At this time of uncertainty and loss of income due to the pandemic, many Filipinos have been creatively turning their talents or hobbies into businesses. One of the trademarks of being Filipino is finding ways to make the most of every difficult situation, after all!
If you’ve started a simple online business and are looking to reach more customers, you should try boosting your posts on Facebook. It’s easy to do even with just a minimal budget (you can start with just P500).
The Role of Social Media in Today’s Consumer Journey
The current consumer journey has changed over the years. The average Filipino spends about 9 hours and 45 minutes per day online. Social media users in the Philippines are the most active in the world—averaging 3 hours and 53 minutes on social media every day. This shows great opportunity for businesses to thrive online through social media platforms.
Nowadays, the typical consumer journey begins and ends with social media and looks something like this:
- Consumer sees a brand or product on social media through
- a post from a friend or influencer
- an ad or boosted post
- other features such as Instagram’s #supportsmallbusiness hashtag
- Consumer visits the product or brand page, and follows it
- Consumer browses through the page to read up on the product or brand, or to look for other products that strikes his/her interest
- Finally, Consumer decides to purchase and sends a message to the brand/seller
Given the growing number of businesses competing for consumer attention on social media, it’s hard to make sure your target market even sees your content in their feed. This is where boosting can help.
How to Successfully Boost on Facebook
Boosting your posts on Facebook helps your content reach a broader audience, which in turn can result in more followers and potentially more sales. Boosting can either be done on your page or through creating an ads manager. Here’s a step-by-step guide for boosting directly from your Facebook or Instagram Page.
Go to the post you want to boost. On the bottom right of the post, you’ll see an option that says “Boost” on Facebook, or “Promote” on Instagram.
Choose an audience to target. If your online business is in Marikina, you can limit your location targeting to that area, especially since shipping cost is a factor for most customers. There are three options available for choosing your audience:
- People chosen through targeting options like location, age range, interests, etc.
- People who like your page
- People who like your page and their friends
Once you’ve made your selection, you can edit your settings to suit your needs. You can add or remove locations, adjust the age range, and even target specific interests.
Define your budget. After selecting the target audience, you can set the amount you want to spend for your boosted posts. The good news is that Facebook already shows your estimated reach (the number of users who saw your posts/content) depending on the budget you’ve selected.
Select the duration. Set how long you want your boosted post to run. Specify the start and end dates, and Facebook will only spend the amount you’ve chosen given the duration you’ve selected.
Select the payment option. Available options are credit card, Paypal or online banking.
And that’s it! Facebook will then review your boosted post to see if it complies with their policies. Once they approve your boosted post, it will start running.
Budget + Compliance + Engagement is Key
Another important thing to remember is how effective your post is in engaging your audience. Facebook and Instagram’s number one priority is user engagement, so content that your audience can relate to and engage with performs well. If your budget is low but your content is engaging and informative, Facebook will show it more to people (possibly even more than ads with higher budget), and you will pay less for your ads.
Boosting is one of the best tools for growing your business on Facebook. Never underestimate the power of social media, word-of-mouth, and engaging content for your business!
If you want to learn more about boosting and other digital tools for your business, don’t hesitate to contact us or sign up for our mailing list. Evident has handled various clients’ social media and e-commerce platforms, including Sunnies Studios’ website and Dima. We’ve helped each client grow and build their online presence through social media. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to work with us, too!
For more information regarding best practices with ads management, reach out to our team at info@evident.ph