4 Steps to Promote High School Events and Increase Attendance

When you’re busy planning an event in addition to your coaching, teaching, or administrative endeavors, promoting your event can become yet another task on your endless to-do list. However, promotion is one of the most important factors in ensuring a successful event. After all, you want as many fans as possible to attend.

You may find that you need support to promote your events strategically and effectively, and you’re not alone! You can simplify event promotion with your email, social media, website, and other announcements by following these simple guidelines and using the templates we’ve provided.

Promote Your Events and Drive Attendance

To drive maximum attendance to your events, complete these key steps:

1. Email all your contacts early in the week.
   
   A simple email reminder about your upcoming event can make a tremendous impact on your ticket sales. Be sure to email your contacts early in the week to let them know the date and time of the event and provide your direct link to purchase digital tickets.
   
   If you send a newsletter or another form of regular communication to parents, include a section with your event schedule. Fans can purchase tickets directly from their preferred devices with just a few steps after clicking the link in your email.
   
   In addition to parents and athletes, your contact list should include school department heads like the Associated Student Body (ASB), band, and cheer, along with your booster club members.
   
   Another great way to drive attendance is to engage feeder schools in your email communications. Many parents of elementary and middle school students are looking for ways to involve their children in activities in the community. If you haven’t already done so, contact the administrators at your affiliated elementary and middle schools and ask them to send out your game information each week.
   
   Lastly, it’s imperative that you communicate your digital ticketing procedures with your opponent’s Athletic Director with plenty of notice. Early communication will help ensure the event runs smoothly and that away fans can purchase tickets easily.
   
   
2. Post your event links on social media.
   
   Posting updates on your social media channels can help you build awareness and engage with your fans in new ways. Be sure to post the game details and your unique ticket URL for each home event, ideally with an image that will capture people’s attention. 
   
   Facebook and Twitter are especially relevant for posting your event information and connecting with fans, but you certainly aren’t limited to just these platforms. Aim to post an update on every social app that your school leverages. Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat can also be highly effective for promoting events and creating memorable content.
   
   To grow your following and engagement on social media, post consistently for each event that you host. Fans will begin to expect to see your updates on social media and will likely seek out information from your accounts moving forward.
   
   Try using a catchy hashtag on your event posts to make them easy for fans to find, especially on Twitter. Start posting early in the week and follow up with additional posts with different messaging as the event approaches.
   
   
3. Add your digital ticketing link to your school and athletics website.
   
   While many fans will purchase tickets after seeing your emails and social posts, some may wait until later or may miss your other updates. Others may simply prefer to go directly to your website for ticketing information.
   
   To make it as easy as possible for fans to get tickets, add a link to your digital ticketing page directly from your school or athletics website. Depending on the structure of your website, you could potentially add your ticketing link to your main school page, your main athletics page, and on each individual sport’s page.
   
   Using a branded graphic can help your ticketing page stand out even more. You can also add a short summary to explain your digital ticketing process and direct fans to purchase tickets.
   
   
4. Mention your events in other announcements.
   
   If your school delivers morning announcements each day, be sure to mention your upcoming events and encourage students to buy tickets. The more you remind students of events, the more likely they are to remember them and attend.
   
   You also have a unique opportunity to reach your most dedicated fans at your actual events! Take a few moments during halftime or intermission to inform fans about future events and let them know when and how to buy tickets.

By following these steps to promote your events, you can drive more attendance and establish clear communication with your fans. Once you get in the habit of promoting your events this way, you’ll easily be able to modify your previous posts and updates for future events. Spending a little time up front can save a ton of time in the long run and can dramatically improve your event attendance and ticket sales.

Promote Your Events Easily with Templates for Messaging, Social Media, and Self-Checkout Signs 

To simplify the event promotion process for you even further, we’ve provided standard messaging and created image templates with placeholders for your school logo, event information, and GoFan URL. Visit our Success Kit page to learn more.