Maybe you've been encouraged already to try turning one of your statuses on Facebook into an ad and maybe, like me, you briefly ignored the option to try it now. This is perfectly fine if you consider that Facebook's Promoted Posts are still hot off the trial run presses and have yet to fully be embraced by every company brand's fan page. Promoted posts are pegged by the site as being "a simple way to reach more of the people who like your page and their friends" with a handy introduction video that can be watched here.
Rather than give you a step-by step feature of how promoted posts work, I thought I'd sum up some of the key need to know points before you decide to establish a paid account and start the process.
1) Ready to Start Promoting? Use Quality Content
As the video mentions, promoted posts are seen by more fans than a regular post is so the strength of the content chosen needs to be attention grabbing. If you're planning to promote a feature of your business in the New York Times or a guest blog post with a cool startup site, this is right up your alley. Video and photo promotions are also encouraged, but your promoted post should not be you writing "Happy Friday!" and leaving it at that (you're paying for it, remember?)
2) Budget!
To get viewership and "likes" for your post, brands can pay $5, $10, $15, or $20 to have their status sponsored. Keep in mind that just like with advertising, the budget you create is a lifetime budget for your promoted posts. Figure out how often you'll want to sponsor your posts and how much you're willing to spend before you decide to run the campaign and stick to it!
3) You Can't Promote Unless...
... your brand page has at least 400 likes. 200 likes, 50 likes, or even 10 likes shy of making that goal? Now is your chance to message friends and family to encourage them to become a fan of your brand or put more information in your company newsletter to get the word circulated! You can also customize your fan page's username and use regular Facebook ads for an extra boost.
4) How Often Can I Promote Anyway?
Posts can only be promoted within 3 days from when they're first created which means timeliness is everything and spamming your fans is out of the question. A favorite article from a couple of years ago won't be able to make the featured cut, but this will give you the opportunity to push other promotions and interesting brand mentions to a broader fanbase. Having a giveaway or a special discount? Want to ask a question to a bigger audience and get valuable customer feedback in the process? Have a super secret Facebook-only special for the day? All excellent options to promote to the top of the page for your fans!