Promoting a post puts paid budget behind your content to reach more people on Facebook and Instagram. Here's how to set one up.
Step 1: Select a post
In your Social Boost dashboard, go to My Posts, find the published post you want to promote, and select Boost now. Only eligible published posts can be boosted.
Step 2: Connect your accounts (first-time setup)
The first time you boost, you'll connect the accounts used to run the ad:
Facebook Page â the Page your ad runs from.
Instagram â optional. Connect an Instagram account to run your boost on Instagram as well as Facebook, or choose Don't use Instagram to run on Facebook only. If you'd like to use Instagram but don't have an account, you can create one here.
Meta pixel â a pixel is connected or created during setup so your boost's performance can be tracked. You can use an existing pixel or have one created for you.
Select Confirm to link these accounts. Confirm only connects your accounts â it does not create or charge a boost. You set up and pay for the boost in the next steps.
(Social Boost's regular posting only needs a Facebook connection, so this step is where a paid ad's pixel and optional Instagram connection are added.)
Step 3: Choose your goal
Pick the result you want the boost to drive:
Get more website visitors (recommended) â shows your ad to people most likely to click through to your site.
Get more engagement â shows your ad to people most likely to react, comment, and share.
Select Next.
Step 4: Set your audience
By default, your boost uses Meta's Advantage+ audience, which is built from your Page details and adjusts over time to reach more people interested in businesses like yours.
You can also target manually:
Location â a country, a region / state / province, or a radius around your business
Language
Special ad category: leave this toggle off for most posts. Turn it on only if your ad is about credit, employment, housing, or social issues, elections or politics â Meta requires it for those categories, and turning it on limits some targeting options so the ad complies with their policies. Select Next.
Step 5: Set your schedule and budget
Choose a start date, then either set the number of days the boost runs (the end date fills in automatically) or pick an end date (the number of days updates to match). The minimum length is 1 day.
Set your budget with the slider, from $15 up to $5,000. As you adjust it, you'll see an estimated daily reach â a range of accounts per day, based on your budget and audience â so you know roughly what your budget buys before you commit.
Step 6: Purchase
Review your goal, audience, schedule, and budget. A Promoted Post is a one-time payment for the run you set â not a subscription, and separate from your Social Boost plan. This is the only point where you're charged. Select Purchase to confirm, and your boost goes live at your scheduled start time.