Ticketing company Ticketfly is expanding its technological tool kit again, this time hoping to better harness the power of Facebook for ticket sales.
Launched last week, Ticketfly’s new Facebook application aims to make the purchasing process easier for both event organizers and ticket buyers. The app allows promoters to market their event tickets directly from a Facebook Fan Page, eliminating the need for buyers to exit Facebook to complete the transaction.
With the entire purchase process transpiring on Facebook, Ticketfly hopes to avoid problems with follow-through, external software glitches or customer error. Also, with virtually everyone online visiting Facebook these days, the app capitalizes on Facebook fans’ loyalty and their desire to navigate the site with no interruptions.
The app works with Facebook Connect, which allows purchasers to find and buy tickets using only their Facebook login credentials. The app is integrated with Ticketfly’s Facebook RSVP and Share features, allowing users to spread the word about upcoming events.
“Ticketfly is committed to getting more people to more live events, and we do that by giving professional promoters better tools for marketing those events and fans easier ways of buying them,” Seth Porter, Ticketfly’s senior vice president of technology, told TicketNews.
“Now we can close that loop and allow fans to purchase tickets right on Facebook without having to login to an external app or leave Facebook,” Porter added.
This is the latest tech advancement rolled out by the ticketing company in recent months. In June, Ticketfly launched Analytics Dashboard, which provides event organizers with detailed sales information for each of their events.
The new ticketing app will integrate sales information from Facebook with Analytics Dashboard to provide event organizers with real-time sales data from their Facebook Fan Pages.
Though this is not the first Facebook app for ticket sales, Porter believes it has unique qualities that set it apart from competing applications
“Ticketfly is an industrial strength ticketing platform that powers some of the most recognizable names in live music, like the 9:30 Club, the Troubadour, and the Knitting Factory,” Porter said. “We’ve found that to be truly successful in this market and serve the needs of the largest promoters you need to deliver a comprehensive, integrated platform.”
A 2008 startup, Ticketfly provides promoters and venues with free or low-cost hosted Web sites and mobile ticketing solutions, including bar code scanning from smartphones. Additionally, the company offers numerous social marketing tools such as Twitter and Facebook interfaces, affiliate blog ads and customized e-mail.
