Why Your Social Media Ad Doesn't Work

We’ve experienced several times that we helped promote our organizers' events, and despite the ads being set up correctly, tickets didn’t sell. And if you’ve ever run an ad on Facebook or Instagram and didn’t get your dream results, there could be several reasons for this. Today, we’ll take a look at them together so we can learn for next time.

Unattractive Graphics

When scrolling, the human eye first stops on the image. It has to grab attention, otherwise, the person won’t read the rest. So, the image should contain interesting but brief information. If the image is full of text, the eye skips it and moves on.

It can't be entirely without text either, because then we have nothing to hold onto. The event’s name, date, and location should be there, and possibly some enticing benefit the visitor will get.

As our graphic designer Magdalena says, don’t be afraid of empty space. The image doesn’t need to be filled with text up to the edges.

Short videos are also trending these days. They explain more in a fun way. These could include a message from the performer, a summary of the program, a venue preview – anything that encourages the viewer to buy a ticket. So, we recommend combining static image ads with videos.

Repetitive Graphics

Regarding graphics, I have one more tip: if you have a larger budget, it’s important to change the images or videos, and create new ads. Imagine seeing the same image over and over on Facebook. You’d get bored too, right?

Boring or Too Long Ad Text

“We invite you to the 10th anniversary of the Buns club, where we will meet traditional performers from York. The program starts at 10:00, lunch will be buns, and we end at 11:00. Tickets are available at BOOM Events.”

Doesn’t this sound a bit boring, like from local newspapers? On social media, we need to spice it up a bit, add some emojis, and include a "call to action," i.e., what should the viewer do.

“Come celebrate our 10th anniversary! 🥳 We have a great program waiting for you, legendary buns for lunch, and a whole day of fun and great vibes. ☀️

Discounted tickets are running out fast, so grab your friends and we’ll see you on Saturday, June 25th. 🙌”

Doesn’t that sound better?

But don’t overdo it with text – the ad should just spark curiosity, which the reader will satisfy by clicking on the ad. You want to push them to buy tickets, and if they get all the information right in the ad, they probably won’t click it and will decide to buy the ticket later. But if they see the "Buy Tickets" button right on the event website, they’re more likely to click.

Weak Landing Page

The ad sparks interest, and once clicked, you should be able to turn it into a fire. That fire should burn inside the visitor until they buy a ticket. People want to know what they are paying for, so the landing page should be given attention.

If your landing page looks like this, it probably won’t attract anyone. 👇 You should take the time to refine it.

What to include in your landing page:

• attractive graphics

• enticing event name

• detailed information about the event

• guests or program

• any promo or ticket information

• refund tickets policy

And format it well. With lists, bullet points, bold or italics... So it is easy to read.

Inappropriate Date or Location

Sometimes, several events happen on the same date. When planning, it’s a good idea to check the calendar so you don’t compete for visitors with other events.

If the location of your event is difficult to access or unknown, people might reconsider whether it’s worth going. You always need to think about making the overall experience as convenient and beneficial as possible for the people, and then deliver that information effectively.

Market Oversaturation

Yes, our organizers frequently use this term. In larger cities, there are just too many events. There’s something for everyone. But if your event is too specific, hard to see, or doesn’t appeal to the audience’s taste, tickets won’t sell. Unfortunately.

Uninteresting Event Concept

This ties into the previous point. If you want to sell, your event needs to stand out. Not only through communication style but also through the program, catering, unusual location, etc. Imagine someone invites you to a yoga class. OK, it might be nice, but how about yoga under the stars with a glass of prosecco?

Because of market saturation, we need to be more creative and original.

Very Specific Audience That’s Hard to Target

While we now have a lot of targeting options in Meta Business Manager, some topics or interests are difficult to find. For example, if you’re hosting an event for gay people, you’ll have to choose interests that may be relevant to them. However, you won’t find "homosexuality" or "gay" as interests. So your event may show up for people who might not be interested.

Too Broad of an Audience

You’re in Prague and think that anyone can come to your event? You target the entire city from ages 18 to 65, without any interest or demographic targeting. As a result, your ad may reach over a million people.

But unfortunately, if you’re not a large event with a beautiful marketing budget, this ad won’t reach the entire million. And those who do see it might not be interested in your event at all.

The answer is the golden middle. Don’t limit yourself to too few people, but don’t aim for hundreds of thousands either. In Meta Business Manager, you’ll see an estimate of how many people your ad will reach based on your targeting. It’s just an estimate, but it gives you an idea of how many impressions to expect.

If you’re doing an indie concert, add interests like music, indie, concerts. That’s enough, and it will also include people who would be interested in the concert but weren’t identified by Meta as indie fans. Or it could be something new they might want to try.

Insufficient Brand Building

Building your brand is a long-term task that takes time, effort, and some finances. But if you have a credible brand, your fans will hang on your every word, and they might even fight for tickets.

It’s important to be active on social media, engage with your fans, and involve them in discussions and decisions.

This also applies to paid ads. Your first campaign will almost certainly have worse results than your fifth one. Stay consistent, track the results, and over time, you’ll build your community and brand. A long-term strategy brings success, and if you give up after one bad campaign, you might miss out on future sales.

Low Budget

We’ve also had situations where organizers give us a budget of around €20 and expect dozens of tickets to be sold. Unfortunately, with such a budget, the ad will only reach a few hundred to a thousand people, and there’s no guarantee they will buy tickets.

A budget of around €20 is good for brand awareness, i.e., letting people know the event is happening. But it’s a good idea to add to the budget so the event shows up repeatedly for people who have already shown interest.

It also depends on your geographical location. If you’re targeting larger cities, where there are plenty of events, a budget of €20 will definitely not be enough. In smaller cities, it could bring some results.

Relying Only On Ads

It would be great if a person could invest a few hundreds into ads and sell out their event. But promoting events needs to be approached holistically, using as many relevant channels as possible:

• Create an event on Facebook and regularly post about it

• Publish the event on cultural portals where people go looking for events

• Be active on your social media, sharing invitations, behind-the-scenes info, and program details

• Share the event in relevant Facebook groups

• Print a few posters with QR codes for ticket purchases and hang them around the city

• Contact local newspapers for ads (if you're not targeting a very young audience who typically don’t read print media)

• Print small flyers with QR codes and place them in spots your audience frequents: cafés, pubs, libraries, shops…

  
  

When people see your event in multiple places, it’ll stick in their minds. And if it grabs their attention, they’ll have a much easier time buying a ticket.

Wrong Ticket Price/Value Ratio

Yes, it’s tough to price an event well enough to cover costs, avoid a loss, and still make a profit. But if the ticket price is too high and people don’t understand why they should pay that much, they simply won’t buy it.

Here’s a good example of how to show what the ticket includes (and as you can see, they’re sold out):

You must explain the value of the ticket, what they get for it. Justifying a higher price is vital. It also helps to look at similar events and adjust the price accordingly.

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Well, that was an exhaustive list, right? But there are indeed many reasons why ads on social media don’t bring the results you dreamed of. Of course, some things can be worked on, and others are beyond our control. But when we know what could happen in advance, we can prepare better.

If you want help setting up ads or consulting, definitely reach out. We regularly run campaigns for organizers and have identified certain patterns that work better. And if you're interested in marketing in general, we have an entire section on our blog dedicated to it.