Digital Ticketing Tips for Schools in the Winter Playoffs

The postseason is upon us for high school winter sports. Schools nationwide are actively working to secure a spot in the finals, and fans are hoping to see their teams advance to the next round.

Postseason events are typically managed differently than those in the regular season, with state associations often determining the policies. Schools and fans should be aware that ticketing procedures may be different for the playoffs and plan accordingly.

Whether you’re entirely new to digital ticketing or a seasoned pro, you can elevate the event experience for your staff and fans in the playoffs with these best practices:

1. Educate your staff and fans about your digital ticketing procedures.

Communicate your digital ticketing policy to your fans in advance.

Your school may not use digital ticketing in the regular season, or you may use a different digital platform than the official partner for the playoffs. Make sure your fans are aware of your postseason digital ticketing policy by making an announcement on your website, social media channels, newsletters, and other forms of communication. You can also forward your announcement to your league commissioners, other association schools, and local media outlets to get the word out.

Train your staff and volunteers on ticket redemption.

Along with some of your fans, some event staff and volunteers may not be familiar with your official digital ticketing platform for playoffs. Make sure that anyone working at the gate knows how to use the digital ticketing system and answer common questions.

Tip: Schools using GoFan in the postseason can share our How-To Guide with gate attendants to teach them about the redemption process.

Provide support resources to your staff and fans.

Your staff and fans may occasionally have questions aside from the ticket redemption process. Make sure they are aware of the support available to them to help your event run smoothly.

GoFan has dedicated resources for school support and fan support to provide quick answers to frequently asked questions. Users can easily navigate these content libraries and find solutions with a simple search.

2. Promote your events effectively.

Post your playoff event links and schedules promptly.

Tournaments move quickly, and your fans want to get tickets right away when their team advances. Once you determine the teams in your next playoff event, post the link to purchase digital tickets as early as possible.

With GoFan HQ, you can set up your events in minutes and start selling tickets right away. Simply add your event details, select your ticket types and prices, and publish the event. Fans can easily find your events with direct links or by searching for your school at gofan.co.

Drive more ticket sales with social media and email.

In addition to posting playoff events on your website, you can amplify your reach with social media and email. Social media can be a powerful tool to connect with your fans and direct them to the right link to buy tickets. You can also leverage your email database to update fans with regular newsletters or individual emails that are specific to each round of the playoffs. These efforts can help you increase attendance at your events and establish strong communication with your fanbase.

3. Encourage early sales and speed up the checkout process.

Pre-sell tickets online and consider incentive pricing for purchasing in advance.

By pre-selling tickets online, you can operate more efficiently before the event and at the gate while elevating the experience for staff and fans. Encourage fans to buy tickets early so they can enter playoff events much faster. If you’re able to provide an extra incentive, offering a reduced price for purchasing tickets in advance can be a great way to appeal to fans.

With GoFan, you can easily allocate tickets and set your pricing in the event management platform to support early ticket sales.

Display self-checkout signs and digital ticketing instructions at the gate.

You can increase ticket sales and speed up the checkout process with QR codes and signs. If you’re offering the option for walk-up ticket sales the day of the event, be sure to display self-checkout signs at the gate and in high-traffic areas leading up to the venue. You can also display these signs throughout your campus and community to make it even easier for fans to buy tickets.

With GoFan, you can easily create your own QR codes and self-checkout signs directly in the event management platform with a single click. Fans can scan the QR code with their mobile devices and be directed to your school page to find events or to an individual event page to buy tickets. They also have the option to find events by searching for the hosting school’s name at gofan.co.

4. Communicate with your fans and make changes as needed.

Send event alerts to notify fans of important protocols.

Communication is key to successful postseason events. With digital ticketing, you can easily send event alerts to notify your fans of important updates, including health and safety policies, capacity restrictions, weather advisories, and more. By setting expectations upfront, you can ensure that there are no surprises when your fans arrive at the gate. With GoFan, schools can communicate effectively with fans to help create a safer event environment for everyone in attendance.

Reschedule your events easily.

Sometimes factors beyond your control can interfere with your planned event, and it’s important to be able to adapt quickly and easily. If you need to reschedule your events for any reason, you can easily do so with a few simple steps.

5. Access your ticket sales data and act accordingly.

View real-time event insights.

Having access to your sales data is a game-changer in the playoffs and the regular season. The ability to see a breakdown of ticket sales can help schools make informed decisions about events, whether it’s to change ticket allotments, promote events to drive more sales, plan staffing and security measures, manage capacity restrictions, and more.

With event insights available directly in GoFan HQ, users can view graphs that show tickets remaining, ticket sales by type, ticket sales by school, and tickets redeemed.

Next Steps

By following these best practices, you can manage the playoffs successfully with digital ticketing and elevate the event experience. Your staff and fans can continue to benefit from these ticketing tips throughout the postseason and beyond.

To learn more about how digital ticketing can help your school, contact us for further information.