When it comes to event marketing, short message service (SMS) is arguably one of the most important tools in your kit. Since almost every attendee has a mobile phone and uses it to access media quickly, sending them a message to introduce yourself and offer great deals is guaranteed to cut through the noise and make you stand out in an event filled with brands competing for the same audience’s attention.
SMS marketing, while often overlooked, is extremely powerful in boosting attendee engagement, elevating brand awareness, and achieving higher conversion rates than more traditional event marketing methods.
In this post, we’ll teach you more about why SMS marketing is key to your event success and how you can elevate it for better audience engagement and lead generation.
Why every event needs an SMS marketing strategy
A near-perfect open rate
A 2024 study by G2 reported that SMS messages have an average open rate of 98%. That’s a whopping 4.6x more than the 21% email open rate.
Moreover, 90% of people reportedly read a text message within the first 3 minutes, which is extremely useful for brand introduction upon entry to an event, serving as a quick reminder before an important session or for time-sensitive promotions after the show.
Get your brand in front of the audience
At Lüp, we’ve been working with a variety of events for over a decade. Even still, the number of event exhibitors who decide to leverage SMS marketing into their overall strategy could be far better, meaning the true value of this asset is not widely understood.
Here’s a way to help you visualise it all: Let’s say you’re sending a short and friendly text message to attendees as soon as they sign in at an event, welcoming them and sharing information about your booth’s location.
“Sarah, welcome to the Tech Expo! Visit booth #45 to see our latest product demo and claim an exclusive discount! Opt out reply STOP”
This quick and targeted communication not only puts your brand on their radar but also creates a sense of urgency to check out your offerings, making your booth a must-visit stop on the attendee’s event journey that day.
More direct communication
Emails and social media posts are wonderful ways to reach your audience before and after an event, and are often used to include more details related to your brand, products or services.
But during the event itself? Unfortunately, those emails are likely to go unchecked until after the event.
An instant text message is the hero that helps you communicate directly with event attendees, and generate leads from the moment they walk into the venue.
Immediate call-to-action (CTA)
For truly effective lead generation, you must remove all the barriers for your audience. The harder it is for people to take the action, the less likely they are to follow through.
SMS marketing simplifies this process entirely. You can streamline the experience for your potential leads by sending them direct links, images, or attachments. Additionally, you can set up automated responses—when subscribers reply with specific keywords, they instantly receive the relevant information or follow-up.
5 SMS marketing best practices
1. Ensure compliance with regulations
When dealing with SMS, you’ve got to follow the rules. It is a powerful tool but using it the wrong way can backfire. To avoid facing fines, a damaged reputation, and a diminished audience, make sure to:
- Get clear consent: Always check with the event organisers to ensure attendees explicitly agree to receive messages from exhibiting brands. If you don’t have explicit consent, don’t message them, even if you can make the case for implied consent. Your goal should be for every single recipient to remember to give their permission.
- Offer opt-out options: Make it easy for recipients to unsubscribe with a short “Opt Out Reply STOP”. While it might seem counterintuitive to make it simple for people to leave, it will help lift the stress of future legal troubles off your shoulders.
2. Consider the timing
Let’s say an event you are exhibiting lasts 8 hours. It might look like you have many windows of opportunity to text your potential leads, but you actually don’t. Planning which time period to send the attendees your message is crucial.
A text message sent just prior to the event to introduce yourself to the visitors? A resounding YES.
A text message sent during high-traffic registration or keynote sessions? It will most definitely get swiped up or ignored.
From our experience, these are the 5 ideal periods to maximise your SMS marketing:
- Upon entry: You can schedule your message to reach the attendees as soon as they have scanned their ticket to remind them of important details like booth location, exclusive offers, or important activities.
- During peak event hours: Mid-morning or early afternoon, when attendee traffic is highest, is a great time to send reminders about live demonstrations, giveaways, or time-sensitive promotions happening at your booth.
- Break periods: Send messages during lunch breaks or session transitions when attendees are more likely to check their phones.
- Before a key session: If you are about to go on stage for a keynote presentation or if you are offering a live demo at your booth, you will want to send a reminder so the attendees won’t miss out on valuable content.
- Post-event follow-up: After the event, follow up with a thank-you message and an offer or link to keep the conversation going.
3. Offer something of value
The audience will come to you when they know there is something in it for them. Make sure your SMS messages bring something valuable to the table. Giving the attendees perks like free samples, a live demo of your yet-to-release product or special discounts will make it easier to attract more booth visits and enhance lead generation.
4. Use a URL shortener
Nobody likes receiving a message containing a long link. It not only looks very spammy and suspicious, but also counts towards the 160-character limit. Always use a URL shortener to look more professional and reliable to your potential customers.
5. Check for grammar and spelling
It is uncanny how commonly we receive a text message with grammatical errors or misspelled words. They are way too easy to spot and can affect the professionalism of your message and your brand. So take the time to proofread your SMS or use tools to catch any mistakes. A well-crafted message will surely help perfect the experience for your recipients and lead to better audience engagement.
Elevate your SMS Marketing with Lüp Events
We understand that engaging attendees through SMS marketing can feel overwhelming. That’s why we’ve made it unbelievably easy for you to leverage SMS campaigns for maximum impact, both before and after your event.
With our Instant SMS and Post-show SMS marketing* options, you can generate leads, nurture attendee engagement, and increase conversions, all through a simple text message.
With a team of technical experts and excellent customer support, we can help you stay connected with your audience, whether it’s sending event reminders, promoting exclusive offers, or following up post-show for valuable feedback and offers. Should any problems arise during your setup or execution, our onsite and online team will be quick to respond and assist you. With Lüp Events, you can drive real results from SMS marketing while saving time and effort.
*Please note that for your text message to be sent, you will need to accompany your SMS with our Lüp app, which scans the QR code of everyone who visits your booth and records their info in a matter of seconds. This does not apply to Entry SMS, which can be sent to everyone attending the event.
Let’s talk.
Ready to elevate your event communication strategy? Contact us to streamline your SMS marketing.