running ads.
Why do my boosted posts get likes but no sales?
the short answer.
Because boosting optimises for engagement, not purchases. Instagram shows the post to people most likely to like and comment, which is a different crowd from people likely to buy. A proper campaign tells Meta to find buyers instead, and sends them somewhere they can actually check out.
boosting picks the wrong people.
When you press Boost, the default objective is engagement. Meta then does exactly what you asked and finds the people most likely to react to a post. Those people are cheap to reach, which is why the numbers look good, and they are not the same people who put something in a basket.
Run the same budget as a sales campaign with a purchase or lead objective, and Meta looks for a different audience entirely. The engagement numbers usually drop. The orders usually do not.
the post was never built to sell.
A post that did well organically was written for people who already follow you. An ad has to work for someone who has never heard of you: it needs to say what the product is, who it is for and why it is worth the price, in the first few seconds.
there is nowhere to buy.
If the ad sends people to your profile, you have added two steps between interest and payment. Every step costs you orders. Send them to the product, not the profile.
- Pick a sales objective, not engagement.
- Write the ad for a stranger, not a follower.
- Send the click to the product page or a working checkout.
- Give it enough budget to leave the learning phase before you judge it.
let's build something real.
Tell us what you want to sell. We'll come back with a plan.