Report: Boosted Facebook Posts Draw More Interactions Than Dark Posts

TrackMaven’s “2017 Facebook Advertising Index: Budgets and Benchmarks” has found that boosted post ads have 73.21 percent more shares and more interactions on average than dark post ads.

Due to higher engagement levels, boosted posts also have a greater percentage of organic reach and impressions than dark posts.

On average, boosted posts had 50,265 organic impressions per post whereas dark posts only had 6,383. According to researchers, “This finding could reflect the tendency for brands to use more engaging creative for boosted posts, which appear publicly on a brand’s Facebook page. Businesses tend to use traditional advertising copy and calls-to-action in dark posts, which can make them less likely to be shared.”

Dark post Facebook ads are typically used as a part of long-term advertising strategies by brands with larger budgets. On average, brands spend $776.75 per dark advertisement post and only $389.00 per boosted post.

Dark posts are also active for nearly double the time of boosted posts (42 days versus 27 days).

Due to the increased spend, dark posts do have higher reach and impressions on average compared to boosted posts. Dark posts may see upwards of 1M impressions, whereas boosted posts only see 250K on average.

Dark posts are ads that don’t appear publicly on a business’s Facebook page and instead appear on targeted users’ news feeds. Boosted posts are public on a business’s Facebook page and are sponsored to extend their reach.

The TrackMaven report analyzed 90,000 Facebook ads, including both dark and boosted posts, to provide marketers with a baseline for understanding advertising costs, building budgets, and measuring performance.

Social Media More Important Than Other Digital Marketing Tactics

Another recent study showed social media is increasing in value to marketers and their organizations. The “Social Media Marketing Survey 2016” from Clutch showed 78 percent of enterprises consider social media to be more critical for business success compared to other digital marketing strategies.

Facebook (95 percent), Twitter (74 percent) and LinkedIn (66 percent) are the most commonly used social media platforms for B2B enterprises. In addition, Facebook was widely considered as the most effective channel, with 62 percent of respondents saying it yields the best results.