Promoted post tricks to reach a higher Facebook audience

Reprinted from GateHouse Newsroom

If you're an admin of a Facebook page, you may feel like you're bombarded with prompts from Facebook to boost your post. Usually Facebook will say your reach will grow with just $10, but do you really know what you're paying for?

At GateHouse our social media traffic still comes almost exclusively from organic reach, but as news feeds get more and more crowded, many sites have been dipping their toes in a paid post strategy.

If you're thinking about putting money behind a Facebook post, here are three tips to keep in mind.

1. Pick the right content. Don't just promote anything Facebook tells you to. Pick something that is timeless content that is popular in your community. The StarNews in Wilmington, N.C., recently focused on a few historically well-performing posts and hot topics for a series of promoted posts.

They chose:

• A story featuring Wrightsville, N.C., native Lara Trump, who is Donald Trump's daughter-in-law. The share text was a pull quote from her about how interesting the presidential primary had become. The post, with just $25, doubled the amount of pageviews on the story.
• A popular list on must-do dining experiences around Wilmington, N.C. The content is timeless and with a topic like dining, just about anyone is interested in it. The post also performed well with just $25.

Other news sites focus on this type of content as well, such as The New York Times. Their promoted posts are often trend stories:

Or lists of information:

These types of posts are reaching an audience that may not be as interested in hard breaking news, but will click through an interesting story on a certain topic. Promoted posts are really about reaching a different audience than who already likes your Facebook page.

2. Be sure to target your audience effectively. Facebook allows you to target by age range and demographic, so be sure to narrow those down to your geographic area, or maybe a nearby town that you don't have as much reach at. You can also target by interests, so if you have a post that features something like restaurants or sports, be sure to include those as well.

3. Do a 'like' page campaign. Like page campaigns do not allow you to share a specific post to grow pageviews, but allow you to target people to like your page. There isn't as much flexibility in the post, but be sure to at least choose a quality local image, like this one from the Austin American-Statesman:

The StarNews did one recently that added 300 likes over a few days for just $35. Keep in mind you don't want to do them too often, as eventually your page may reach a majority of active Facebook users in your market. You don't want your likes to grow so much, but not have your reach grow proportionately as well.

If you're looking for some more information on the topic, take a look at this Buffer blog post, that breaks down what $5 will get you on Facebook.

Penny Riordan manages digital content partnerships for GateHouse Media. She works out of the Center for News and Design in Austin, Texas. Prior to joining the company, she worked at Patch.com for four years, where she led social media, blogging and UGC efforts for the company. She also launched a Patch site in Maryland. Riordan also has worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers in Maryland and Connecticut.