The ABCs of High-Converting Social Media Ads
Are you struggling to fill seats at your events and conferences? Or do you simply want to take your already outstanding results a step further, and expand the size of your audiences? Wherever you are in the digital advertising game, these are the essentials that you’ll want to take implement into your next event advertising campaign for better conversions.
Note: For the purpose of focus, this article examines the key points every event marketer should keep in mind when advertising on Facebook and Instagram.
These platforms are highly visual
So make sure your advertisements are attention-grabbing. Use eye-catching visuals and keep your copy simple, direct and focused on the one key message that you want your audiences to read.
People have short attention spans (when using social media)Don’t be mistaken, your target audience may not have short attention spans. In fact, they may be the type of people who can be engaged throughout a 3-day seminar. The issue here, is where you’re catching them. People get on Facebook and Instagram for a quick fix.
They want to get through as many stories as possible, within the few minutes they’re there. So keep this in mind when creating your social media ads, and make sure everything you do engages audiences in seconds.
You need a clear call-to-action
No need to beat about the bush when advertising on social media. Get main selling point across, then tell your audience what to do next – whether it’s clicking on a button to register, emailing or calling. In this case, we highly recommend including a registration link that people can simply tap on and complete in seconds.
Every additional second a prospect has to spend wondering what to do next, or entering their details, is another second they have to skip your event and move on to something else.
Visual testimonials are powerful persuaders
Testimonials are very powerful persuasion tools, especially when it comes to converting prospects who are sitting on the fence. And when it comes to testimonials, visual testimonials are incredibly effective.
They’re also really easy to create. All you need is either screenshots of positive feedback/comments that attendees of past events have given you, or if someone’s posted a positive message about you on their social media page, you can simply share that post. Either way, you’ll build credibility quickly – and if you have a raving fan base, they may even love the attention you’re giving them by sharing their posts.
(When you do so, be sure to include a message thanking them, or talk them up so they’ll look good online – everyone appreciates praise every now and then!)
Create content that your fans will want to share
It’s one thing to ask your fans (or followers) to share your posts out of the goodness of their hearts, or for the possibility of winning a prize – but it’s even more effective to create potentially viral content that your fans will want to share for their entertainment, education or inspirational value.
Your content can be in the form of blog posts, text posts directly on your social media page, or videos. Just remember when creating this marketing content, that the primary purpose of the content isn’t to promote your event (that’s the secondary purpose) – it’s to give your fans so much value with the post, that they’ll want to share it with their friends and communities.
