Facebook has rolled out a new feature allowing business pages to pay a fee to promote their posts, so they reach a greater number of followers.
Introducing the new feature via video, a Facebook employee said the promoted post feature allows pages to boost the number of people reached by any post.
“When you post on your page, it currently may only reach a limited amount of people that Like your page each week,” the staffer said.
“It’s an easy and fast way to reach more of the people that like your page,” she added.
Businesses can set a budget limit for the duration of the promotion, such a $5, $10, or $15, each of which gives an estimate as to the number of people the post will reach. Posts up to three days old can be promoted, and businesses can target people based on their location or language.
The promoted post will then be labeled “sponsored” in people’s news feeds, regardless of whether they access Facebook on a mobile, PC or tablet.
The staffer suggested page administrators also pin the promoted posts to the top of their timelines, so as to maximise reach.
“If you don’t promote your post, many of the people connected to your Page may still see it. However, by promoting a post, you’re increasing its potential reach so an even larger percentage of your Page audience and the friends of those interacting with your post will see it,” Facebook said.
The reach of promoted posts are made available, to allow businesses to monitor the success of their campaigns. The bad news is that only pages with over 400 Likes have access to this feature.
For more information about promoting your Facebook posts, click here.