

The idea that more views will get you more traffic and sales is not that simple. If you struggle with customer engagement to begin with, you can end up paying a lot to promote your posts with little result. Similar to pay-per-click (PPC) marketing—your content needs to be unique and engaging to draw readers and be successful.

About The Author

Caeden M MacGregor is a staff writer and internet marketing consultant that has written for numerous blogs on a variety of topics ranging from guest blogging to landing page optimization.

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