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How to Boost Instagram Posts
Advertising on social media can be overwhelming, especially when navigating platforms like Meta Business Suite and Ads Manager, which aren’t the most intuitive for advertising newbies.
Is there an advertising platform for dummies? Unfortunately no, but thanks to features like Boost Posts on Instagram, you can turn your content into an ad and receive more views and interactions with just a click.
What Does it Mean to “Boost” an Instagram Post?
Before we get into it, first let’s go over what this feature is and how it works. The network added this feature in 2016 as a way to turn regular content into an ad in seconds, with a minimal investment cost.
In order to access this feature, first you must have a business account. This option is not available for personal accounts. If you currently have a personal account but want to switch to a business account, you can easily do so. Learn more about Instagram business accounts here:
Boost Post from Instagram
Want to know how to boost Instagram posts? Let’s cover two different ways that you can easily boost a post to reach a larger audience.
The first way you can do this is directly through the app. After publishing a feed post, Story, or Reel, you will see the option to “Boost Post”. In feed posts and Reels, this option is available just above the caption. In Stories, this option is available at the bottom of the screen.
After clicking on Boost post, the network will prompt you will a series of screens. The first is to select a main objective, whether that’s more profile visits, more website visits, or more messages.
The next option is to define your audience. You can either have Instagram target users they think would be interested, or you can build your own audience. As you can see in the image, you have the option to save your ideal audiences and use them multiple times.
The next screen will have you choose your budget and the duration of the ad. Then lastly, you will review your ad and if everything looks good, you can click Boost post.
You will then see that the post will have the Sponsored tag next to it.
After your ad is submitted, it will be reviewed by the network to ensure it meets Instagram’s ad policies. You can boost Instagram posts from both the mobile and desktop versions.
Boost Instagram Posts from Metricool
Another option to boost an Instagram post in seconds is from Metricool. With this, you can schedule and auto-publish your Instagram posts, view in-depth analytics, manage social media messages, and more. Want to know how to connect your Instagram account with Metricool?
Watch this video:
Now that you have connected your Instagram account with Metricool, head to the Analytics section in Metricool. Find the Instagram section, and here you can view all your analytical data including your community growth, demographics, lists of posts, Reels, Stories, hashtags, and competitors.
In the list of posts, Reels, and Stories, you will see the +Boost option next to posts that are eligible to be boosted. Simply click this option, select your budget, and then press Accept. From here your post will be automatically boosted.
If you click on View, you will taken directly to the post on Instagram.
After boosting a post, you will also be able to view the analytics of the ad inside Metricool including paid reach, paid interactions, paid post clicks, and the overall money invested.
Is Boosting Instagram Posts Worth It?
Can boosting an Instagram post really help your content? Overall, yes.
First, there needs to be a clear goal, and boosting a post just to boost it won’t necessarily help improve the post.
This feature generally works best on content that is already performing well. Boosting a post doesn’t automatically mean viewers will go crazy over the content, but that it simply reaches a larger audience. Therefore, when you’re choosing which post to boost, make sure this content is still of high quality and aligns with the main objective of the ad.
Another thing to note is that after boosting a post, Instagram doesn’t tell you if the accounts reached were followers or non-followers.
Boosting Instagram posts is a great option for turning a high-performing post into an ad in seconds. However, if you’re looking to create more specific, long-term, in-depth ads, you may want to consider using Meta Business Suite or Ads Manager.
For a full guide to advertising on Instagram, check out this post: