Benefits of Season Passes and Season Tickets for your Sports Season
Want to make it fast and easy for your most loyal fans to get into every game? HomeTown has the built-in option to sell season passes and season ticket packages to your events. Which one is right for your programs? Related post: 4 Tips for using Digital Ticketing for Event Planning Season Passes Passes provide an easy way for fans to purchase entry to multiple events at one time, while providing you with flexible options. Select the events within your season that you want to sell a pass for. When fans purchase their season pass, they will receive one QR code that can be scanned for entry. The QR code will be valid for one entry to each event within the season and can be stored on a mobile device or printed at home. Season Ticket Packages Season ticket packages allow your fans to purchase entry to each game of an athletic season for one price. Season tickets can be sent digitally, with individual tickets for each game that are easily scanned upon entry to ensure each ticket is valid for the correct date. Related post: Set Up Your School for a Sell-Out Crowd with Digital Ticketing Season tickets also allow fans to choose a reserved seat within your venue and keep their seat for the entire season. For example, you may have fans who want to sit on the 50-yard line for the entire football season or want to be near center court in your gym. When it comes time to renew your fans’ yearly ticket package, you will work directly with your Client Success Manager to send out automated renewal information. Why Do Schools Sell Season Passes and Season Tickets? Both season passes and season ticket packages drive early ticket sales for your events, increase event attendance across the season, and provide an easy alternative to buying single game tickets. They also provide a lower fee option for fans when compared to purchasing tickets individually, rewarding your loyal fans with savings. Ready to get started selling your season passes and single game tickets with HomeTown? Schedule a call with our team to get the answers to your questions and get set-up with your own HomeTown Box Office.
Set Up Your School for a Sell-Out Crowd with Digital Ticketing
With the fall season in full swing, high schools around the country have been kicking off their big games in front of huge crowds. Football games bring the community together through school spirit and pride. What can you do when you are expecting a sell out for the big rivalry game and want to make the process as smooth as possible? Sell out more events Through digital ticketing, schools can monitor ticket sales in real-time. They can communicate with their fanbase via social media when they reach certain thresholds that an event is nearly sold-out. The best examples of posts like these inform fans of the large expected crowds, urge people to buy their tickets early, and provide the link to their box office in the post. Related post: Increase Ticket Sales by Using Social Media Use reporting tools to be proactive If a large crowd is expected for your event, it’s important to have fans purchase their tickets as early as possible. This prevents your gate workers from feeling overwhelmed with ticket purchasers at the gate, and fans can easily get into the game. Tracking attendance in real-time as game day approaches allows you to be proactive by opening up additional entrance gates, adding staff members or volunteers, and even increasing concession stand inventory. Use your seat map to show available seats If you’re using reserved seating or seat maps provided by HomeTown, you can show which seats are still available. Take a screenshot of the seatmap in your box office and post a message such as, “Seats at the 50 yard line are selling out fast!” or “Get your general admission seats before they’re gone!” Related post: 5 Ways to Promote Your Events Be proud and create some hype It’s also important to let fans know on social media when a game is officially sold out. Not only does this inform your fans that tickets are no longer available, but it also creates hype and excitement for the big game. It can even create urgency for fans to purchase tickets early for future games as well. Related post: 4 Tips for using Digital Ticketing for Event Planning
4 Tips for using Digital Ticketing for Event Planning
When you’re planning important events, ticketing should be stress-free. Here are four simple tips that will help you plan ahead for a smooth, successful event. 1. Track Real-Time Ticket Sales in Your Box Office Predicting event attendance is crucial to event preparation. Our cloud-based platform monitors real-time sales to track planned attendance, so you know when to ramp up staff or onsite capabilities to accommodate larger crowds. Quick tip: Want to make sure your guests get to the right location? When setting up your event, copy and paste the address directly from Google Maps. In the order confirmation email, purchasers will receive a Google Map link with directions to your venue. This step will ensure that your fans receive the correct directions. 2. Provide Link for Online Tickets to Social Media Followers One of the most effective ways to promote your event is by sharing the link on social media. Your built-in audience will see the reminder about the event and be able to click your post to go directly to your Box Office. Related post: Increase Ticket Sales by Using Social Media Quick tip: Facebook and Twitter will allow you to link directly to other websites, however, Instagram does not offer links within posts. One workaround is sharing links through their Stories feature. 3. Offer Exclusive Access with Pre-Sale and Passcode Features Do you have an exclusive event that’s likely to sell out? Provide a VIP experience to proud families, supportive friends, and loyal fans with our passcode-protected presale options. You can also set a ticket limit per ID number or use promo codes to promote early ticket sales. Related post: Set Up Your School Dance Tickets Online Quick tip: Using student ID numbers as passcodes is the easiest way to secure your events’ tickets and make certain that only your students have access to purchase. This is a great option for student-only events, such as school dances. 4. Avoid Lines and Enhance Guest Experience No one wants to wait in a long line! Online presale tickets, fast-scanning entries, and in-app ticket purchases all help avoid an overwhelmed box office. Guests will appreciate how quick and easy the experience is, and they can focus on celebrating your big event. Related post: Scanning, Security, and a Professional-Level Ticketing Experience Quick tip: Offer cashless payment options, like credit cards, for attendees and avoid having your staff handle cash. This will streamline the process even further and keep your staff focused on a successful event, rather than counting money and making change. Using QR code posters at the gate of your events allows fans to access tickets onsite through their mobile device.
Increase Ticket Sales by Using Social Media
According to Pew Research Center, over 70% of Americans are currently using social media, so why not meet your fans where they already are? Here are a few tips to digitally promote events and drive ticket sales. Keep Your Fans Posted on Twitter Twitter is one of the best resources to share quick bits of information with your fans and community, like celebrating a game-winning touchdown, announcing a rain delay, or sharing your box office URL. Keep fans engaged by live tweeting the most important plays and use the retweet feature to share fan-created content. Want your tweets to reach an even bigger audience? Tag @HomeTownTix, and we might repost it! Get Creative With Video According to Sprout Social, 66% of social media users say short-form video is the most engaging type of social content. No need to worry about joining in the latest dance craze though- there are plenty of fun ways to promote events with video content. One favorite example comes from the Pearl River Community College Baseball Team, who put their parody skills to use in an MLB spoof video. They were able to use their sense of humor to capitalize on a pop culture trend and, more importantly, share with their fans how to get tickets to their games. Another amazing example video shows the Augustana University Viking mascot demonstrating how to get into an event with his digital HomeTown ticket. This creative take not only shared information with school spirit, but also didn’t require any spoken dialogue. Related post: Scanning, Security, and a Professional-Level Ticketing Experience Use the Graphics Provided by HomeTown As a part of your onboarding with HomeTown Ticketing, your Client Success Manager will provide you with customized graphics to advertise your digital ticketing options. Use the graphics to grab attention and share your URL in the social post to direct fans to your Online Box Office. Previous slide Next slide Use Facebook Events to Reach More People Facebook makes it easy to promote events and share the link to your HomeTown Box Office for online ticket sales ahead of the event. Want to learn more about this helpful feature? Check out our recent blog post: Using Facebook Events to Sell More Tickets
Using Facebook Events to Sell More Tickets
What’s the best way to reach parents, fans, and community members who are interested in attending events at your school? Meet them where they are! Over 87% of Americans own a smartphone today, making it important to communicate with potential event attendees through platforms they’re comfortable with and already using. Facebook makes it easy to promote events and share the link to your HomeTown Box Office for online ticket sales ahead of the event. Related post: When and Where Do Fans Get Tickets? By creating events in Facebook, you can clearly communicate event date, time, and description, along with a direct link to your online ticket sales page. Once your Facebook event is created and you have made it public for others in your community to find, the sharing can begin. As fans indicate they are “Interested” in an event or “Going” to an event, Facebook shares that information with their friends. This provides the event with an organic event promotion, growing the number of people who may see the event and also purchase tickets. A Facebook event also has built-in prompts for the user to add the event to the calendar on their device, reminding them of the upcoming event so they won’t miss it. As the event date approaches, reminders and notifications within the Facebook app are sent to the individuals who have marked “Interested” on the event so they can easily click and purchase their tickets. For a quick overview on how to get started with Facebook Events, click here: LINK Related post: Publishing Your Events In Advance
Publishing Your Events In Advance
A recent customer survey conducted in Spring 2022 showed that over 90% of customers using the HomeTown platform take advantage of our features to publish events in advance. If you pair that data with the results of our Fan Survey conducted in Fall 2021 that showed 78% of fans desire to purchase tickets in advance of the event, it’s clear that publishing events ahead of time is what fans, parents, and community members want. If you are still adding your event the day or week of, it’s time to learn more about how our platform can simplify the event creation process and save you time. Related post: How Fans Purchase Tickets Online and in the HomeTown Fan App Scheduling Integration Partners HomeTown has partnered with like-minded organizations in the K12 space to develop platform integrations. These allow your school to quickly import event information from other platforms into your HomeTown box office. By using integrations, you can publish entire seasons of events in a matter of minutes, and quickly begin selling season tickets and season passes to your loyal fans. Our growing list of integrations with leading scheduling platforms includes rSchool Today, VNN, BigTeams, DragonFly, SBLive, and Rank One. Duplicate Event Creation In addition to creating events in bulk through our integration partners, you can also clone your events to quickly publish similar events with the same information. When on the View & Edit Event Details page, simply click the Duplicate button. This will prompt you to create a new event based on the information from the event you selected. Additional Event Features Once you create an event, HomeTown offers a full suite of digital ticket sales and event management features such as: custom fields in the purchasing process to capture relevant fan/guest information, pre-sale codes, promo codes/passcodes, custom order confirmation, confirmation attachment capabilities, and even the ability to accept donations during the checkout process. Related post: Why Choose HomeTown Ticketing? Interested in learning more about implementing these features for your upcoming school year? Get started with HomeTown by completing our demo form. Current HomeTown users can reach out to their Client Success Manager to walk through these features.
State of Digital Ticketing Talks with the MSHSAA
Organizing for high school events has changed over the past decade. As schools, districts, and state associations have embraced technology to save time, stay organized, and simplify processes, digital ticketing has become a major part of day-to-day operations. Through the HomeTown platform, state associations like the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) have found a comprehensive digital ticketing solution that simplifies events while offering the flexible options desired to meet the needs of every fan. Related post: Going Digital: The Benefits of Digital Ticketing Platforms Recently, HomeTown’s Connor Thinnes, Vice President of Marketing, was joined by Craig Long, the Chief Financial Officer of the MSHSAA, and Stacey Slaughter, the Accounting Manager for the MSHSAA, to discuss how the association uses digital ticketing for their events. In their conversation, they shared how the world of high school athletic events has changed over time and why they require digital ticketing for their post-season events. You can check out their conversation and hear firsthand why they advocate for the benefits of digital ticketing. https://vimeo.com/723421826 HomeTown thanks Craig and Stacey for sharing their thoughts and experiences in using the HomeTown platform for MSHSAA events. We greatly appreciate their insights on how digital ticketing works at state association and school levels. We are proud to be a part of the MSHSAA’s continued success and to support the association’s administrators and student-athletes. About HomeTown Ticketing HomeTown Ticketing is the leading digital ticketing provider in both K–12 and collegiate spaces, serving schools, districts, conferences, and associations. A professional-level and fully automated ticketing solution, HomeTown’s in-house developed, proprietary ticketing platform is tailored specifically to the needs of schools and governing bodies. Benefits of the HomeTown system include unmatched value through easy-to-use purchasing and redemption options, custom box-offices, event and fan specific reporting tools, and secure financial management features to streamline operations and increase financial transparency. Intuitive and easy-to-use for both event organizers and ticket buyers, HomeTown never touches the event organizer’s funds. Learn more about HomeTown at www.hometownticketing.com | @hometowntix Want to learn more about how digital ticketing can play a role in your 2022–2023 athletic events? Schedule a call with our team today!
When and Where Do Fans Get Tickets?
Some school administrators wonder, “How would digital ticketing work for us?” Today, we’re going to share how digital ticketing provides flexible options that help your fans to get tickets when and where they want with the help of stats from a recent survey conducted by Navigate, a leader in understanding and marketing sporting events. Tickets via Smartphone Did you know that 87% of Americans own a smartphone? That’s one of the reasons that HomeTown created our Fan App, which is available for both Android and iOS devices. The Fan App makes it fast and easy to buy tickets and store them directly on a smartphone. Related post: How Fans Purchase Tickets Online and in the HomeTown Fan App And for those people who do not own a smartphone, HomeTown’s platform also allows fans to buy tickets on a computer and print them, or purchase tickets at the gate with cash or credit cards. These flexible options ensure that all of your fans have access to tickets in a way that is convenient for them. Buying Tickets Early and Making Plans to Attend While your fans may be used to buying tickets at your box office on the day of the event, a recent study found that 78% of ticket consumers want to purchase tickets in advance, rather than at the event. Digital ticketing is the simplest way to offer easy access to presale tickets and allow fans to get their tickets ahead of time. By selling tickets online, you also help them save time and avoid lines at your box office. And with flexible in-person options, you can be sure to meet all your fans’ needs. Tickets On Your Website We found that 97% of people attending high school events felt at least “slightly comfortable” purchasing tickets online. And when it comes to transitioning your school to digital tickets, HomeTown is here to support you every step of the way. We connect you with a dedicated client success manager to help you along the way and offer an in-house support team to answer you and your fans’ questions! Meeting All Your Fans Needs But what about those fans who want to purchase tickets in person or use cash? While the number of fans in this category is significantly smaller than those who prefer digital purchases, it’s important for many organizations to meet their needs. HomeTown’s platform has a built-in point of sale system that allows you to accept cash or credit cards at your box office. We recently expanded our in-person ticket options to include a kiosk solution, which provides an easy to use, self-checkout solution for fans to use their credit card and access tickets on site. Related post: All Types of Tickets: HomeTown Has the Options People Want Want to learn more about digital ticketing trends and how HomeTown can provide you with the solutions to meet your fans needs? Reach out to our team to start the conversation and get answers to your questions.
State of Digital Ticketing Talks with the IHSAA
How can schools, districts, and state associations use technology to save time, stay organized, and simplify processes? When it comes to ticketing, technology has advanced well beyond the need for tearing paper tickets and counting cash. HomeTown is proud to provide a comprehensive digital ticketing solution that simplifies events while offering the flexible options desired to meet the needs of every fan. Related post: All Types of Tickets: HomeTown Has the Options People Want So how has digital ticketing advanced athletic events for our schools and state association partners? HomeTown’s Connor Thinnes, Vice President of Marketing, sat down with Tom Keating, the Executive Director of the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) to discuss how digital ticketing positively impacts the everyday operations of the association and how this user-friendly technology provides the solutions they need. You can check out their conversation and hear firsthand why digital ticketing is here to stay. HomeTown thanks Tom Keating for taking the time to share his experience with our platform and insights on high school athletic events. We appreciate your thoughts on the impact of digital ticketing on schools and associations and how to bring the best possible experience to the fans. We are proud to be a part of the IHSAA’s continued success and to support the association’s administrators and student-athletes. About HomeTown Ticketing HomeTown Ticketing is the leading digital ticketing provider in both K–12 and collegiate spaces, serving schools, districts, conferences, and associations. A professional-level and fully automated ticketing solution, HomeTown’s in-house developed, proprietary ticketing platform is tailored specifically to the needs of schools and governing bodies. Benefits of the HomeTown system include unmatched value through easy-to-use purchasing and redemption options, custom box-offices, event and fan specific reporting tools, and secure financial management features to streamline operations and increase transparency. Intuitive and easy-to-use for both event organizers and ticket buyers, HomeTown never touches the event organizer’s funds. Learn more about HomeTown at www.hometownticketing.com | @hometowntix Want to learn more about how digital ticketing can play a role in your 2022–2023 athletic events? Schedule a call with our team today!
State of Digital Ticketing Talks with the PIAA
How do state associations go about planning their seasons, tournaments, and championship events? What impact does digital ticketing have on these events and the ways that state associations operate? When it comes to digital ticketing, HomeTown is proud to provide a comprehensive platform to individual schools, and also state associations. Our list of partner state associations includes the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA). Related post: All Types of Tickets: HomeTown Has the Options People Want To better understand the PIAA and how they approach digital ticketing across their districts, regionals, sectionals, and championship events, HomeTown’s Connor Thinnes, Vice President of Marketing, sat down with Mark Byers, the Chief Operating Officer of the PIAA. You can check out their conversation about how digital ticketing streamlines and simplifies events at every level. https://vimeo.com/718499007 We’d like to thank Mark Byers for taking the time to share his experiences and perspective on using the HomeTown platform. We appreciate his insights into presale ticket reporting impacting event planning to ensure that fans have the best possible experience. We are proud to be a part of the PIAA’s continued success and to support their association and student athletes for many years to come. About HomeTown Ticketing HomeTown Ticketing is the leading digital ticketing provider in both K–12 and collegiate spaces, serving schools, districts, conferences, and associations. A professional-level and fully automated ticketing solution, HomeTown’s in-house developed, proprietary ticketing platform is tailored specifically to the needs of schools and governing bodies. Benefits of the HomeTown system include unmatched value through easy-to-use purchasing and redemption options, custom box-offices, event and fan specific reporting tools, and secure financial management features to streamline operations and increase transparency. Intuitive and easy-to-use for both event organizers and ticket buyers, HomeTown never touches the event organizer’s funds. Learn more about HomeTown at www.hometownticketing.com | @hometowntix Want to learn more about how digital ticketing can play a role in your 2022–2023 athletic events? Schedule a call with our team today!
