I. I want to have more listeners

If your goal is to increase your number of listeners, you can launch a listener campaign to generate real streams on streaming platforms.

Territory

The choice of territories will directly impact your performance.
You should:

• Primarily target the country where the artist is based
• Or the top 3 countries where the artist is most listened to

→ A good territory = more clicks → more streams → lower cost

Audience

Audience targeting allows you to show your music to the right people.
You can combine:
Fanbase + Lookalike

• To reach your existing fanbase and especially people similar to your current audience (same behavior, same interests)
• This is often the most qualified audience

Audience Library + Meta interests

• To reach people who already like similar music styles or artists

Your audiences

• If you are on your business manager, prioritize your Meta (Business Manager) audiences, and the audiences from the profiles you’ve connected in the app.

Smartlink

To launch a listener campaign, you need to generate a CtrlReach smartlink.

There are two types of smartlinks:

• Smartlinks created outside of a campaign
• Smartlinks created directly in the listener campaign setup (tracked with a pixel)

In this case, the one created in the campaign setup is the one you should use.

Focus track

When setting up your campaign, it’s important to choose your focus track carefully.

• The focus track is the song that will automatically play on streaming platforms when a user clicks on the smartlink.
• If you don’t select one, it will default to the first track of the album or playlist.

It is therefore important to select it properly if you want to direct listeners to a specific track from your project.

Testing multiple creatives

For listener campaigns, it is recommended to test multiple creatives.
For example, you can:

• Run A/B tests
• Compare several videos or visuals
• Identify which content generates the most streams
• Then optimize your budget around the best-performing creative

Smartlink appearance

Since only 3 DSPs are automatically displayed on smartlinks, make sure to add the missing platforms.

You can also customize the appearance:

• A video, ideally consistent with the content used in your ad
• Or your project’s artwork

To maximize your click-through rate, make sure there is visual consistency between:

• The ad
• The smartlink

II. I want to sell tickets

If your goal is to sell tickets (concerts, events, festivals, cinema), it is essential to properly set up your tracking in order to measure performance and optimize your campaigns.

1. Install a pixel (mandatory)

The pixel is a tool that tracks user actions on your ticketing platform, such as add-to-cart or purchases.

Without a pixel, you won’t be able to measure the sales generated by your campaigns or run conversion-optimized campaigns.

2. Make sure your pixel is properly set up

Once your pixel is configured, it is very important to check that it is working correctly.

You need to make sure that:

• The pixel is properly integrated into your ticketing platform (Shotgun, Dice, etc.)
• Events are correctly tracked in Ads Manager (add to cart, purchase)

If the pixel is not properly installed, tracking will not work and your campaigns won’t be able to optimize or even launch.

To verify everything is working correctly, you can rely on the ROAS tracking feature when launching your campaign. It indicates whether your Meta pixel is properly set up and whether events (especially purchases) are correctly tracked.

ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) is the key metric for sales campaigns. It tells you how much revenue you generate for each euro spent on ads.

Example:

• You spend €100 on ads
• You generate €300 in sales
• → Your ROAS = 3

→ The higher your ROAS, the more profitable your campaign.

3. Recommended basic strategy

To maximize your sales:

• To maximize your ticket sales (ideally starting at least 2 months before the event):
• Launch your campaigns with A/B testing to optimize engagement
• Start with engagement campaigns to warm up your audience
• Build your audience with email collection campaigns (e.g. contests to win tickets or merch)
• Then switch to conversion campaigns to maximize sales
• Regularly analyze your results (clicks, sales, ROAS)
• Adjust your targeting and creatives based on performance

4. Ticketing structure (very important)

To help us analyze your performance, it is recommended to provide:

• The event date
• The average ticket price

(automatic setup is available for Shotgun and Dice)

5. Territory targeting

Choosing the right territories is essential to maximize your sales.
You should prioritize:

• The city of your event
• Nearby areas (region, surrounding cities)
• Larger cities if your event has national reach

⚠️ Be careful:

• Avoid targeting too broadly if your event is local
• The more precise your targeting, the more likely you are to reach people who can actually attend

6. Audience targeting

Audience targeting is key to reaching people who are genuinely interested in your event.
You can combine:
Your audiences

• Prioritize your fanbase, your Meta (Business Manager) audiences, and the audiences from the profiles you’ve connected in the app.

Audience Library

• Use Audience Library genres and Meta interests to target music styles, similar artists, or events close to your universe.

Retargeting (if possible)

• Use email audiences collected beforehand (e.g. through a giveaway or email capture campaign) to retarget people who have already shown interest.

III. What kind of content should I choose?

To maximize your campaign performance, it’s not enough to follow technical specifications, content quality and clarity are key.

Here are the main guidelines to help you create effective content, regardless of placement.

Be clear from the first seconds

Users scroll very quickly, so it’s essential to grab attention immediately.
Your content should quickly answer:

• Who you are (artist / event)
• What you’re promoting (clip, release, event…)
• What the user should do (listen, click, buy…)

→ If your message isn’t clear right away, performance will drop.

Prioritize video

Videos generally perform better than images.
To optimize your results:

• Start strong within the first 3 seconds
• Avoid long intros
• Show the project’s universe immediately

→ A dynamic video significantly increases your click-through rate.

Think about placements (Story / Feed / Reels)

On CtrlReach, your ads are mainly displayed on:

• Story
• Reels
• Feed

Each placement has its specifics:
Story & Reels (9:16)

• Vertical, immersive, fast formats
• Best for short and dynamic content

Feed

• More flexible (square or vertical)
• Slightly more “static” but still mobile-first

→ Ideally, adapt your content to these formats to avoid cropping and quality loss, prioritizing a 9:16 format.
→ Avoid carousels, as they tend to perform worse and may cause errors.

LITTLE +: You can check our article on format and dimension guidelines for more details.

Visual quality

The quality of your content directly impacts performance.
Make sure to:

• Use clear, high-quality images or videos
• Avoid pixelated or overly compressed content

→ Low-quality visuals reduce credibility and click-through rate.

Keep it simple and readable

Overloaded content can push users away.
Focus on:

• A simple message
• A clear visual
• An obvious call-to-action

Highlight the right part of the track

Your audio extract is also very important.
Choose a moment that is:

• Catchy
• Instantly understandable
• Representative of the track

→ This is often what triggers the click.

Test multiple creatives (A/B testing)

You can’t know in advance what will perform best.
So you should test:

• Multiple videos
• Different hooks (first seconds)
• Different angles (emotion, energy, storytelling)

Then:

• Analyze performance
• Allocate more budget to the best-performing content

→ This is how you truly optimize your campaigns.

Examples of content

For a release

Video #1:

Video #2:

Video #3:

For ticket sales

Video #1:

Video #2:

Video #3:

Updated on: 13/08/2026