Although primarily used to drive engagement, Page Post Ads can once again help you acquire more fans on Facebook thanks to the return of the “Like Page” button.

Page Post Ads take something you’ve added to your Facebook Page — whether it be a photo, link, video, event, or text update — and turn that content into an ad. These can be displayed to existing fans, friends of fans, or people without any connection to your Page.

Previously, when shown to non-fans, the unit emphasized the “Like Page” action over engagement. Last November, Facebook changed this so members would interact with the post itself. According to Spruce Media, clickthrough rates dropped from 2.52 percent to 0.62 percent as a result.

Over the past week, however, the “Like Page” button has returned for Page Post Ads on the desktop News Feed. The same call to action doesn’t seem to appear for the mobile version — keep this in mind when selecting targeting options.

While this is good if you’ve listed fan acquisition as a secondary goal, Page Post Ads are better suited for content marketing and increasing engagement. If getting new fans is important to you, we recommend using Facebook Like Ads, which are designed to drive traffic to a Page, App, or Event.

[Via: Inside Facebook, Image credit: Denis Dervisevic]