Special events have loads of moving parts and require strong attention to the smallest of details.
As part of the events team, it’s your job to make sure that those details are planned out and executed as planned.
The number one skill here is clear communication with teams (insourced and outsourced) and guests.
Bulk texting is often used by top events teams to help with scheduling, organising teams and keeping guests updated so there are no surprises.
Here Are 4 Ways That Savvy Event Coordinators Use Bulk Texting
The best way to have a successful event is to ensure that your guests know exactly where to go and what to do.
With bulk text messaging you know that they’re going to see your message making it a great channel to make sure they know what to do and what to expect on the big day.
Booking attendance in advance
One of the first tasks is to get as many pre-bookings or at least RSVP’s as possible to give you an idea of how many seats are left to fill.
It’s incredibly time-consuming manually calling around to get people booked in plus studies show that most people would rather receive an SMS to a phone call.
Send out a bulk text that sends the recipient to a landing page to booking in their event or simply have them reply back so your team can update the attendance sheets.
A smart thing to ensure you get maximum uptake is to offer an incentive to those who act fast by giving them:
- Better seats
- Backstage VIP access
- Better pricing etc.
Make sure you place a time-limit on this, however.
Reminder texts
3-5 days out from the event send out a text reminder to update guests on any need-to-know information like scheduling, what to bring, parking etc. the purpose of this text is to remind and also get them focused and excited about your upcoming event.
Bulk texting is also a reliable tool for keeping the entire team on the same page with what’s going on. While phone calls are more acceptable with teams, when it comes to sudden updates that need quick attention, sending out a quick text is ideal.
Organising different teams
One of the major challenges for even coordinators is knowing exactly where everyone is at any given point in time and also being able to react to sudden changes quickly.
One of the most useful bulk messaging tools here is list segmentation.
If you’re working with 4 different teams then set up 4 different contact groups so that there’s no chance of a team getting the wrong instructions which can be a nightmare to undo.
Team leaders can also send replies back to you making it easy to stay on top of everything.
While you should avoid bombarding your guest with SMS messages you still should maximise this opportunity by carefully selecting ways to sell or pre-sell future events, products and services.
Lead capture for post selling opportunities
Make sure that you’re using this time to capture leads by placing different SMS offers or contests around the event.
When people opt-in to these lists they’re automatically placed into various customer segments for your team to follow up on later with an SMS marketing campaign.
This allows you to create sales after the event as well.
Emergencies And Important Updates
There will be times when an unexpected emergency arises where you need to reach everyone collectively.
Response time is critical for any emergency and by sending out a quick bulk SMS message to guests and teams, helps to quickly get things under control as best as possible.
The event was a hit but events should be connected to an overall strategy designed to build brands, generate sales or build awareness around issues.
By collecting everyone’s mobile details at the event you’re able to keep that momentum going and focus it onto the next event, take polls, send an text marketing campaign pointing to relevant products and services.
Send out a bulk SMS out to all attendees to thank them for coming and make an offer to set up the next step in the strategy.