How to Run Profitable Paid Ads for Events

Paid advertising can be a game-changer for event organizers, if you do it right. Without a strategy, you risk burning through your budget with little to show for it. But when executed correctly, paid ads can consistently drive ticket sales, build brand awareness, and scale your events. Here’s how to run ads that actually make you money:

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Start Small and Scale What Works

Test With a Low Budget First. You don’t need to drop thousands to see results. Start with as little as $25/day on Instagram or Facebook ads to test what resonates. If you’re targeting professional audiences, LinkedIn requires a higher daily budget, around $50+ per day. Daily budgets less than this don’t provide social media platforms with enough data to refine who they target and ultimately provide sizable ROI. If you don’t want to risk that much per day (mainly because the total revenue of your event is only a few grand) it would probably make sense to look to other low-risk marketing strategies like commissioned promoters, content marketing, or SMS and email campaigns.

Monitor Performance Within the First 3-4 Days. Most ad campaigns show initial trends within a few days. If your cost-per-click (CPC) is too high, adjust your targeting or creative instead of letting the budget drain.

Shift Budget to the Best-Performing Ads. Once you identify what’s working, allocate more budget there and kill underperforming ads fast.

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Choose the Right Platform for Your Event

Instagram & Facebook: Best for nightlife, music, and visually-driven events. These platforms offer strong audience targeting and retargeting options.

TikTok: Ideal for creative and viral potential. Works best with short-form video ads showcasing the event’s vibe.

LinkedIn: Best for networking events, panels, or professional gatherings. Higher ad costs, but great for reaching decision-makers.

Twitter (X): Works well for niche communities, real-time event buzz, and last-minute ticket pushes.

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Set Up a High-Converting Event Page First

Before spending money on ads, your event page needs to convert. Make sure it includes:

• High Quality Flyer - simple, not many words, engaging & unique graphic elements
• Clear Event Details - a simple-to-read, but robust and intriguing event description that encapsulates the full experience and what their ticket includes will ensure page visitors can understand exactly what they’re buying access to
• Simple Tiering - Complicated tiers can confuse buyers. Even if you want to create a lot of tiers to maximize demand-based pricing, you can hide future tiers until the lowest-priced ones sell out to keep your page simple on Posh.

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Targeting the Right Audience

Lookalike Audiences. Create audiences similar to your followers and past attendees, using Facebook and Instagram’s targeting tools. This helps expand reach while keeping conversions high.

Start With People Who Already Know Your Brand. Retargeting works best—run ads to people who visited your event page but didn’t buy tickets.

Local Event Targeting. For in-person events, geo-target ads within 10-50 miles of your venue, depending on expected travel radius.

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Optimize Your Ads for Conversions

Videos Outperform Static Images. Short 15-30 second clips showcasing event highlights work better than still images. TikTok and Instagram Reels perform especially well.

Use Carousel Ads for Multiple Selling Points. Show different event highlights—venue, performers, past crowd energy—to appeal to various interests. Instagram and Facebook will show different starting slides to different users to test which ones convert best.

"Paid ads work best when they look organic. People can tell when an ad isn't genuine." – Alex Fox, founder of Fox Collective (@afoxcollective)

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Keep Ads Fresh & Avoid Fatigue

Update Ad Creatives Every 1-2 Weeks. People get tired of seeing the same ad. Refresh images, videos, or copy frequently. If a certain ad is performing very well, you can keep it running until conversions start to plateau.

A/B Test Creatives. Run multiple versions of ads with slight variations (different headlines, images, or CTAs) to see what performs best.

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Leverage SMS & Email to Support Your Ads

Run Retargeting SMS Blasts. If someone you already have the phone number of clicks your ad, but doesn’t buy, send a reminder via SMS or email. Posh offers Facebook Pixel tracking tools to integrate SMS marketing into your ad strategy.

Combine Ads With Organic Hype. Paid ads work better when supported by organic posts, influencer promotions, and event buzz.

"Retargeting is key—most ticket sales happen in the last 48 hours, so hit them again right before the event." – Malcolm Charles, co-founder of 212 Group (@212groupnyc)

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Track Performance & Adjust as You Scale

Key Metrics to Watch:

• CPC (Cost per Click): Should stay under $1-2 for most platforms
• CTR (Click-Through Rate): A strong CTR is above 1-2%
• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): If you spend $100 on ads, you should make at least $300+ in ticket sales

Kill Ads That Aren’t Working. Don’t wait for bad ads to improve—pause them and shift budget to better-performing ones.

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Paid ads shouldn’t replace organic marketing—they should amplify what’s already working. Run small tests, target warm audiences first, and optimize accordingly. When done right, paid ads will help you sell more tickets than you ever imagined!

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