When it comes to marketing events, we have found social media advertising to be one of the most highly effective tactics to drive traffic and registrations. You can find success in relying on PR and organic social media posts, but a well-planned Facebook advertising campaign will help you target the audience more effectively with a specific call to action.
 
Let’s take a look at some of the different event advertising tactics on Facebook and outline pros and cons of each as you build a successful strategy.
 

Boosted Posts

Boosted posts were once seen as an amateur advertising tactic. This was primarily because you could not target specific users and you didn’t know what fans you would attract. In recent months, Facebook has radically improved its targeting options for boosted posts. Now you can target fans who like your page, their friends, geographic regions and interest targeting layers. Interests include things people share on their timeline, apps they use, pages they like and other activities on or off Facebook.
 
Boosting posts will show organically to people who like your page, but it will appear as a “Sponsored Post” to those who don’t. This is a great entry point for advertisers to test the waters of social media marketing.
 
Boosting posts is a good way to get the word out on your event when given a limited advertising budget. This is a great way to test whether you should invest more into paid Facebook marketing.
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Promoted Posts

Last year, Facebook decreased the reach that businesses could attain with their organic posts. As a business, this means that if you really want to expand your reach, you have to pay to sponsor or boost your content. Now the question becomes, “Do I boost or promote my content?”
 
You don’t need to pay for every single post, just the important ones that are most helpful to your audience. The best posts to promote are the ones that get your fans on your email list. This will also help your business generate more sales leads. Just remember Facebook’s so-called “20 percent rule” when it comes to images you want to promote.
 
When you promote your content or event on Facebook, this will give you more advertising options than just boosting your posts. This gives you access to the Ads Manager Tool on Facebook or Power Editor. This will get you better customization when it comes to your targeting, pricing and bidding options.
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Facebook Ads

If you are in need of getting more traffic to your website or registration page, Facebook Ads are a great way to expand your reach. With Facebook Ads, your message can directly reach your target audience with a few adjustments to your targeting parameters in the Power Editor tool.
 
You can target people based on a number of demographics such as geographic region, age, gender, interests and behaviors. Behaviors are what you purchase online or offline. For example, if you purchase athletic shoes or apparel frequently you might see ads for gyms, racing events among other athletic themed ads in your news feed. This is all possible through  Facebook’s partnerships with data collection agencies, helping them to show more relevant ads to various audiences.
 
Facebook Ads are ideal for promoting your event as you can capture awareness, nurture interest, convert prospects and increase word of mouth shares. When you target Facebook Ads wisely, you end up saving money and earning better engagement and a high-quality fan base interested in your product or brand.
 
Ideally, you want to have a landing page to capture leads from your Facebook Ads. This makes it easier for potential registrants to register for the event you’re promoting. It also helps to have a specific call to action which speaks to your audience.
 
Looking to start advertising your content or events over social media platforms? Our team at esd & associates can help you capture the right audience and convert prospects to make your event successful and your content engaging. Check out some examples from us and see what we can do for your business with Facebook Ads.
 
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Written by John Garcia
John Garcia is a Digital Marketing Specialist with the Communications team at esd & associates, specializing in social media management and advertising. With a degree in Public Relations from the University of Texas at San Antonio, he assists with the digital marketing efforts, event planning and social media promotions.