SMS has emerged as a powerful event marketing tool. But leveraging the immediacy and ubiquity of text messaging requires a strategic approach.
Here are five essential best practices to maximize the impact of SMS in your event marketing strategy.
Before hitting "send", ensure you have the green light. Obtain explicit consent from recipients before including them in your SMS marketing campaigns. This not only complies with regulations like GDPR and TCPA but also fosters a positive relationship with your audience. Implement a clear and transparent opt-in process, allowing attendees to willingly subscribe to event updates. Respecting their privacy and preferences establishes trust, laying the foundation for a successful and receptive SMS campaign.
SMS is all about brevity and impact. Craft concise, compelling messages that convey essential information without overwhelming recipients. Clearly communicate event details, such as dates, times, and locations, and include a call-to-action that drives engagement. Whether it's registering for the event, accessing exclusive content, or participating in a poll, make the next steps clear and enticing. Keep in mind that SMS is a direct and personal channel, so your message should resonate immediately and leave a lasting impression.
“It's gotta have a call to action on it,” confirms Ashley Dawson, Marketing Manager at White Oak Music Hall. “We won't just say, ‘Hey, guess what, this is happening.’ We will say, ‘Hey, here's a pre sale code. Here's a ticket link.’ We've also used it in urgent situations – for example, we had boygenius, and the doors kept getting pushed back because of weather. So that was a situation where we needed to make sure that [the audience] knew what was happening. So we used SMS.”
Timing is everything in SMS marketing. Consider the time zones of your target audience and schedule messages accordingly to maximize impact. Avoid sending texts during late-night hours to prevent irritation and ensure your messages are noticed promptly. Utilize SMS for timely updates, reminders, and last-minute announcements. Whether it's a countdown to the event or a flash sale on tickets, strategic timing enhances the relevance of your messages, increasing the likelihood of meaningful engagement.
"Timing is everything in SMS marketing."
Not all attendees are the same, and your SMS strategy should reflect this diversity. Segment your audience based on factors like preferences, demographics, or past engagement. This allows you to send targeted and personalized messages that resonate with specific groups. Tailoring your SMS content to the interests of each segment enhances the overall user experience and boosts engagement rates. Whether it's VIP updates, early-bird offers, or special perks, personalized messages make recipients feel valued and more likely to participate.
“Having your segmentation for that direct hand to hand selling is critical,” says Jesse Lawrence, Founder and CEO of FanIQ and TicketIQ. “So knowing your 2022 buyers versus your 2021 buyers, premium versus GA. Blasting out a generic ‘tickets are on sale’ is much less effective than a more curated, ‘Hey, premium buyer, limited amount of premium tickets available for 2023. We want you to know first.’ Or having your presale offers around past buyers and giving them incentives to be early, early, early bird. Those sorts of things are critical, and communicating with [your audience] on a more one-to-one basis – even though SMS has become a one-to-many tool – it's still really important to make it feel like it's one-to-one-ish.”
Your SMS campaigns should offer tangible value to recipients. Provide exclusive content, early access, or special discounts as incentives for staying subscribed. Whether it's a sneak peek into event highlights, a limited-time promotion, or a unique code for discounted tickets, the value proposition should be clear and enticing. By consistently delivering value through your SMS messages, you not only retain subscribers but also foster a positive perception of your brand, turning one-time attendees into loyal advocates.
“Giving as much utility as possible seems to be really key to making people stick around,” says Harry White, VP Management at Future Classic. “So we've often been quite specific about making sure it's very geo targeted. If it's about show stuff, you're making sure that someone in London is not getting a message about a show in LA being announced. Similarly, there's a great immediacy to it – things like hot drops on the record side, things like shows that are going to sell out quickly, or merch items. All of that stuff I think lends itself really well to it.”
To learn more about getting the most out of your SMS marketing and using it to sell more tickets to your event, speak to our team today.
