So, you’ve read our post about Google AdWords and Facebook Ads and you’ve decided to go with advertising on Facebook. But now what?  They have so many products!  There are Promoted Posts, Sponsored Stories, Page Post Ads and Marketplace Ads, but what do all these things do?  It’s overwhelming!

Not to worry, GLAD WORKS friends. We can sort this out for you.

Let’s dig in and take a look at Promoted Posts and Sponsored Stories—the two things we think you’re most likely to be interested in to start out with. 

Promoted Posts

A year ago this May, Facebook rolled out Promoted Posts, which gives businesses a chance to pay to get their content in front of more eyeballs. Since only a very limited percentage of your page’s followers actually see your posts come up in their news feeds, using Promoted Posts makes sense if you’ve got something you really want people to see.

The cost to promote a post varies based on your geographic location and the number of people you’re reaching, but you can spend anywhere from $10 up to $100 to make the magic happen. If any of your followers interact with your post (by sharing, liking, or commenting), a higher percentage of their friends will also see it. 

Promoted Posts show up exclusively in news feeds and you can purchase them right there on the post. Just look for the “Promote” option at the bottom right hand corner of each post. You’ll have a few options for how much you want to spend as well as an estimate of how many people will see your post. 

Sponsored Story

Another way to get your content in front of more Facebookers is to use Sponsored Stories. Sponsored Stories are built around user activity. As an advertiser, you pay to highlight an action that users have already taken. That action appears to the user’s friends either on the sidebar or in their news feed. An audience that’s not connected to a brand page themselves or through a friend will not see a Sponsored Story. 

The goal of a Sponsored Story is to get more users to take the same action that a friend has taken. So, if for example someone Likes a page, the Sponsored Story will appear either in the news feed or sidebar of that person’s friends, hoping to inspire them to follow suit. Think of it as being like “word of mouth” advertising. 

There are different kinds of Sponsored Stories:

• Page Like Sponsored Stories appear when a user has liked a page
• Offer Claimed Sponsored Stories appear when users have claimed an offer
• Sweepstakes Sponsored Stories show up when someone has entered a sweepstakes.

You can purchase most Sponsored Stories through Facebook’s self-serve ad tool. 

Which is right for you?

Well, that depends on your goal. If your goal is to remind your existing fans that you’re still alive and kicking, or to spread the word about something awesome you feel the world needs to know about, Promoted Posts are a fantastic way to do that. You have to have more than 400 likes on your page in order to use the Promoted Posts option. 

Sponsored Stories can help you grow likes on your page, but it can also help you when you’re running a promotion on your website or hosting an event. For example, if a user signs up to go to an event you’re hosting, that story will appear to their friend who will hopefully say “Oh! That sounds like fun! I want to go too!”

It’s tough to say which one is right for you since every audience is different and the answer isn’t so clear-cut. It might make sense to dip your toe in the water a little bit and go with a Promoted Post first. If you don’t have enough followers, then a sponsored story might be the way to go toward getting your message out while giving you a chance to attract more likes to your page.

Whichever you choose, be sure to use it strategically and then track your results. Not everything is going to work for every audience, so keep testing to be sure you’re not wasting your time, money and effort on something that’s getting you mediocre results.