Hive makes it easy for event marketers to create and manage Meta (Facebook & Instagram) ad campaigns using their own audience data. The Hive Campaign Builder simplifies Meta’s setup process while still using Meta’s advertising technology behind the scenes.

This guide walks through each step of building a campaign in Hive, from campaign setup to publishing.

If you haven’t connected Meta yet, start here:

💡Getting started with Meta Ad Campaigns in Hive

Creating a campaign in Hive follows five main steps:

Each section builds on the previous one, allowing you to move step-by-step through the campaign creation process.

The Campaign Name helps you identify the campaign within Hive. Use a clear naming structure such as: Event Name – Market – Date

Example:

Fall Tour – Chicago – Oct 15

This makes it easier to manage campaigns later.

Hive allows you to connect multiple Meta Ad Accounts. Select the Ad Account that will be used to fund and run the campaign. All campaign spend will come directly from the selected Meta account.

The Campaign Objective tells Meta what result you want the campaign to optimize for. Hive currently supports two objectives:

Use this when your goal is ticket purchases.

Requirements:

Common performance goals include:

You must also select:

Dataset (Pixel / Conversions API)

Choose the Meta Dataset to use for tracking.

Conversion Event

Select the event you want Meta to optimize for, such as:

Custom events can be managed in Meta Events Manager.

💡Learn how to add Meta's Conversions API in Hive

Use this objective when your goal is to drive visitors to a webpage rather than optimize for purchases.

Available performance goals include:

Traffic campaigns do not require a pixel.

Choose when your campaign should run. You can:

If you select a Lifetime Budget, you must include an End Date.

Next, define how much you want to spend. Hive offers two budget options:

Your campaign will spend up to the selected amount each day.

Example:

$50 per day

Your campaign will spend a fixed amount across the entire campaign duration.

Example:

$500 total from May 1 – May 10

You can increase your budget later even after the campaign is published.

The Audience Targeting section defines who will see your ads. This includes location, demographics, and audience data.

Choose where your ads should be shown. You can target:

Multiple locations can be added to the same campaign.

Example:

Further refine your audience using demographic filters.

Available options include:

Target Groups define how your audience is structured within a campaign.

Each Target Group includes:

You can create multiple Target Groups to test different audience segments.

Target Groups are similar to Meta Ad Sets, but Hive simplifies the setup. Hive allows you to include both square and vertical creatives in the same Target Group. Behind the scenes, Hive automatically creates two ad sets (one per format) in Meta while keeping the setup simple for you.

Custom Audiences allow you to target people across Facebook and Instagram using different data sources. You can add multiple audiences within a Target Group. When the campaign is published, Hive will automatically create any required audiences in Meta.

Use Hive’s contact filters to create a new audience segment directly from your CRM data. Examples include targeting:

When the campaign is published:

This audience will automatically update as contacts enter or leave the segment in Hive.

Use an existing Custom Audience from Meta.

This is useful if you already created audiences in Meta Ads Manager.

Target people who visited or interacted with specific Facebook Pages.

You can select up to five pages.

Target people who visited or interacted with specific Instagram accounts.

You can select up to five accounts.

Target people who visited your website and were tracked by your Meta Pixel.

This allows you to retarget website visitors.

Hive can automatically generate Lookalike Audiences. Lookalike audiences help you reach people who are similar to your existing audience but not currently in your data. Hive creates a new Target Group with the top 1% lookalike audience based on your selected audience.

Interest targeting allows you to reach people based on their interests. You can:

Simply enter a performer's name, and Hive will automatically find related interests.

Example:

Typing Foo Fighters might generate interests like:

Hive will display the estimated audience size so you can adjust the interest list.

You can also exclude specific audiences from seeing your ads. Common exclusions include:

Excluding these groups helps avoid wasted ad spend.

The Creative Setup section is where you upload the images or videos used in your ads. Here you can also select between showing a single ad or using the carousel ad format.

You can create multiple creatives within the same campaign. Each creative will automatically become a separate ad across your Target Groups.

The Ad Name is used internally in Hive and Meta. Choose a name that helps identify the creative.
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Example:

Artist Image – Buy Tickets

Each ad must be connected to a Facebook Page. You can optionally connect an Instagram account.

Choose where your ads will appear:

Upload your creative assets. You can:

Supported formats:

Supported format:

A carousel ad is a single ad made up of 2 to 10 swipeable cards. Each card has its own image, headline, and destination URL, so you can showcase multiple events, ticket tiers, or angles in one ad unit. Previously, carousel ads had to be built directly in Meta. You can now create them end-to-end in the Hive Campaign Builder.

Select the carousel format

When setting up a creative under Creative Setup, choose Carousel as the Ad Format. The Media Assets area will switch from a single-asset upload to a card-based layout where you can add and manage individual cards.

Add and manage carousel cards

Each carousel ad supports between 2 and 10 cards.

💡 See also Meta Ad Formats in Hive Ads

You can quickly create variations using the Duplicate button. This copies the entire creative so you can make small adjustments like:

This is helpful for A/B testing creative performance.

Next, add the text that will appear in your ads. Hive provides real-time previews so you can see exactly how the ad will appear across placements.

Note: For carousel ads, Headline and Destination URL are set on each card (see Creative Setup). Primary Text, Description, and Button Text remain at the ad level and apply across all cards.

The Headline appears below the image or video.

Example:

Tickets On Sale Now

The Primary Text is the main message shown above the ad.

Example:

Don’t miss Artist Name live in Boston this October. Limited tickets available.

Additional supporting text below the headline.

Choose a call-to-action button. Common event options include:

This is the webpage users will land on after clicking the ad. Typically this will be the ticketing page or event landing page.

If your full URL is long, you can shorten how it appears on the ad.

Example:

Actual URL: tickets.example.com/events/artist-tour-2026

Display URL: example.com

Tracking depends on the campaign objective.

Hive automatically uses the Dataset (Pixel) selected during campaign setup. This allows Meta to track conversions like purchases.

Tracking pixels are optional and used only for reporting. For traffic campaigns, pixels are configured per creative rather than per campaign.

Before publishing, you can preview your ads across formats including:

This helps confirm that your media and text appear correctly.

Once everything is set up, you can either save your campaign or launch it.

Saving as a draft allows you to:

Draft campaigns appear in your Campaigns Dashboard.

Publishing sends your campaign to Meta and begins the launch process. Publishing usually completes within a few minutes. If the campaign publishes successfully, it will begin delivering ads according to your schedule.

If there is an issue during publishing:

If you encounter an error you’re unsure how to fix, contact: support@hive.co

💡Learn about Hive Ads reporting