Mobile Bidding is a great way to engage your donors and raise more money.
The vast majority of Americans have a smart phone in hand throughout their day. That makes it easy to connect and engage with them prior, during, and post event. Which means mobile bidding is an excellent way to add engagement and increase the amount of money raised at your fundraising event. Here are some best practices to keep your mobile bidders engaged throughout your online auction.
1. Open your online bidding early (Best practice: 3-5 days prior to event)
Opening your online bidding early is a great way to get guests engaged in the auction and see what you have to offer. Not only does it allow them to get a feel for the items available and plan their bidding strategy, but it also gives them time to make plans for attendance at the event.
2. Use multichannel marketing to promote your auction packages to mobile bidders
Use multichannel marketing to promote your auction items. Many people rely on Facebook or Twitter and think they’re done. But if you want to reach more potential mobile bidders, make sure you use email, social media and print materials as well.
If you’re using multiple channels to market your auction items, keep it simple. Don’t send out seven different emails about the same item. Use the same language in all of your communications so people recognize what’s coming from where without having to read a ton of text before making a decision about whether or not they want to bid on this particular item (or product).
Learn how Inspirato for Good luxury packages can elevate your next fundraising event.
3. Feature high-value or high-demand auction packages
For example, if you’re selling a high-demand item, such as a vacation package for two to Tuscany, it’s important for you to clearly communicate what guests can expect when they win it.
If you’re selling a piece of art or other high-value item it’s also good practice to clearly communicate its value so that your guests know exactly what they’re bidding on and how much it costs.
Highly these eye-catching packages to generate interest and action in your auction.
4. Add multiple photos, videos, and unique descriptions of your auction packages.
- Add high quality photos from different angles, or lifestyle images of people enjoying the auction package. With Greater Giving you can even embed a short video.
- Use a short and catchy title for each item. An example would be something like “Red Hot Camaro Z28” instead of “1984 Chevrolet Camaro Z28”.
- Use a short and catchy description for each item with as much detail as possible without repeating yourself from other sections or making it too long to read comfortably on mobile devices (this has been known to happen).
- Write a short and catchy summary and add some personality.
5. Make it easy for guests to set their max bid.
By making it easy for mobile bidders to set their max bid you ensure that they are able to enjoy the entire event. Max Bid will automatically placing bids for their favorite items. This generates more activity and more money for your organization.
6. Send text messages throughout the online auction to encourage mobile bidding activity.
Highlight a NEW package added, hot items, or items that have no bids. You can also use text messaging to remind mobile bidders about items they have been considering.
Using Greater Giving you can schedule text message or emails to segments or all event bidders.
7. Offer Perks for being an early mobile bidder.
Create a raffle opportunity for anyone that places a bid by a set deadline, or have them enter to win something if they are a winning bidder. These are all great ways to encourage people to place their bids sooner rather than later, which will help you sell more items, and ultimately make more money as a result.
8. Consider making bids anonymous to add some mystery and friendly competition to your auction.
The anonymity feature is also beneficial for your bidders. It can help them feel more comfortable bidding, as they don’t have to worry about other bidders knowing who they are and what they’re willing to pay for an item.
Anonymous bidding can encourage friendly competition and even bidding wars that can drive up the price of a package beyond what its true value is worth.
9. Communicate clearly about auction end times.
Make sure your buyers know when the auction actually ends and how much time they have left to place their bids. It’s still important to include a clear statement about your auction’s end times in the communications during bidding. If a bidder thinks an auction has gone on longer than expected, he might think he has more time than he does and miss out on placing his bid before an item sells out.
Your fundraising software has many options to keep your guests engaged during an online auction.
We hope these tips will help you get started with your next online auction. Remember that the more you engage your guests, the better your results will be.
