A Facebook fan page can be a powerful marketing tool for businesses both small and large. For brands that have gotten lost in the shuffle of news feeds, Facebook introduced Promoted Posts. Promoted Posts allow business pages to pay so more fans, and friends of fans, see their posts in their news feed.

We talked about Promoted Posts last week, but before you start using them, there are a few things you should know before you hand over your media spend. Merry Morud, contributor to Search Engine Watch, wrote a blog post providing four critical things to know about Facebook Promoted Posts.

There is a Time Limit on Promoted Posts

Once a post is shared, page administrators have an option to promote them at $10, $20, or $30 for three days and are auto-optimized by for CPM. This feature is only available shortly after you post.

Rename Posts in Ad Management Platform for Easy Reference

When you create an ad, Facebook will auto-generate the name of it with the post ID number. Rename the ad when you create it so it’s easy for you to go back and reference.  Morud says to employ consistent naming conventions especially with promoted posts so they are grouped in the “All Campaigns” page.

Adjust Your Targets

By default, Facebook targets the U.S. along with a whole bunch of other countries that may not be relevant to your message.

Be Wary of Auto Post

There is an option to “Always promote my most recent post,” which may or may not be a great option for you. It will blow through your media spend quickly, so be careful and don’t get click-happy.

For more information on how to manage or schedule them, visit the Facebook Promoted Posts help center page.

Promoted Posts allow you to reach more customers at once, but as with any campaign, don’t just hand over your credit card. Set a test budget and stick to it. Then analyze results before tweaking and scaling.

What do you think about promoted posts? Have you tried them? If so, what has been your experience?