Everyone knows a Facebook page is a great way to reach new customers. From pre-teens to their grandparents, most people have an account, making it easy for marketers to reach all their clients and prospects. Creating a business page on Facebook is completely free as well, so you can keep in touch with your fans and followers for nothing.

The only problem is that, according to Facebook, “a Brand Page’s content is only seen by 16% of the Page’s fans.” That’s pretty low! Everyone is doing their best to attract more and more fans but truly dedicated Facebook fans are very hard to come by. Moreover, once you get a lot of fans, you want them to know what’s happening with your company and see your new content and publications. So in June 2012, Facebook created a new way to reach your audience: promoted posts.

Did you know that more than 7.5 million posts have been promoted since the launch of this service last year? That’s quite a lot and shows that at least some marketers believe they are worth it. Nevertheless, if you are paying for them, you want proof that they are providing a solid return on investment.

Many studies have been conducted to determine if promoted posts really were useful and to discover if there were other ways to gain visibility. According to a Syncapse study, each Facebook fan is worth $174. They found this number by looking at spending on products, loyalty to the brand, the media value, the brand affinity, the propensity to recommend and the cost of acquisition.

You can chose almost any budget to promote a post so think about how much a fan costs compared to how much they may bring you. You can spend from $5 to $20 per day and you can end the campaign whenever you want, but you must be aware that if, for example, you already have more than 7,000 fans, a $5 daily spend would generate very little change.

Before promoting a post, you have to select which one you’d like to push – not every post can be promoted. In practice, you should choose one that is linked with your company but that will also catch the attention of as many people as possible. People respond better to images, so something with a picture is better than just text. Remember that you have to make them want to click on your link, so be sure to make it action-oriented and provide education, entertainment or both. Also be sure to read up on the Facebook rules for promoted posts. For example, if you choose to promote an image, no more than 20% of the picture can have text overlaid on top.

Once you select the right post, you next have to select your target demographics. On your administration page, there is an analysis of your fans showing where they come from and their ages. With all this information, you can easily select a country and demographic details for your post as well as set a budget.

To finish, Facebook will send you a detailed e-mail to tell you how much you spent and the results of your campaign. With this data you can gauge how well your money was spent and determine if promoting posts should continue to be a part of your social media marketing arsenal.

Promote posts on Facebook can help maximize your ability to be seen and heard by your potential clients and target audiences. They are a great way to kick start a new promotional campaign or launch of a new product offering, just make sure you make the most of them by spending wisely and targeting carefully.

Promoted posts are just one way to get your internet marketing efforts started. For a complete path to online success, check out our free ebook, The Essential Guide to Internet Marketing.