PromoTix University Class

William Royall (00:00)
Okay, now we're getting to the fun stuff. If you're running an event business that relies on ticket sales, having a solid marketing plan is essential. Selling tickets requires more than just creating a great event. You need a well thought out strategy to reach the right audience and convert interest into ticket sales. So in this video, we're going to cover key marketing activities designed specifically to sell more tickets, including building a marketing database,

leveraging ambassadors and influencers, launching a branded mobile app, and using various advertising channels like radio, search engine optimization, and out of home ads.

William Royall (00:42)
A website is your business's digital home base. It's where your attendees learn about your event and buy tickets. Having a website can position you in a much more professional and serious light to attendees, helping to build trust and increase the number of people that buy tickets from you. In fact, probably 95 % of your tickets are going to be sold from your website.

If you're just getting started, you can always use the event page that's automatically created by your PromoTix event.

to sell tickets rather than your own website. But at some point, you should probably build your own site. As an intermediary step, here's a pro tip. You can purchase an easy to remember domain name like youreventname.com and simply forward the domain to your Pr omoTix event page. This way you can have radio commercials or flyers and the ad simply call out the domain name rather than having some really long URL.

and you don't have to build an entire website for your events when you first get started. Remember, your website is the foundation of your event's online presence. It's where people learn about the event, they see what makes it exciting. You're going to want videos, images, a great description, and most importantly, a buy tickets link.

William Royall (02:00)
Now, to maximize conversions and sell the most tickets possible, your website should include a simple, fast loading design with clear call to action buy tickets now buttons, compelling event details with strong visuals, photos, videos, and even testimonials from past attendees. A countdown timer can create urgency and encourage early ticket purchasers. Seamless checkouts with multiple payment options including mobile wallets like

Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna. Also be sure to optimize for SEO using keywords like your city concerts or best food festivals near me. So people searching for your event in your area can easily find you.

William Royall (02:47)
Now, social media is a powerful tool for selling tickets, but you need the right strategy. Let's talk about how to use each platform effectively. To drive ticket sales, focus on event teasers and behind the scenes content. Build hype by posting artist announcements, stage setups, and exclusive sneak peeks. Social media ads, like on Facebook and Instagram, or even LinkedIn and TikTok, target people based on interests, location.

and online behavior depending upon where your specific audience lives. Retargeting campaigns are another great useful tool. Show ads to people who visited your ticket page but didn't buy, reminding them to complete their purchase at a later date.

William Royall (03:31)
Countdown posts, flash sales, and tiered pricing can help remind your followers how much time is left before ticket prices go up or a certain ticket type sells out. Influencer and ambassador collaborations are key. We'll talk more about this in step four, but for this point, just remember, you'll want your ambassadors leveraging their social accounts to help you distribute your message and expand your reach across their socials.

The key to long-term ticket sales success is having a growing list of potential attendees that you can market to directly. That means through email, SMS, and in-app notifications. And these are by far some of the cheapest methods of reaching attendees with some of the highest conversion rates. Here's how to build a strong database.

Start everywhere you can by collecting names, emails, phone numbers, and social connections using some of these strategies. Viral Contests on social media is a great way to run a giveaway and contest where people enter by tagging their friends, sharing posts, or signing up with their email, or a combination of all of the above. The PromoTix Viral Contest tool

can help you collect names, emails, phone numbers, social followers, and shares, all while incentivizing the registrants to invite others to also register for the contest, helping to grow your database in a viral manner.

Another way you can add to your database is with newsletter subscriptions on your website. Offer exclusive discounts or early access to tickets in exchange for signing up to your newsletter on your site.

You can also run social media growth campaigns to build your database. Use paid campaigns with objectives that focus on gaining new followers and connections, signups, and ticket sales.

You can also leverage your past attendee lists. If you've hosted previous events, target past attendees through email and SMS marketing from emails and phone numbers you collected on previous purchases.

Don't forget to put an exit intent pop-up on your site. If someone is about to leave your site without buying, prompt them to subscribe at least for a special offer.

Offer exclusive pre-sale access. You can encourage early signups by offering special VIP ticket access before the general public sale.

The larger and more engaged your database is, the more ticket sales you'll generate with each event that you throw.

turning your biggest fans into ticket sellers is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies you can employ.

William Royall (06:09)
An ambassador or influencer program can be super effective. Recruit micro influencers and super fans by looking for social media users in your target audience with engaged followers. A great way to do this is by targeting the most engaged fans on the PromoTix viral contest tool if you've run a contest.

give them personalized discount codes. Ambassadors can promote your event using a custom discount code. They can earn perks and commissions when people buy tickets from them, creating an army of salespeople for your event.

Offer ambassadors free tickets or VIP upgrades to get involved. Reward your top ambassadors with free or upgraded tickets and even backstage passes for hitting their sales goals.

You can create exclusive content for ambassadors only. You can provide them with social media graphics, videos, and insider updates to share with their following.

Track results and adjust your plan over time. Use Pr oMoteX Ambassadors management tool to see who's driving sales and optimize your strategy, or at the very least track performance manually on socials with tracking links and using Google Analytics.

William Royall (07:19)
Now, a branded mobile app can take your ticketing experience to the next level by offering direct access to your audience. With an event-specific mobile app, you can send push notifications about ticket price increases, event show and artist announcements, and last-minute deals. Push notifications are by far the least expensive and most effective form of reaching potential ticket buyers right on their phones.

William Royall (07:48)
Now billboards, bus stop ads and posters still work, especially for large events. Use high traffic locations near your venue, event, nightlife districts, and don't forget university college campuses. Combined out of home ads with social media hashtags to track engagement and drive the conversation online. You can leverage your ambassador team to hand out flyers and posters and buy billboards on websites like

blipbillboards.com. When people search for events near me, your event should be one of the first things they see in Google, Bing, or other search engines.

Use Google search ads targeting people searching for events in your area. Combine this with retargeting campaigns so that if someone visits your website but doesn't buy the first time, they see ads reminding them to get their ticket. Obviously they showed interest at first and visited the page, so you'll want to follow up with them if they didn't buy the first time. Strategic partnerships can amplify your reach and reduce your costs. Offer sponsorship packages where partners get free tickets

for their employees or audience, cross promote with restaurants, influencers, and hotels that align with your event theme.

Now I know we covered a lot, but a successful event marketing plan is a multi-channel approach, and that's the idea of this video. Combining digital, social, influencer, and traditional media to maximize your ticket sales and reach people across multiple touch points. Implement these strategies and you'll build a loyal audience for every event you host.