Why Boosting Facebook Posts is Not a Strategy
By Brendan Byrne Friday, August 15, 2025
If your Facebook ads strategy is just hitting the “Boost” button, you’re basically throwing darts blindfolded and hoping you hit the bullseye. Sure, you might land one — but chances are you’re just poking holes in your marketing budget.
We get it. Boosting a post is tempting. It’s quick, easy, and Facebook practically waves it under your nose with a big blue button that says “Want more people to see this?” But without a proper plan, that reach is mostly smoke and mirrors. You’re paying for eyeballs, not action.
Let’s unpack why boosting alone is a money leak — and how Facebook Ads Manager can turn your random boosts into a strategy that actually delivers results.
1. Why Boosting Alone Fails
Boosted posts are like renting a billboard in the middle of nowhere — lots of people might pass by, but how many are actually your customers?
When you boost without strategy:
- You can only target in broad strokes. “People nearby” isn’t the same as “People nearby who need my service right now.”
- You have little control over where your ad shows, how Facebook spends your money, or who actually sees it.
- It’s disconnected from your sales funnel — meaning you’re paying for impressions, not conversions.
Boosting can be part of a strategy, but by itself, it’s just throwing digital confetti and hoping the right people pick it up.
2. The Facebook Ads Manager Advantage
If boosting is like yelling into a crowd, Facebook Ads Manager is like speaking directly into your best customer’s ear — with exactly the right message.
With Ads Manager, you can:
- Target precisely: demographics, interests, behaviours, even past website visitors.
- Run A/B tests: try two headlines, images, or calls to action and keep the winner.
- Choose the right objective: sales, leads, website traffic, engagement — each optimises differently.
- Track what matters: detailed reporting tells you exactly what’s working so you can stop wasting money.
It’s the difference between “Let’s see what happens” and “Let’s hit the goal.”
3. 5 Ways to Waste Money on Facebook (Don’t Do These)
1. Not Defining Your Buyer Persona
If you don’t know your best customer — what they need, want, and struggle with — you can’t target them effectively.
2. Ignoring Audience Targeting Tools
Facebook’s lookalike audiences can find more people like your best customers. But it only works if you feed it quality customer data.
3. Poor Bidding Strategy
Using the wrong bid type for your objective can mean overpaying for clicks or impressions.
4. Sending Traffic to a Bad Landing Page
Even the best ad can’t save a slow, unclear, or confusing landing page. That’s like inviting people to a party and forgetting to open the door.
5. Not Testing Creatives and Copy
One ad is not enough. Testing variations of headlines, images, and calls to action can double (or triple) your ROI.
Pro Tips for Smarter Ad Spend
- Start small, test, then scale what works.
- Use conversion tracking so you can tie ad spend to real sales.
- Refresh creatives regularly to avoid ad fatigue — when people stop noticing your ad.
Boosting is a button, not a strategy. If you want Facebook ads that work, you need the targeting, testing, and tracking that Ads Manager brings to the table. Otherwise, you’re just paying Facebook to keep your post warm.
