Rarely does someone purchase a ticket for an event immediately after learning about it, and ‘converting’ them into a ticket buyer can be a delicate process. Here, we look at how to target the right potential attendees through Facebook.
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Guest post by Katie Sawyer from the Eventbrite blog.
It’s rare that people “convert” to a ticket sale the first time they hear about your event. They might learn about your event through a friend’s social media post, visit your website to learn more, and have an offline conversation with another friend the next day.
The turning point might come when they see your Facebook ad, which serves as a reminder to sign up. Your job: target the audience that’s already familiar with your event.
Read on to find out how you can create Custom Audiences using your event data to reach your ideal audience.
Why you should use Custom Audiences
People are 80% more likely to convert to a ticket purchase through ad “retargeting” than through a normal campaign. Custom Audiences are what makes it possible to retarget people who have visited your site on Facebook.
Use Custom Audiences to map your existing audience data to Facebook’s database. That way, you can serve Facebook ads to people who have already heard of your event, and remind them to sign up.
What makes Custom Audiences so effective is that they’re built using your own event data — data that you already have and doesn’t cost you anything. Here is how you can use your existing event data to build your Custom Audiences.
Event app
If your event has a mobile app, you can target people based on the actions they take within your app. Although your registration process provides some information about attendees, a custom survey sent out after your event can provide even more insight into building Custom Audiences on Facebook.
Put the data to work: Register your app and create app events. Then, target people based on their activity with your app. For example, someone who used your app last year but hasn’t interacted with it this year, or someone who added a ticket to their cart but didn’t purchase it.
Google Analytics
You can also build a Custom Audience on Facebook using your Google Analytics, which can show you attendees who have visited your event site, but haven’t yet purchased tickets. You can retarget these fans with ads to convince them to buy.
If you use Eventbrite, you can easily track visitors coming to your event listing with Eventbrite’s tracking pixels tool for Google Universal Analytics.
Put the data to work: You can include or exclude people who visited certain URLs on your event website, like “All Visitors to [myevent.com] in the last 30 days.” This way, you’re spending your money on retargeting people who are already interested in your event.
Facebook engagement
Whether you have 100 followers or 100,000 followers, your Facebook page provides you with a lot of data about who is most engaged. Take that information and make sure they see your ads so they can be engaged both offsite and onsite.
Put the data to work: Who always watches your videos or likes your posts? Use that data to create Custom Audiences based on the people who are already most engaged with your page online.
How to use Custom Audiences
In Facebook’s Ad Manager, select “Audiences” from the menu in the top left. Then select “Create Audience” and “Custom Audience.”
Choose which type of data you would like to use (for example, your existing mailing list of people, website visitors, or mobile app users) and choose any restrictions (such as a timeframe). Upload your data, give your audience a name, and click “Create Audience.”
Reach your ideal audiences on Facebook
Custom Audiences are just one way to target the right people on Facebook. Discover more tactics to get the most from your advertising spend in How to Reach Your Ideal Attendees With Facebook Targeting.
Katie Sawyer is a writer at Eventbrite, where she helps event organizers throw awesome festivals, food and drink bonanzas, and cultural events. You can find her sampling beer, stuffing her face with cookies, and checking out local comedy shows.