You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘facebook’ tag.
TicketBiscuit today unveiled a Facebook App that enables its clients to sell tickets directly from their Facebook Fan Page, without ever having to leave Facebook. The TicketBiscuit Fan Page Ticketing App is the latest in a series of innovations introduced by TicketBiscuit to help clients leverage social media to sell more tickets.
“In 2008, we were one of the first ticketing companies to offer seamless Facebook integration, and now we’re setting the pace again,” said TicketBiscuit Chief Marketing Officer Eric Housh. “Using Facebook for live event promotion is a necessity now. If you’re not doing it well, you’re not as successful as you could be,” he continues, “Our new app has taken it a step further, transforming a client’s Facebook Fan Page from a marketing channel into an actual sales channel .”
Housh says that the TicketBiscuit Facebook app is unique in that it links in real time to the client’s TicketBiscuit account, meaning that ticket sales can be taking place simultaneously on Facebook, on the client’s website, via the TicketBiscuit-provided mobile optimized smartphone interface, and via TicketBiscuit’s web-based box office point-of-sale software, with all inventory managed centrally in real time. The look and feel of the ticketing interface matches the clean look of Facebook. And in keeping with TicketBiscuit’s core philosophy, the client’s brand stays out in front. “It takes the concept of white-labeling to a whole new level: now you can have a white-label ticketing solution seamlessly integrated into your Facebook Fan Page along with your other web properties.”
Though TicketBiscuit just publicly announced Fan Page Ticketing today, it has been in testing for a couple of months. Several clients, including the Re:Generation Festival, Yarmony Grass Festival, and Comedy Zone Charlotte are already using the app with great success. The TicketBiscuit Fan Page Ticketing App can be added to any Facebook Fan Page with a couple of clicks. Housh says the only requirements are that you be an Admin of the Page and that you have a TicketBiscuit account.
I’m getting a serious case of the Fridays, but before I dismiss for the weekend I thought I’d share some cool press from the Birmingham Business Journal. Lauren Cooper first covered us last week for a story on our counter to the Ticketmaster /Live Nation deal, the Music Liberation Fund. This week, she covers us in the context of businesses using social media.
Check it out for yourself:
Mucho thanks to Lauren for the great story! One question though Lauren, when are you going to bite the bullet and start tweeting?
Let’s connect!
This is the first article in a series where we pick the brains of live entertainment promoters to discover their tips and techniques for staying successful amidst worsening economic times. If you’ve got some good tips you’re willing to share, please email Eric Housh or DM @ticketbiscuit.
While many concert promoters and live entertainment acts are struggling with the fallout of the economic recession, Josh Gair of Impact Entertainment Services in Orlando, Florida, says people are attending events more than ever. The key, he says, is using technology in a smart way to spread the word and reach fans. This approach, he says, helps him fill the house and keep costs down.
Using the Tools
“I use every free tool that I can, anything to help spread the word,” Gair says. “If we book a celebrity for an event, I’ll immediately post it to twitter and facebook, and encourage my network to re-tweet. A lot of times, I will get direct messages back from leads that often turn into business.” Gair is a poster representative of a movement that is rapidly gaining steam amongst live event promoters – acknowledging the importance of internet-based networking tools and using them to find audiences. Gair argues that it’s pretty much a necessity in today’s game. “I think that those who aren’t leveraging these tools are just too busy doing the business to slow down and realize the potential,” he states.
But that oversight may prove costly. In a recent interview with John Gerome, Gary Bongiovanni of Pollstar indicated that though the2008 numbers were good for the live event industry, they don’t necessarily predict a rosy 2009. He indicates that most of the tickets for events in the winter season were actually sold well in advance, before the whole economic picture was understood. So in short, staying profitable in the live entertainment industry in 2009 will require some innovation.
“It’s key to know your audience and figure out how to connect with them;” Gair explains, “our target audience is a content-hungry generation. Our blog gets about 300-400 hits per day, and it is translating into real leads.” He explains that a lot of industry blogs fall short because they are all about self promotion and hold no value to the reader. “I write stuff that I would want to read,” he adds. Good content is only a part of a bigger system, involving cross promotion across several web properties and physical pieces of collateral. “When I publish a blog, I’ll post a notification to twitter and my facebook groups, and start a discussion in the LinkedIn groups I am a part of. The only thing I haven’t done yet is YouTube, but it is in the works. And of course, my web info is on my business card as well.”
But Gair’s approach extends far beyond internet tactics, as he considers PR to be a crucial aspect to a successful event as well. “Never underestimate the value of free press,” he states, “at a recent event we had a celebrity performer do an impromptu unannounced mini-show in the city. It was incredibly effective at generating buzz and free media for our event. Think of tactics that will go viral, that will get people talking.” The only common e-tactic that Impact doesn’t use is email. “It’s just so impersonal, there’s no air of exclusivity to it. It has no personality. People want to feel special, bottom line, and email doesn’t accomplish that.”
With Social Networking and Internet tactics, Gair says it’s key to go into it with the right mindset. “You don’t do it to make money. But after a while, if you keep giving, you will get things in return. That’s our strategy.”
About Impact Entertainment: Impact Entertainment, based in Orlando, Florida, has been enhancing events with premeir talent, top quality entertainers, and celebrity appearances for over a decade.
A few days ago I wrote a post about the concert industry being in recession. I probably should have said ticketed events in general, because the emails I received shortly afterward certainly would indicate that the current economic climate is impacting more than music shows. Museums, comedy clubs, theatres – the impact is universal across the board.
It’s pretty common behavior. Times get uncertain and people start cutting back on expenditures. Dining out, live entertainment, the movies- these are pretty much seen as expendable line items on personal budgets once the belts tighten. Recessionary times don’t have to mean that business grinds to a halt though. You can still fill the house and invest in your club’s marketing during down times, as long as you spend wisely. The secret is to choose techniques that will create fans of your club or promotion, not just the performer or entertainer who happens to be there. Here are a few tips:
- Get social. If you don’t have a Facebook page, get one. Offer incentives to locals who become fans on Facebook. Print your facebook profile address on your tickets and link to it from your website. Once fans sign up via Facebook, you have a fast, easy, and free way to connect with them (and for them to connect with others). Here is an app which will allow you to create an easy to remember facebook profile address. Also consider signing up for a Twitter account.
- Get charitable. Consider hosting a free concert or event with the price of admission being donations to a local charity. A friend of ours named David Oblas recently held an MMA fight in Georgia where the only price of admission was a toy for Toys for Tots. It was a raging success, and several people attended the fight who had never been to a fight before. And of course the press loved it. So let’s see- Dave got new fans, great press, and tons of community goodwill. How much is that worth to you?
- Get data. Roy Englebrecht has sold out fights in southern California for over 20 years, yet barely invests in advertising at all. How does he do it? At each event, Roy has contests for cash prizes. In order to win, all you have to do is fill out a form with your name, address, and email. At each fight Roy gets about 1000 of these forms. So while the contest may cost Roy 100 or 200 dollars, he gets the contact info of 1000 fight fans in the local area in exchange, and is able to communicate directly (and freely) with them in advance of his next fight. Consider this: if you are NOT capturing your customers contact info, you are leaving money on the table. Your online ticketing software should be able to capture this for you. If not, it may be time to find one that will.
Do you have any tips for weathering economic tempests? If so, weigh in in the comments section.
We never stop innovating to help our clients sell more tickets. That’s kind of become our motto here lately. We’ve been quietly building the Facebook integration for a few weeks and beta testing it to the hilt, and I am happy to say our super genius dev team has done it yet again.
Now, when you set up an account in TicketBiscuit, you can automatically publish your event to your Facebook page. If you update the event, it will be updated on Facebook as well. There is simply no easier, quicker, or cooler way to connect with your fans and keep them in the loop.
I know what many of you are thinking: “I don’t have time for some kid’s toy!” But think again. Rapidly approaching 100 million registered users worldwide, the Facebook community is expanding into all demographic categories. Those 25- 40 year olds with deep pockets? Over 11 MILLION are registered on Facebook in the United States alone. That will probably be 12 million by the end of the month. The takeaway is that this ain’t just a kids toy. It is a serious marketing tool and can reap mucho benefits. (UPDATE: read this blog post if you’re still not convinced)
Check this page out to learn more about Facebook Pages. Here’s another overview page about the other business products you can get.
If you’ve already set up a Facebook account and want to get this feature hooked up pronto, give us a call.
(Full Press Release: TicketBiscuit Ticketing System adds Automatic Facebook and Eventful.com Integration)
