How to Boost a Spotlight Post - Copy

Maryland Local Businesses
April 21, 2026•3 min read

Scope

This SOP applies to all Maryland Local Businesses Featured and Plus Plan clients.

Once a client’s Spotlight Post has been published through the Social Planner, the next step is to run that post as a paid advertisement.

There are important differences between the Featured and Plus plans that must be followed.

Plan Differences

Featured Plan

  • Spotlight posts are set up as recurring posts every quarter (every 3 months)

  • The post must be manually boosted once per quarter

  • Ad budget: $20 lifetime

  • Ad duration: 2 weeks

Plus Plan

  • Spotlight posts are manually posted each time

  • A new graphic is created for each promotion

  • The post must be manually boosted each time

  • Ad budget: $50 lifetime

  • Ad duration: 2 weeks

Step 1 — Locate the Post in the Social Planner

Once the post has gone live (either manually posted or via recurring schedule):

  1. Go to the CRM Social Planner

  2. Locate the spotlight post

  3. Click the three dots on the post that was published to Facebook ONLY

Maryland Local Businesses SOP

Do not select:

  • Instagram post

  • Google Business Profile post

  • Networking Portal post

  1. Click Run as Ad

Step 2 — Redirect to Ad Manager

  1. A message will appear indicating you are being redirected to Ad Manager

  2. Click the Continue button

Step 3 — Choose Ad Platform

  1. Select Meta (Facebook/Instagram)

  2. If Google is selected automatically, switch it to Meta

  3. Click Next

Maryland Local Businesses SOP

Step 4 — Campaign Level Setup

You will now see the three campaign levels:

  • Campaign

  • Ad Set

  • Ad

At the Campaign level:

  1. Rename the campaign to:
    [Business Name] Campaign

  2. Change the Objective to:
    Website Traffic

Maryland Local Businesses SOP

Do not leave this set to Lead Generation.

  1. Select the Special Ad Category if applicable.

Maryland Local Businesses SOP

Examples:

  • Real Estate → Housing

  • Financial Services → Financial Products & Services

If unsure, confirm with a team member before continuing. Selecting the wrong category may cause compliance issues.

Step 5 — Ad Set Level Setup

  1. Rename the Ad Set to:
    [Business Name] Ad Set

  2. Change the budget type:

  • Switch from Daily Budget to Lifetime Budget

  1. Enter the correct budget:

  • Featured Plan → $20

  • Plus Plan → $50

Set the Date Range

This must be completed carefully.

Start Date and Time

  • Set the start date to today’s date

  • Set the time to at least 15 minutes in the future

  • You may click “Now” and manually add 15–20 minutes

If the start time is set too close to the current time and publishing is delayed, the ad may fail to run.

End Date

  • Set the end date to 2 weeks after the start date

Step 6 — Audience Targeting

Adjust audience settings based on the business.

  1. Research the business service areas and add appropriate locations

  2. Add relevant targeting including:

  • Interests

  • Demographics

  • Behaviors

  • Age range

  • Gender (if applicable)

A helpful method is to paste the business listing into ChatGPT and request targeting suggestions.

Step 7 — Ad Level Setup

  1. Rename the ad to:
    [Business Name] [Month Year] Ad

  2. Review the Primary Text

  • This often auto-populates

  • Confirm it is accurate and properly formatted

  1. Add the Website URL

  • Enter the client’s website

  • If they do not have a website, use the business listing link

Step 8 — Final Review and Publish

Before publishing, confirm:

  • Budget is correct

  • Dates are correct

  • Objective is set to Website Traffic

  • Audience targeting is appropriate

  • Website link is correct

  • Special Ad Category is selected if required

  1. Click Review

  2. Click Publish

Back to Blog