Choosing The Right Ticket Platform For Your Event
With so many ticket platforms available, it can be challenging to decide which one to use as your primary platform.
Choosing the right platform will depend on the location, type and target audience of your event. Conferences, live music events, festivals and exhibitions may all require different ticket platforms. You may also wonder if you should be selling tickets through multiple platforms; generally there is no harm in doing so unless you have an exclusive agreement with a ticketing platform.
In this article, we will discuss the different types of platforms available, the key features to look for, and provide advice on whether to use one or multiple platforms.
There are two main types of ticket platforms to choose from…
Public Facing Event Listings Platforms
These platforms are where people typically look for upcoming events to attend. Typically, they are specialised to an industry such as music and appear at the top of search results for popular search terms like Events in my city. They normally have the largest market share in a region and many promoters list with them to benefit from the large volume of traffic they provide.
Examples
Eventbrite - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/
Ticketmaster - https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/
Seetickets - https://www.seetickets.com/
AXS - https://www.axs.com/uk
Skiddle - https://www.skiddle.com/
Resident Advisor - https://ra.co/
DICE - https://dice.fm/?lng=en
Xceed - https://xceed.me/en
Getin - https://get-in.com/en/
Fatsoma - https://www.fatsoma.com/
Pros
Organic visitors depending on the platform's popularity.
Inclusion in email marketing and featured listings.
Higher ticket sales if your event is listed at the top for a specific day.
Cons
Some platforms may upsell similar events on your listings.
Limited ownership of customer data.
Competition with multiple events on the same day.
Perfect for…
New and smaller events with smaller budgets that rely on organic exposure.
Events that sell a large number of tickets upon launch.
Events that appeal to a mass audience.
Tips
Launch your event as early as possible on these platforms to attract early purchasers.
Research popular platforms in your area, as local platforms may have more traffic than established global or national platforms.
Closed Off Ticketing Websites
These platforms do not have event listing functionality. The majority of traffic comes from the promoters' channels, such as email marketing, SMS marketing, social media, and websites.
Examples
Pros
When a user lands on your page, they are not presented with upsells for similar events.
You have full control over your attendee data, which is not shared with other promoters.
In some cases, you can have a branded experience and use a custom domain for installation.
Cons
These platforms are not commonly used for event discovery, resulting in a lack of organic traffic.
Due to fewer users, these platforms may offer less functionality.
The checkout process can be more cumbersome, as users are less likely to have an existing account and will need to create a new one to purchase a ticket.
Perfect for…
Promoters with highly engaged audiences, where customers will make purchases regardless of the platform.
Promoters with a strong marketing strategy and large social media followings, who can drive traffic to their ticketing page for free.
Features to Look Out For
While gaining exposure is important, there are other factors to consider as customer habits evolve and marketing tools develop. Some features to look for include:
Pixel integration: Ensure your platform has Meta pixel or similar tracking capabilities to track important actions and enable retargeting.
Advanced analytics: Understand your audience and their purchase habits, including % of returning customers, age, location, and referral links.
Reps / Ambassadors: Consider creating a network of ambassadors to sell tickets on your behalf and earn a commission.
Mobile App & Announcement functionality: Platforms with push notification capabilities can help announce new events to followers, resulting in more ticket sales.
Spotify concert functionality: List your music event on ticket partners listed in this article to appear in Spotify's On Tour section.
Advanced payments: Some platforms allow for advanced payments of ticket sales to help with cash flow.
Multi-event access: Consider if you need the functionality to create a ticket that allows access to multiple events.
Seamless checkout: Look for platforms with a smooth checkout process and support for Apply and Google Pay for one-click purchases.
Resale functionality: Check if customers can easily resell their tickets, which can increase ticket revenue and footfall.
One or Many?
Depending on your event's region, brand strength, and reliance on organic traffic for sales, you can choose to stick to one platform or use multiple platforms. In the music industry, it is common for promoters to sell tickets on at least 2-4 platforms.
Pros of Sticking to One Platform
Less administrative work and easier entry scanning.
Exclusivity and potential booking fee kickbacks.
Higher visibility on the platform if it has the most traffic in your region.
Pros of Using Multiple Platforms
Increased organic exposure and more visits to your event page.
In summary, the ticket platform(s) you choose will significantly impact your ticket sales. There is no perfect solution for every event, and each choice involves tradeoffs. Consider multiple listing platforms for new event concepts to maximise organic traffic. Established promoters may prefer closed platforms that limit customer data sharing and offer more marketing functionality.
We hope this article provides insight and helps you make an informed decision when selecting your ticket platform.