Social media pay-per-click(PPC) is one of the most common ways of connecting with potential customers and still simple as it seems, there are many traps which can cause you waste money and get nothing in return. Facebook event sign-up is one of the areas which you can utilise the platform at its best.

Facebook is good at taking your money. So make sure you get what you deserve in return by using all tools available.

I am sharing a few strategies which worked for me and improved my ROI in the last months, particularly if you are looking to get sign-ups for your events and turn these sign-ups to customers.

Advertising an event?

First temptation is to create an event page on Facebook and boost the page with ads focusing on event sign-ups. I tried it myself – sign-ups were coming in, but with the possibility to declare yourself “interested” in the event, this is what you are likely to get – people “interested”, not committed to actually attending. The worst of all – even though they are now “interested” or “attending” still they are not your leads. You cannot email them and contact them without the risk of being blocked, but you have already spent money on them.

Here is what I found was working way better:

1. Designated landing page for Facebook event sign-up.

Create a standard Facebook ad linking to a landing page where people can sign-up by filling a simple form with their name and email to access their ticket or event agenda. In the ad set settings choose link clicks as “results”, so that you only pay per click.

2. Focus on the text above the image.

Get the main points in the title above the image of your ad – What? Where? When? Make sure it’s crystal clear if your event is online or has a physical location, or both! Is it free? If not, is there an offer to get a cheaper ticket from Facebook?

One common mistake I see is using way too much text in the headline. Facebook actually recommends two sentences max. Imagine – you are fighting for the attention of your audience with a whole world of cool things happening on this person’s feed! Sell yourself in one line.

3. Create urgency!

Limited seats. Seats are always limited, let’s admit it. I mean, you can not have the whole population of Facebook on your  Facebook event sign-up – 1.79 billion in 2016 after all. Or, can you?  

An example of short headline text and link

4. Repeat Your call to action(CTA)

in the description and paste another shortened link in your headline. This increases your opportunity to earn a sign-up through your page which is much more valuable than a Facebook event sign-up. Plus it makes you look more credible.

Choose a CTA button from the drop-down menu of Facebook ad Builder.

5. Finish with a nice image.

This is self-explanatory, but still I feel the urge to emphasise it again. A nice image which summarises your event. If it’s official, make it official, if it’s fun, make it fun. Make sure you have actual people on the image and they are also people your audience can relate to. For example, if you are inviting people to a networking, have image of people in networking environment. Make sure faces are visible and you create a positive expectancy.

At the end of the day, this is social media, so be interactive and keep an eye on your promoted post. Answer questions, callout friends in the comments, make it feel less of an ad and more of a real story.