Utilizing Mobile Bidding at Your Fundraising Auction
As nonprofits look to modernize their fundraising events, they must consider how best to engage their attendees and maximize donations. Hosting a successful event while including an online auction or mobile bidding experience is an effective way to do this. With the right software in place, your organization can make it easy and enjoyable for attendees to participate in silent auctions from their phones. This not only increases engagement but also boosts fundraising revenue easily.
The key to a successful online auction or mobile bidding experience has the right technology and mobile bidding software. This includes a platform that allows guests to bid from their phones, making the bidding process and backend operations seamless. Additionally, you should ensure that all your event details are communicated, so everyone knows what’s expected of them during the auction. Events.org and iBid run seamlessly together to do just that. With these steps taken care of, you can rest assured that your online auction will be a success!
Auction Items
When it comes to choosing the right silent auction items, there are a few key strategies to consider. First and foremost, you should think about what your guests want. What type of items would they be interested in bidding on? Next, consider your audience’s demographics and what items they might be interested in. For ideas, you can also look at past silent auctions or other similar events. Take inspiration from desirable items but add additional items that other past auctions did not possess. This will not only bring in people who either have attended a past auction and were pleased with their auction experience or others who maybe have never attended an auction, but your items are persuading them to join.
Another critical factor is what your procurement committee can secure. It’s crucial to ensure that whatever items you choose are available and within budget. Talk to local businesses or vendors who may be willing to donate items or offer discounts for bulk purchases. You may also want to consider offering unique experiences such as tickets to a show or a private tour of a museum. Although tangible items are popular, experiences are becoming the highest bid at auctions. With careful planning and consideration, you can find the perfect silent auction items to draw in bidders and help raise money for your organization!
Pricing
Pricing your silent auction items is crucial to any successful fundraising event. If you price too low, you won’t make as much money as you could have. On the other hand, if your bid price is too high, people may not be willing to bid on the item. Therefore, to ensure that your silent auction is a success, it’s important to develop an effective pricing strategy.
One way to determine prices for your items is to research similar items online and see what they are selling for. This will give you an idea of how much people are willing to pay for certain items and can help inform your pricing decisions. Additionally, it’s important to consider the value of each item in relation to its cost and the potential return on investment. You should also consider the audience at your event and their likely spending power when setting prices and price range. Finally, it’s essential to place realistic starting bids that will spark interest but still leave room for competitive bidding. Adding a minimum raise to items also increases the price faster. This could be done with a percentage or even a dollar amount minimum; events.org generates a 5% raise on all items for your convenience, which can be raised more or less. With these strategies in place, you can ensure that your silent auction items are priced effectively and attract plenty of bidders.
Mobile bidding
Mobile bidding is revolutionizing the way silent auctions are conducted. It allows guests to bid on items from anywhere, anytime easily. This means your attendees do not have to attend an event to bid on items. This brings in more bidders because attending an event can sometimes discourage someone from attending an auction. This also eliminates the need for them to walk around to each item and continuously check if they have been outbid, allowing attendees to enjoy the event more rather than strictly worrying about bidding. Mobile bidding also increases engagement by providing donors with a more interactive experience; viewing and bidding on any item at any time makes it a better experience for bidders.
Nonprofits that switch from paper bid sheets to mobile bidding typically see an increase of 60-65% in bids. This can be attributed to the convenience of being able to place bids from their phones or tablets, as well as the ability to track their bids in real-time. Tracking other attendees’ bids in real time gives all bidders a sense of urgency and competitiveness. Additionally, mobile bidding helps nonprofits reach a wider audience by allowing people who cannot attend the event in person to still participate in the auction. The result is an elevated guest experience and shattered fundraising goals.
Live notifications
Using text messaging and event messaging strategically during your silent auction ensures that your guests are informed and engaged throughout the entire process. This will help drive more bids and ultimately increase your proceeds from the event. With thoughtful messages tailored to each stage of the auction, you’ll be able to maximize your success with minimal effort!
With iBid, you can send out scheduled and instant texts to all bidders. This helps if you get caught up in something and forget to send a message. The preloaded instant messages will send automatically. This also is a great feature if something changes and you would like to send out a text instantly that was not scheduled in advance, like a change in the schedule.
Bidding notifications
Outbid notifications are a great way to keep donors engaged in the silent auction process. With mobile bidding, donors can receive instant notifications when another donor places a higher bid on the same item. This allows them to quickly place a counter bid or Buy-It-Now without constantly monitoring the bid sheets. In addition, donors can set a maximum bid amount within their budget and sign up for automatic bidding with iBid, giving them more time to socialize or bid on other items.
Outbid notifications also provide an extra layer of security for your donors. They don’t have to worry about being outbid by someone else because they will be alerted as soon as it happens. This ensures that your supporters get the best deal possible and that no one is taken advantage of during the auction process. Outbid notifications are invaluable for any silent auction event and help ensure everyone has a fair chance at winning their desired items!
Below is the bidding screen that is displayed to attendees on iBid. On iBid, there are many tools to help increase bid amounts, a few being the "watch" button. This will send notifications to the bidder whenever there is activity on the item they are watching, enticing them to outbid any other bids. Another feature is Auto-Bid. Bidders can set a max bid to an item, and whenever they are outbid, the system will automatically bid on their behalf. 
Countdowns
Countdowns are a great way to keep your silent auction top of mind and ensure that bidders don’t forget about placed bids. By setting a countdown clock, you can let bidders know precisely how much time is left in the auction and encourage them to bid higher. Display the clock at the event and on every bidder’s mobile phone for maximum visibility. This will help create a sense of urgency and gamification, resulting in higher bids during the final bidding spree.
The countdown clock also reminds bidders to check back in with their bids before time runs out. This helps ensure that no one misses out on an opportunity to place their highest bid, leading to more revenue for your organization. With the help of a countdown timer, you can ensure that your silent auction ends with a bang!
When to close your auction
The closing of a silent auction is an important part of the event and can make or break your fundraising goals. Having a plan for when it comes time to close is essential, but also be flexible enough to adjust if necessary. For example, if dinner or the live appeal runs longer than expected, you don’t want to cut off bidding prematurely or end it in the middle of a bidding war.
To ensure success at closing time, your team should be ready to ramp up the excitement and drive more bids. This could include announcing that there are only a few minutes left for bidding, offering discounts on items that haven’t received much attention or highlighting some of the most popular items one last time. You may also consider offering incentives like bonus points or additional prizes for those who bid during the final minutes. These steps allow you to maximize your fundraising efforts and reach your goals.
Conclusion
With all these tips in mind, you’re ready to wrap up your auction preparations and move on to other aspects of planning for the event. To ensure everything goes smoothly on the event day, consider chatting with an expert who can provide additional advice or answer any questions you may have. With their help, you’ll be able to ensure your silent auction is a success!
To learn more about setting up and running an online auction, visit iBid and Events.org to view all our features and set up a demo to learn more about how we can help you run a successful online auction!
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