How to Make Deep Links and QR Codes for Events in the Facebook App

Promoting events can be challenging especially when trying to reach a targeted audience. Display ads, email, and search marketing are all tried and true methods for driving traffic to event websites. Social networks, however, are playing a more important role in event promotion.

Most consumers spend the majority of their free time in Facebook and other social networks. As a result, marketers are increasingly posting event details in the events section of their Facebook profile. The question becomes, how can you quickly present your audience with your event schedule and event details while minimizing clicks?

One way is to link directly to events section of your Facebook profile. Using a browser, when you navigate to your events section in Facebook, notice the link in the address bar of your browser. It will look similar to this example:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/MuseumofModernArt/events/

Clicking on specific event will present you with a different link format. Here’s an example:

https://www.facebook.com/events/105891913436936/

The challenge in promoting typical Facebook event links is that they cannot always open the Facebook mobile app. Depending on the platform and device, the user will often be taken to the Facebook mobile website. In order to like your profile or to express interest in your event the user would need to login. Most people abandon in these mobile moments because the Facebook app is typically installed where the user is persistently logged in. As a result, promoting a typical Facebook event link might generate a lot of clicks but not many likes, follows or event interest.

Solutions like URLgenius let marketers update Facebook event links so they can detect and open the Facebook mobile app to that particular page. URLgenius links for Facebook events can be promoted from any channel and will consistently open the Facebook app on iOS and Android. Visitors will only be sent to the Facebook mobile website when the Facebook app is not installed on the device. Here is an example of an updated link. Try it from your mobile device to see the difference in behavior:

https://urlgeni.us/facebook/MuseumofModernArt/events

Another benefit of app deep linking platforms like URLgenius is reporting. Before or after you compose your event deep link, you can append any campaign tracking parameters for web or channel analytics solutions including Google Analytics. In addition, if your email platform dynamically appends UTM campaign parameters, platforms like URLgenius will maintain them upon click through.

App deep linking dashboards like URLgenius provide you with at-a-glance reporting for clicks, Facebook app opens on iOS and Android, referring URL and geography. Here is an example chart for daily clicks:

This next chart shows app opens on iOS and Android:

Marketers may also want to know what state and referring URL is driving the most event interest:

Don’t forget to update the link to your main Facebook profile page as well and links to other sections that you want to promote more directly including reviews, videos and photos.

When you compose a URLgenius link, you also instantly create a QR code that will be available on the settings page. Use the QR code to link to the events section of your Facebook profile from printed and other offline materials. URLgenius also lets you create QR codes that link directly to the Facebook tab for videos, groups and reviews.