Enhancing the experience for your event or conference participants with an auction style program is easy with the Auction Campaign, and it also provides an avenue for collecting valuable data about your customers in the process.
Step-by-Step
(1) To create an Auction Campaign, select Create New Campaign from the left navigation panel on the product dashboard. You will then be taken to a screen (below) presenting a list of text message campaigns available. Click on the Create button alongside Auction.
(2) The Choose Your Campaign homepage is where you establish the parameters for your campaign.
The first step is providing Campaign Type data about your Auction:
- Select a shared shortcode to use. A shortcode is a short form mobile phone number which is used along with a keyword to enable customers to participate in your Auction.
- Select a Start Date and Time for your campaign.
- Select an End Date and Time for your campaign.
(3) Next, provide a description of your Auction for reference only.
Here you also assign a keyword for responders to send to participate in your Auction.
This Keyword must be unique from others associated with the shortcode you selected previously – the system is smart enough to tell you. There is a many to one relationship between keywords and shared shortcodes.
You also select from among three common types of auctions including Standard, Reverse and Lowest Unique Bid.
(4) Now you define the parameters of your auction. This example is for a Standard Auction.
Set a starting bid amount.
Set a reserve price below which the item will not sell.
Submit the text responses to be sent to the winner and to the losers.
Once you are finished establishing the auction’s parameters, select the Next button. Doing so takes you to a new screen where you must elect to Activate Campaign by selecting the button.
(5) That’s it! Your Auction Campaign is now active.
You will arrive at a new screen summarizing details of your campaign, offering real time charts of auction entry activity and a flow illustrating the messages that comprise the campaign.
Here you also have the ability to establish Alias Keywords which allow tracking of votes by different ways you communicate the program. You may also prompt entrants to join a pre-existing Subscription list for engaging customers in dialogues beyond the Auction Campaign.
(6) Here you have additional options including:
- Adding an Age Verification step to your message flow, useful when products associated with your business are age restricted, such as alcohol or tobacco.
- Export messages from the system in comma delimited form.
- You can also delete the campaign from the system as well.
