Imagine you're at a networking event. You spot someone you've met before and walk over.
"Hi! I'm Sarah. I run a clothing store."
They stare at you. You've told them this before.
Now a stranger approaches. You say:
"50% off sale ends Thursday, don't miss out!"
They blink. What are you even selling? Who are you?
This is similar to what businesses do on social media every day when sharing posts to their page and hitting Boost.
Who Are You Actually Talking To?
Think about how naturally you adjust your conversation style in real life when you're talking to people.
When you run into someone you already know at an event, you don't re-introduce yourself.
You pick up where you left off.
You share something new, ask how things are going, maybe mention an opportunity you think they'd find interesting.
But when you meet someone new?
You introduce yourself. You give them context. You focus on them. You earn the right to have a deeper conversation by building a little trust first.
Social media works exactly the same way!
Preparing the Right Message for the Right Audience
When you post on your page, you're talking to your followers, people who already know you and opted in for your updates. When you run a paid ad to a cold audience, you're talking to strangers mid-scroll with no context and no reason to trust you yet.
Posts to your followers = continuing a conversation with someone you know.
So skip the intro.
Share something useful, show what's happening behind the scenes, start a conversation.
Talk to them like you know them (because you do, these are mostly friends, family and past customers, they don't need a hard sales pitch)
Share value.
Be consistent.
Deepen the relationship.
Re-introducing yourself to people who already follow you is like handing your business card to someone you've had coffee with three times. Your followers don't need your origin story, they need value, a reason to stay engaged, content that rewards them for showing up.
Ads to cold audiences = walking up to someone for the very first time.
Assume nothing.
Introduce yourself.
Lead with the problem you solve.
Give context.
In the digital world people aren't in the same room as you and may not even be in the same city, location is important context.
Make it about them.
Give them a reason to want to follow you.
Most businesses try and use the same content for both audiences, especially when boosting their posts, and it simply doesn't work.
Your followers and your cold audience deserve different conversations, just like you'd have at any networking event. You don't re-introduce yourself to old contacts, and you don't assume history with someone you just met.
Get that distinction right, and social media starts working the way it's supposed to.
How does this change your posting/boosting strategy?
Be mindful of what you're posting and the people actually reading it.
Don't take your followers for granted and don't spam them with stuff they already know.
People often Boost posts that requires someone to know a bit about their business already. Before you hit Boost, ask yourself if your post makes a good first impression of your business for someone who has never heard of you before.
Service-based businesses in particular often neglect to include their location and service area on their ads. You can't assume people know these basic details.
If you want to reach new customers and run ads it's best to keep this content seperate from what you share with your followers. This is the big advantage of running 'proper' Facebook Ads through Ads Manager as you can write content tailored for your target audience (new people not already following you), and only that target audience sees them.
I help business owners adapt their existing content for advertising purposes to reach potential new customers. Get in touch if you'd like to discuss running ads.
