The Dark Post Rises – How to Use Facebook’s Advertising Tool

Let’s talk about dark posts. Are you scared yet? Don’t be! It sounds ominous, but it’s actually something you can use for good.

What are dark posts?
Simply put, dark posts, are a Facebook advertising tool that allows you to create ads that appear on the feeds of Facebook users. That in and of itself, is not new, but these are different then paid ads and boosted posts. The catch is, these ads aren’t published on your timeline and will only be seen by the audience you have selected.

So why use a dark post for advertising?
Dark posts allow you to send out multiple ads, but unlike a regular sponsored post, the post does not show up on your timeline. Therefore, since you will choose which audience is shown which ad campaign, your followers’ feeds aren’t clogged with all of the ads, which may alienate some and cause them to head straight to the “unlike” button.

Want to alter your message to target those in a specific age category, location or interests? You get to determine what is being shown to that audience. You can also play with and tweak your ads, such as the headline or content, and use your audience as a test group to see what are the most effective at reaching them.

You also have full control over the budget for each ad campaign, setting your own maximum per day. You can start small, discover which ads are engaging the most people and increase the amount you spend on those once they’ve been tested.

When to advertise with a dark post
These posts are a great option for those who have multiple products or services to share, but want to target advertising of them without bombarding their audience with lots of information and posts in their feed that may not be relevant to them.

As for an even more specific time to create your first dark post – how about now? It’s not an overwhelmingly well-known option, which means not everyone is doing It. Social media marketing can eventually become less effective once it’s saturated with users. That isn’t yet the case, so now is the time to explore the option and find out how it might work to advance your business!

The dark side of dark posts
Okay, that might be a bit melodramatic. The drawbacks to dark posts are relatively small compared to the potential for success.

The biggest being the need to become familiar with Power Editor – Facebook’s tool for creating and managing ads. If you are not familiar with the program, you will need to learn how to navigate it (there are several online tutorials) and it may take some time until you’re completely comfortable using it.

Another thing you’ll want to watch for is Facebook’s suggested budget. It may be higher than what you need. Start low and adjust as you need.

What to remember
As with all advertising, follow your campaigns closely to determine which are succeeding at reaching your audience and which are costing you money with little return.