Live events are a summer staple. Whether it be for a concert, restaurant sponsored cook off or charity fundraiser, spending time outdoors with other like-minded people always makes for an entertaining evening.

For promoters, using text message marketing can help you increase the impact of your event by increasing brand loyalty, customer engagement and, ultimately, your return on investment. 

Here are some ways that SMS marketing can enhance your live event:

Before

Leverage your store front and website to obtain opt-ins. Offer a pre-registration discount or other promotion if it's a free event by instructing customers to text a keyword to a short code. This will register users into your system to you can continue to offer them information about the event and your organization. If you don't have a registration process, offer to send reminders instead.

During

Use text messaging to help increase customer engagement during the show. Here are a few suggestions:

  • Text updates to customers about the start times of specific activities or events. 
  • Use a keyword and short code to run giveaways or other promotions during this event. Users can text the information to enter and then you can text them back first to notify them when their entry was received and then again later if they win. This another good way to obtain opt-ins during the event.
  • Set up a screen to show curated reactions from attendees. You can also use the screen to run a poll during the event asking them to text simple voting responses to a short code.

After

After the event you should have been able to increase your opt-in numbers. Now, build on this new base by running a specified campaign to these new customers. This will allow you to retain these clients year round.

Depending on the type of event your running, there may be some specific things that can be done with SMS marketing. For help with your live event and your other text message marketing needs, Swift SMS Gateway has the tools to help organizations launch a strong and effective SMS strategy.