The Truth About Boosting Posts: Why It’s Hurting Your Sales (and What to Do Instead)

BOOSTING A POST ON INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK

If you’ve ever clicked the blue ‘Boost Post’ button on Instagram or Facebook hoping to get your offer in front of more people—you’re not alone.

Most online creators have been there.

Whether you're selling a course, a coaching package, or a digital product, boosting posts seems like a quick and easy win.

But here’s the truth Meta won’t tell you: boosting posts might feel like you're running ads, but in reality, it's often a fast track to wasted budget and underwhelming results.

WHY CREATORS ARE FEELING THE PRESSURE

Businesses worldwide are struggling to reach their audiences organically across Facebook and Instagram.

Chances are you’ve been spending hours creating and posting content but haven’t seen the return for the time you’ve invested.

Unfortunately, your posts only get shown to a very small fraction of your audience, no matter how good your content is. Check your insights, you’ll be rudely surprised.

If you need 100 visitors to your website to get a sale or two on average, using Reels will take you months to get a single sale.

If you want to get your offer in front of a larger audience fast, then you’ll need to invest in paid advertising.

In all honesty, there is no comparison for reach and speed when it comes to running Meta Ads and getting what you sell in front of your desired audience.

When it comes to Meta Ads, there are two types of paid ads you can run:

• Boosted Posts

• Facebook (and Instagram) Ads using the Ads Manager,

There are distinct differences between the two that can significantly impact your results.

WHAT BOOSTING ACTUALLY DOES (AND WHY IT FAILS YOU)

A boosted post is a post on your timeline that you pay to promote to a wider audience directly from the platform. It’s easy to set up and helps increase visibility quickly. But when you boost a post, Meta optimises it for engagement, not conversions. That means it's showing your content to people likely to like, comment, or share—not buy.

If you’re honest with yourself, how often have you boosted a post and genuinely feel like it’s moved the needle with your business.

Meta is cashing in big time on anyone that uses this feature on Facebook or Instagram. Boosted posts are the junk food of marketing: fast, cheap, and ultimately unsatisfying.

And you wouldn’t catch any successful creator—think Amy Porterfield or Alex Hormozi—using this feature.

 When you boost a post, you’re asked to choose:

• Your goal (e.g., profile visits, website clicks)

• Your audience (new or existing)

• Your budget

• The duration

While this seems simple, the lack of deeper controls makes it hard to generate meaningful business results.

Another thing to keep in mind: if you boost from an iOS device, Meta applies up to a 30% surcharge. That extra cost eats into your ad budget without increasing results.

BOOSTED POST VS. META AD: WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

All of these things have a huge impact on the success of your ad—particularly the ability to A/B test. A/B testing different ads is what allows you to scale toward your dream income first and then toward a million dollars and beyond.

Without A/B testing ads, you'll never have real success with expanding your reach and increasing your leads, sales and revenue.

WHY THIS MATTERS FOR CREATORS

As a creator, your biggest asset is your time and your audience. Every dollar you spend should be bringing you closer to conversions. Boosting posts might inflate your vanity metrics, but it doesn’t support a funnel that turns viewers into buyers.

You need to attract qualified leads—people who are interested in what you sell, not just those who double tap a pretty graphic.

WHEN BOOSTED POSTS CAN WORK

There is only one time I give you permission to boost:

Building your Instagram following. Boosted posts for profile visits is the easiest way to increase followers on Instagram. This is a feature that’s not readily available in the Meta Ads Manager.

Outside of that, boosted posts may increase visibility or engagement, but they’re not designed to drive meaningful business outcomes like leads or sales—which is why we all became creators in the first place: impact and financial freedom.

IT'S NEVER BEEN EASIER TO RUN REAL ADS

Gone are the days where running Meta Ads required advanced tech skills or hours of training. With Meta’s recent improvements, the barrier to entry has dropped dramatically.

The Better Strategy: Real Meta Ads

Meta Ads, when set up correctly through Ads Manager, give you the power to:

• Run campaigns optimised for sign-ups and sales

• Reach your ideal customer using your creative to draw them in

• Test multiple versions of your creative to see what converts

• Track every click, lead, and sale with real data to make educated decisions

• Control your budget, placements, and strategy for better ROI

• Leverage AI tools to enhance your creative and copy

Yes, the Meta Ads Manager has traditionally had a steeper learning curve—but that’s changed fast. With Meta’s powerful machine learning, integrated AI tools, and the introduction of Advantage+ campaigns, setting up high-performing ads has never been easier.

These tools simplify everything from audience targeting to budgeting and ad placements, making it more accessible for creators and small business owners to launch profitable campaigns without needing to be tech experts. And with proper guidance, it becomes a powerful tool for scaling.

The shift has now moved to your creative and I’ll be talking all about this in my upcoming free masterclass—keep your eyes peeled for information here.

HERE IS WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS 

If you're tired of burning cash on boosted posts and ready to run real ads that generate real results, I’ve got something for you:

To help you with the creative, I am sharing my highest converting Meta Ads.

🎁 Grab my free Swipe File: 8 Proven Meta Ads Examples that turned clicks into course sales.

It’s time to stop settling for engagement and start optimising for income.

I can't sleep knowing there is boosting on my watch.