ORGANIZE ATTENDEES

When you need to coordinate an event or conference, one of the biggest challenges is making sure the services and activities you have planned run seamlessly and on time. Scheduling and mobilizing your staff is important, but any hiccups in communication can snowball quickly. Whether it’s internal communication or coordinating guests’ agendas, mass texting offers a reliable way to reach contacts in or around event locations. Your guests always have their phones on them, giving you a powerful way to reach your audience while on the go. 

Before your guests even check into their hotel rooms or get their schedules, you can begin using texting. Use text message marketing to begin promoting well in advance of your event. Display a mobile keyword in your collateral and across social media, to get guests to sign up for your messaging campaigns. This will allow you to send them special discounted rates on hotels and transportation, to reduce cancellations and improve sign-up rates.

When the event is just a few days away, you can send out reminders to confirmed guests, as well as directions to the venue or parking information. Make attendees feel like VIPS by sending them information like previews of your speakers, discounts on event bundles or limited-availability merchandise, or deals on area attractions and food.

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

Mass texting isn’t just for communicating with your guests. Whether your event features 10 contractors or employees or 200, keeping tabs on all of your staff during a busy event is hard. With mass texting, you can create lists of employees based on their function, so you can tell food servers when a conference goes long in order to keep food fresh, or quickly tell a setup crew to get a stage ready for a schedule change.

But the best past of texting for event communication is that it is two-way. You can alert staff that an area needs cleanup, and they can text you when the area is ready. This allows you to keep tabs on staff in real time and ensures that communication during any hiccups can flow freely both ways.

AUDIENCE INTERACTION

Use Mail Merge Tags to send personalized texts to your guests. These one-to-many messages let everyone receive the same messages at the same time, but containing personalized details like their name or upcoming agenda.

You can send polls to your guests in real time, getting feedback about their experience in general or specific speakers or events. Or take live Q&A and greetings using the interactive “Text to Screen” feature. And you can make last minute scheduling changes too, so if you are having an after party at a nearby restaurant you can let your attendees know.

EMERGENCY ALERTS

A disaster or local emergency can leave guests and staff full of questions and concerns about their current safety, evacuation procedures, and well-being. Being able to address these concerns as soon as possible will allow your guests to go back to feeling safe. Time is of the essence during a disaster, so the quicker you get responses the better you can provide assistance.

It’s impossible to call every guest at once, but you can reach all your guests simultaneously through texting. With two-way texting, not only can you blast alerts, but you can also enable guests to respond to ask questions or confirm their safety. As a result, you will free up your phone lines while quickly answering questions and identifying guests who require immediate assistance.

POST-EVENT FOLLOW-UP

Every guest should be thanked for their attendance, and since texting has been how you communicated before and during this event, continue the effort by sending an appreciative post-event SMS blast, or perhaps a MMS picture from the event. It’s also an opportunity to slip in a quick mention about your business so they associate you with good times. You also can consider including info about the next event you are hosting.

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?

Mass texting is a highly effective way to keep your live events running smoothly, so why not try it yourself? iZigg has worked with hundreds of events to make sure the guest experience is one to remember. Follow the practices above to improve client engagement and watch satisfaction rates soar! And check out our other articles for more advice on specific industries and use cases.