Facebook Business
The dark side of Facebook….no, it’s not like the dark side in the Star Wars world. Although, Facebook Business Manager might feel like that when you first enter its complicated landscape. There are different, confusing areas of Business Manager. You’ll need the force to navigate it successfully… or you can just contact us.
What I mean by the dark side of Facebook is the option to create “dark posts.” These dark posts are basically unpublished posts that reach everyone other than the people who already like and follow your page. Dark posts are great when you want to target and tailor a specific segment to various audiences without posting multiple, different posts on your business page.
It’s important to know that dark posts are not the same as targeted posts although they do share some similarities. Both allow you to promote posts to a specific audience. The differences come into play when deciding on how to promote or target to the audience. Target posts allow targeting based on gender, relationship and educational status, age, location, etc. Those are all very superficial parameters considering Facebook has a plethora of data on its users. That’s where dark posts come in. Dark posts allow for hyper-targeting with keywords like specific job titles. And the best part of dark posts? You can post multiple times and they won’t clog up your news feed.
Create Dark Posts
There are two ways of creating dark posts. The following has been the most common way.
Choose Manage Pages from the drop-down menu.
Then select All Tools from the menu and under Create and Manage, select Page Post.
If you have multiple pages, make sure to select the page you want to create a dark post for from the top left drop-down menu.
Then click the blue Create Post button, that brings up a dialog box from which you can choose the type of post you want. Select the option, “This post ill only be used as an ad.”
Once all forms are complete you can click on Create Post. This saves the post in a list that then you can use as you please.
Now there’s a different way to do dark posts. Facebook has been constantly updating their interface, in fact, they’re going through one right now.
It’s so new that even Facebook isn’t showing the option to do an unpublished post and use it as an ad. In the next few weeks, the updates should have rolled out completely and we will provide an update on how to make dark posts view the Power Editor.
So, in reality, using dark posts won’t take you to the dark side. It allows you to run multiple ads in a day, each targeted to a different segment at different times and without them appearing in their news feed.
If Facebook Business Manager looks daunting, you’re having trouble creating a dark post, or your ads are not getting approved, get in contact with us today.
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FAQs
What are Facebook dark posts?
Facebook dark posts, also known as unpublished posts, are ads that don’t appear on your business page’s timeline but are shown to a targeted audience. They allow you to promote different messages to specific audience segments without cluttering your page’s feed with multiple posts.
How are dark posts different from targeted posts?
While both dark posts and targeted posts allow you to promote content to specific audiences, dark posts provide more advanced targeting options, like targeting specific job titles or interests. They also do not appear on your page’s timeline, which allows you to create multiple campaigns without overwhelming your followers with different ads.
How do I create a dark post on Facebook?
You can create a dark post by navigating to Facebook’s Business Manager, selecting “Page Post” under the “Create and Manage” section, and clicking “Create Post.” Ensure you select the option that marks it as an ad-only post, so it doesn’t appear on your business page but is used for targeted advertising.
What are the benefits of using dark posts?
Dark posts allow you to run highly targeted ads without cluttering your page’s timeline. They help tailor different messages to specific audiences and run multiple ads simultaneously, maximizing your reach without affecting your page’s regular posts.