Boosted posts on Facebook are more effective than dark posts

Chart of the day: Dark posts are mot expensive than boosted posts on Facebook, whilst boosted posts are shared more.

Research has found that dark posts have less interaction and cost more than boosted posts. Dark posts are a term for posts that only go to a certain section of a Facebook page's fans. They therefore don't appear on the page, just in certain followers newsfeeds. Who the post is shown to is determined by the page- you may seek to only target followers of only a certain demographic or those with certain interests.

The study found:

• Boosted posts on average received over 70% than dark post, but receive more likes on average.
• Marketers also promoted dark posts for longer, with an average of 42 days for dark posts and 27 days for boosted posts
• However dark ads were less shareable and less cost-effective.

Most ads contain a link (to external content, such as landing pages), traditional ads posting to links were most used by far for both boosted and dark posts. However, video posts came a close second and photo was the most popular post type for organic posts.

Implications for marketers include:

• Boosted posts have more organic reach due to the amount they are shared.
• Dark posts may be used long term (as in ads are active for longer) but boosted posts are cheaper and more effective in terms of engagement and shareability. Dark posts may get more likes, but this could be to do with them being active for longer.
• Boosted posts were interacted with more, but marketers may need to be more creative to encourage sharability.

The Average Total Spend per Post was $776.75 for dark posts and $389.00 for boosted posts.

• Source: Trackmaven- Facebook Advertising Budget Benchmark Index 
• Sample: The data came from the TrackMaven marketing analytics platform. They analysed 90,690 Facebook ads (both dark posts and boosted posts) from September 1, 2016 - September 31, 2016.
• Recommended resources: Our expert social media strategy toolkit contains our free social media mistakes guide and for paid members, we have strategy guides, our Facebook Advertising guide and social media channel guides.