Most Halloween texts sound the same: a discount code, a pumpkin emoji, maybe a “spooky savings” pun. Your fans read it, maybe they buy, and the conversation ends there.
This year, try giving them a choice. “Trick or Treat?” is a game everyone already knows how to play, which is why it works so well over text. You ask one question, your fans answer, and their answer decides what happens next. That small moment of choice is what makes a message feel like a game instead of an ad, and people who play are far more likely to keep engaging.
With Community’s Campaign Follow-Up Flows, you can build the whole game once and let it run automatically.
How the game works
You send one campaign asking your community to reply TRICK or TREAT. A Follow-Up Flow listens for their first reply and sends each person down a different path:
Path 1: TREAT. They get the sweet stuff right away: a discount code, early access to a drop, or a free download.
Path 2: TRICK. Keep it cheeky. Still distribute the “TREAT” benefits.
Didn’t match a keyword. Someone replies “lol both” or “🍬”? Send a playful nudge: “Nice try. You only get one pick. Reply TRICK or TREAT 👻”
Didn’t respond. Anyone who stays quiet 1 day gets a final message: “Last call before the candy bowl’s empty. Reply TRICK or TREAT.”
Everyone who received your campaign enters the flow, so nobody falls through the cracks, including the people who ignored you the first time.
Sample messages
Here’s a version you can adapt:
- Campaign: It’s Halloween week 🎃 You get one pick. Reply TRICK or TREAT and see what’s waiting for you.
- TREAT path: Good choice. Here’s 20% off everything through Oct 31: [link]
- TRICK path: Gotcha 😈 There was never a trick. Everyone gets the treat. 20% off everything through Oct 31: [link]
- No-match path: Rules are rules 😈 Just one word: TRICK or TREAT?
- No-response path: The candy bowl is almost empty. Here’s 20% off now through October 31st: [link]
A creator might use TRICK to unlock an unreleased clip and TREAT for a merch discount. A local bakery might use TREAT for a free cookie with purchase and TRICK for a “mystery menu item” reveal in store.
Setting it up in Community
- Draft or schedule your Trick or Treat campaign first.
- From the Flows tab, the Campaign List, or the Campaign Details page, click the ellipses menu next to the campaign and create a Follow-Up Flow.
- Choose Response as the member action, then select specific keywords.
- Add TRICK to Path 1 and TREAT to Path 2. Keywords can be words, phrases, emojis, or hashtags, so you can add 🎃 or 👻 as alternates if you like.
- Fill in the “Response Didn’t Match Keyword” and “Didn’t Respond” paths.
- Publish the flow before the campaign sends so fans get their reply in real time.
Why this works beyond Halloween
Trick or Treat isn’t just the costume. The real idea is giving fans a simple choice and rewarding them for answering. The same setup works for “Turkey or Ham” for Thanksgiving, “Naughty or Nice” in December, or “💙 or 🖤” for picking your next product drop. Every reply also tells you something about what your community wants, which is useful long after the candy’s gone.
Halloween is October 31. Build your flow this week and let your fans decide which way it goes.
A few things to know before you send
Only the first message someone sends back is checked for keywords, so make the instructions simple. A keyword can only live in one path, and paths are checked in order starting with Path 1. Each campaign can have one Follow-Up Flow.
Not a Community customer yet? Book a quick demo to see how it works.