How to Promote Your Events and Drive Attendance with Digital Ticketing

Schools that use digital ticketing have the power to promote events easily by sharing ticket links and resources with their fans. Promoting your events each week requires commitment, but with the right strategies in place, it's worth every minute because it saves time in the long run, drives attendance, and streamlines operations at the gate. The more people who get tickets online in advance, the less pressure on the day of the event.

The challenge now is how to make sure your fans are aware of your upcoming events and ticketing policies. Check out the guide to promoting your events to build community engagement and encourage participation.

Guide to Event Promotions

Consider using a combination of the methods below based on your needs. Promote your events early in the week and encourage fans to get tickets in advance. Communicate the benefits of getting tickets early and let them know they will have a much faster entry. If possible, you can even offer a discount to fans who buy tickets before a certain date.

Social Media

Social media is a powerful tool for promoting events and driving ticket sales. The average Internet user spends around two and a half hours every day on social media! Make sure to have a strong presence on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and use eye-catching graphics and videos to grab people's attention. 

In addition to promoting your events, be sure to interact with your followers and engage with them on a regular basis. This can help build a sense of community and encourage people to attend your events. 

Using event announcements is a simple way for schools to share consistent messaging on social media without a lot of effort. Simply post the date, location, time, and opponent to create a quality post. Make sure to include a link to your ticket sales page.

Ticketing Page

GoFan provides a dedicated landing page where all your events are hosted. This is a great way to showcase all the details and provide easy access to ticket sales. The page includes information like the event date, time, location, ticket prices, and links to purchase tickets. You can also include photos and videos to give people a sneak peek of what they can expect at the event.

Email Marketing

Email marketing can be an especially effective way to communicate with fans and drive ticket sales in advance. To use email marketing, create a list of people who have shown an interest in your events in the past, and send them regular updates about upcoming events. In the case of a school, this includes your student body, families, and community members.  

You can also use email marketing to offer special discounts or promotions to encourage ticket sales. Just be sure to follow best practices for email marketing, such as including a clear subject line, personalizing your emails, and providing an easy way for people to opt out of your emails.

Special Offers & Promotions 

People love a good deal, so consider offering special promotions or discounts to encourage ticket sales. You could offer a discount for early-bird tickets, or provide a promo code to people who purchase tickets through your website or social media channels. Be sure to set an expiration date for these promotions to create a sense of urgency and encourage people to act fast.

Referral Program

A referral program can be a great way to promote digital ticket sales for your school's events. Encourage your attendees to share your events with their friends and family, and offer a reward for every person they refer who purchases a ticket. This could be a discount on future tickets, a free gift, or something else that's relevant to your audience.

Onsite Signage

Many schools display self-checkout signs and flyers with QR codes onsite at the gate on the day of events. Consider placing additional signage further away from the gate to encourage fans to get their tickets as they are walking to the venue. This will help prevent long lines at entry points and make the process more convenient for all attendees. You can also display your QR code flyers generated in HQ throughout the school during the week to give your students more options to get tickets in advance.

Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing can be powerful for promoting digital ticketing for your school's events. Encourage your attendees to share their experiences at your events on social media, or ask them to tell their friends and family about your events. You could also consider offering incentives or rewards to people who refer others to your events.

Influencers

Your coaches and athletes are influencers!  They have social media followers. Encourage them to share your posts and get the event announcements out in front of their users to build engagement prior to the event, which drives ticket sales as well!

Weekly Social Media Checklist for Schools

Production Day: 4 to 5 Days Before Event

Step 1: Make a list of events that you want to promote for the week. Decide if you will promote one event at a time or if you will promote them all at once. Typically football games, performing arts events, and dances are best to promote one at a time.

Conversely, basketball, volleyball, and other events where teams participate more than once per week tend to get more engagement when announced as a group.

Encourage fans to pre-pay for tickets prior to game day to ensure smooth entrance into the event. This will also allow schools to not rely solely on hardware and lessen the burden on gate workers. Have a designated line at events for fans who have bought tickets in advance and make sure your fans are aware that they can skip the long line when they arrive. 

Step 2: Create a message sequence based on the events above. Here is an example set of messages:

• Announcement: This message should announce event(s) for the week. It should launch early, ideally 3 days prior to the event. Include messaging to encourage earlier ticket purchasing with potential incentives such as discounts, faster entry, and more. Post it on social channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  
• Alert: This message should reiterate the announcement for the week, with more urgency. It should be posted multiple times leading up to the event and ideally at the end the day before the event.
• Last Call: This message should create a sense of urgency and give fans a final opportunity to buy tickets. Make sure fans are aware of how to purchase tickets ahead of time and at the gate. Place the QR code for tickets further from the point of entry to ensure fans have ample time to purchase a ticket and don't hold up the flow of traffic into the event. 

Step 3: Draft your messaging. Here are some examples to get started:

Announcement Day: 3 to 4 Days Before the Event

• Post announcements on social media channels
• Tag influencers
• Tag opponent
• Reply to comments and DMs
  
  

Alert Day: 1 to 2 Days Before the Event

• Post alerts on social media channels
• Tag influencers
• Tag opponent
• Reply to comments and DMs
  
  

Last Call: Day of the Event

• Post last call on social media channels
• Tag influencers
• Tag opponent
• Reply to comments and DMs
  
  

Next Steps

Dedicating some time upfront to promote your events can build awareness, increase attendance, and foster community engagement. To learn more about how your school can benefit from digital ticketing, contact us for more information.