Boosting a post might look similar to running a proper Facebook ad. Both cost money and promise reach. But underneath, they’re built for entirely different outcomes. One’s about visibility. The other’s about results.
Why boosting is easy and often misunderstood
Boosting a post feels like the simplest way to “do paid social.” One click, a few targeting options, a small budget—and suddenly your content is reaching hundreds, maybe thousands more people. It looks like your social media advertising is working harder, and in some ways, it is.
It can increase reach and drive more engagement. All the right numbers go up. That’s why it’s so popular with businesses, especially those on a tight budget. It’s accessible, immediate, and doesn’t require advanced knowledge to get started.
But that ease comes with trade-offs. Because the same simplicity that makes boosting appealing is also what makes it limiting. You’re getting reach, but not necessarily the right kind of Facebook advertising performance. And crucially, you’re not getting the depth of tools needed to turn that reach into results.
Let’s say you recently boosted a high-performing organic post. It’s a behind-the-scenes video of a product launch. The post gets strong reach, a handful of likes, even a few comments. But when you look closely, most of those interactions don’t come from your ideal customer. Worse still, you have no way of knowing what happened next. Did they click through? Visit your website? Make a purchase?
You get basic metrics, and if you’ve set up tracking tools like Meta Pixel, you might see some follow-through. But the moment you want to optimise for conversions, segment audiences with precision, or retarget users based on behaviour, boosting falls short. You’ve paid for attention, but you haven’t earned much in the way of insight or impact.
In many ways, boosting is a confidence-builder. It’s a way for brands to dip their toes into paid social without having to commit to a broader strategy. But the moment you want more—more control, more data, or more meaningful outcomes—you’ll start to feel its limits.
What’s different about running a paid social ad?
If boosting is like dipping your toe in the water, Ads Manager is learning how to swim. It’s where proper paid strategy lives. And where you unlock the tools to actually achieve business goals, not just rack up surface-level stats.
Intent
The first and biggest shift? Intent.
Let’s say your goal is to drive signups for a webinar. Boosting a post about it might get you a few extra likes and some reach. It might even drive a few clicks. But is that really what you set out to achieve?
With Ads Manager, you start with the goal itself, which in this case is lead generation. You set the objective upfront, tailor your creative to prompt clicks, and let the algorithm optimise delivery to people most likely to act. That’s the difference: you’re not just paying for visibility but rather building toward a result.
Targeting
And then there is targeting. While boosting lets you pick a few broad traits, Ads Manager gives you real segmentation. Want to target people who’ve visited your website in the past 30 days? Or serve different content to new vs. returning customers? With custom audiences, lookalikes, and retargeting ads, you’re no longer broadcasting. You’re guiding.
It also means more control over your creative. You can A/B test headlines, images, captions, formats, and placements to see what works best. That level of testing, personalisation, and refinement just isn’t possible with a boosted post.
Budget
Budget is another key aspect of any social media advertising strategy. Ironically, Ads Manager often makes your money go further, not because you spend less, but because you spend smarter. The algorithm learns as your ads run, shifting your budget toward what’s working and letting you course-correct before you waste your entire spend on guesswork.
That’s the big difference: boosting promotes what already exists; Ads Manager plans what comes next. You’re building a funnel with real goals, real strategy, and real results.
When to boost and when to build
Boosting isn’t the problem. It’s just a tool, and like any tool, it works best when used for the job it was designed to do.
If your goal is short-term visibility, a burst of engagement, or to ride the momentum of a high-performing organic post, then boosting can absolutely play a role. It’s fast. It’s lightweight. When used intentionally — to promote an event reminder, amplify a brand announcement, or add social proof to a trending post — it can deliver value.
The issue comes in when boosting becomes the default. When it replaces a plan instead of supporting one. Because the real question isn’t “Should we boost or run an ad?” It’s: “What are we actually trying to do?”
That’s the gap most brands fall into. They pick the tool first. It’s the button they know, the one that’s easy. Only afterwards do they ask whether it got them what they needed. It’s backwards.
Instead, reverse the process. Start with your goal:
- Do you want brand visibility or lead generation?
- A fast spike in reach or a long-term funnel?
- Proof of concept or proof of performance?
Only then do you choose the tool to match. Sometimes, yes, it’s boosting. But more often, it’s a paid social media campaign. Because what you need isn’t only eyeballs; it’s outcomes.
And when you shift your thinking this way, the decision becomes less about which button to click, and more about which outcome you want to drive.
That shift, from activity to intention, is the difference between spending and investing.
And that client who wasn’t seeing results from boosting? We helped them shift gears, building a proper paid social campaign with clear objectives, defined audiences, and creative built to convert.
Because if you want to grow, you can’t just pay to be seen. You need to pay with purpose. And that starts when strategy leads the spend.
At Cheymaxim, we’re a social media marketing agency that helps brands shift from content that looks good in-feed to advertising campaigns that deliver.
If you’re ready to stop asking “How do I boost this post?” and start planning paid campaigns that get results—let’s talk.
