by We’ve previously covered how to identify the target audience for your event. So you’ve created a buyer persona and set up a campaign to target.
But…why aren’t they buying the tickets?
Maybe you need to nudge them a bit more, in a different way, and at a different time of day. But how do you go about that?
The answer is retargeting
In this article, we’ll go over…
- What retargeting is
- Why retargeting works
- Key concepts in retargeting
- How to tweak retargeting ads
- Retargeting on Google
- Retargeting on Facebook
- The steps to a successful event retargeting campaign
It’s time to make those second, third, and fourth impressions on your potential guests!
1. What is retargeting?
Targeting is when you advertise to a specific group of people. We’ve discussed this method in our guide on how to segment your target audience.
Life as a marketer would be nice if that’s all it took to sell some tickets to your event. But the customer journey from discovery to purchase is not that simple and linear.
The more likely scenario is that a potential guest will see your ad, maybe give it a “Like,” and then move on with their life. In fact, 96% of people who visit your website aren’t ready to buy yet.
But that doesn’t mean they’re not interested in your event. It just means you didn’t get them at the right time, or they might need a bit more persuasion before they buy a ticket.
That’s where retargeting comes in.
Retargeting allows you to follow up with another ad to people who’ve expressed interest in the first one. After you’ve piqued their interest, it’s time to hit them with another jab.
Your next event could break records
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2. Why retargeting for events works
They say you don’t get a second chance at making a first impression. But who said first impressions are always the most important ones? Here’s why retargeting for events works.
Brand recognition
Once people have engaged with your brand once, you can sink your hooks in them with retargeting. They’ll now start seeing your event everywhere they go on the web.
People engage more with your ads
They’ve indicated a small level of interest before. Now they keep seeing your ads. People who are being retargeted to are 3–10x more likely to click on your ads.
Your ROI will increase significantly
Not only will your ads get more clicks from retargeting, but you will also convert more people to event attendees. Your ROI (return on investment) can increase by 200% from retargeting.
Up-sell and cross-sell your customers
People who’ve already bought into your brand are more likely to buy from you again. Retargeting allows you to up-sell and cross-sell your other events or products.
“Would you like fries with that?”
Create an experience that inspires, connects and is remembered forever
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3. Key retargeting concepts
Put yourself in the shoes of the people you’re retargeting. Why didn’t they buy a ticket to your yoga class (if that’s your event) the first time they saw your ad?
Here are a few ways you can tweak your next ad when you retarget your audiences.
Relevance
Your ad might be great for one audience but not 100% relevant to others. People have different reasons for wanting to try your yoga class. Retarget them with an ad that’s relevant to them. (Perhaps focusing on the calming, meditative benefits of yoga rather than the healthy body aspect.)
Price
Sometimes, it’s as simple as the cost of attending your event. If your audience would like to try a yoga class but can’t afford it, hit them with a 20% discount offer when you retarget them.
Urgency
Maybe they saw your ad and thought they’d pick up on that yoga class later. Time for a bit of urgency. Retarget them with an ad that tells them there are only two spots left in the class.
4. How to retarget your audience segments
There are a couple of ways to get started with retargeting.
Pixels
The most common method is to use a retargeting pixel. It’s a small piece of code that can be installed on your website, so you know when people have visited and left again without buying.
Immediately after your website or landing page visitor leaves, they will start seeing ads for your yoga class everywhere: online search results, social media, other websites, and under their bed.
Lists
If you have a list of potential, existing, or previous customers (such as a mailing list), you can import it and use it for your retargeting campaign.
Your list can also be used to generate lookalike audiences. Platforms like Facebook use the information on your list to target people who are similar to your existing customers.
5. How to retarget your audience with Google
Can you take a guess at how many people see ads from Google every day when they browse the web?
Almost all of them.
Yup, 92% of us will see an ad from the Google Display Network today. That’s a lot, so head over to your Google AdWords account to set up a retargeting ad for the aforementioned yoga class.
- Tap on “Shared Library”
- Go to “Audiences”
- Choose “Set-up Remarketing”
- Click on “View AdWords Tag for websites”
Google will now give you a tag code. Copy it and then place it at the bottom of your event website or event page.
Your website visitors will now have a cookie installed when they visit, which you can use to retarget them.
Tip: You can read this in-depth guide to Google retargeting if you’re interested in this method.
6. How to retarget your audience with Facebook
You need a Facebook Business account before you can run a retargeting campaign on their platform. Once you’ve set that up, go to the Facebook Ads Manager.
- Tap on “Audiences”
- Choose “Custom Audiences”
- Click on “Website Traffic”
You’ll now be presented with a choice of audiences to retarget. You can create your own custom audience, but Facebook has already prepared a few for you.
You can target anyone who…
- Visits your website
- Goes to a specific page on your site
- Doesn’t go to certain pages on your website
- Hasn’t visited your site for a while
Once you’ve picked an audience, you’ll be given a Facebook Pixel tracking code. Place it on your website (or specific page) and let Facebook work its magic.
7. How to retarget for successful event promotion
Now let’s go through a quick run-down of how you can use retargeting ads to promote your event, sell tickets, and put bums in those seats.
- Install a tracking pixel on your website (see #4 above)
- Integrate your pixel with your event management software
- Segment your audiences
- Target each segment with relevant ads (see #3 above)
- Retarget website visitors with incentives (see #3 above)
- Fine-tune your campaign based on Facebook or Google insights
Was it a hit?
Given the impressive ROI figures for retargeting, you should be well on your way to a sold-out event.
Let us know how it went, and please do share your personal experiences with us in the comments below!