Unique Strategies for Using Social Media in Sports Marketing

Live-tweeting, fan giveaways, posting highlight reels – there are many unique strategies that sports teams have successfully used to create an active community following their franchise on social media platforms. The most effective strategies capture the natural fervor of sports fans and give them a place to amplify their passion for the home team, creating a thousand brand advocates that are more valuable than any ad placement. sports marketing through social media The University of Florida is one example of a school that has aggressively marketed their athletic department through social media Rallying cries become hashtags, social media marketing strategy like the New Orleans Saints’ #whodat, which makes it possible for teams to capture an even greater potential market and get more people on their ever-growing hype train. “Gone are the days of one way communications between sports entities and their fans,” says Chad Barr, associate professor of sports management at Lynn University and online MBA program instructor. “From Twitter treasure hunts at tennis tournaments, to dynamic ticket prices for likes and followers, social media marketing plan sports organizations are beginning to demonstrate the true power of social media.” From a financial perspective, it’s hard to argue against social media as an investment. For the cost of a talented, savvy social media manager, a team can be an even greater part of their fans’ lives and promote constant engagement with the franchise’s activities. An efficient, powerful social media strategy, along with other community-based efforts, can elevate your team’s fan base into something that’s more than just a guaranteed market of potential ticket holders, but an impassioned, daunting home field advantage.

You’re Setting Up Too Many Social Accounts Without Completing Any of Them

If you’ve been following this internet marketing blog then you’ll note that you’ve been encouraged to set-up branded social media profiles for more than just Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. To take full advantage of all of the networks available to you, your business also needs a Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, Vine, and Reddit account. Once again, it’s great that you may have embraced this methodology, but mistakes are often made social media marketing companies when the process is rushed. Businesses race to complete their profiles for the sake of getting it done, yet have not fully completed/optimized any of them. Each social media platform should be set-up and optimized with care, before moving on to the next. Complete every field presented to you on your brand page so that you don’t miss any opportunity to add your business’ contact information, hours of operation, “about” content, social media marketing services links to your site, and images for profile photos and backgrounds. Leave no stone unturned when creating/optimizing your profiles and take the time to go through each with a fine tooth comb before hitting “save” or “publish”. By following the above advice you will in fact speed up the opportunity to grow your social network exposure and soon benefit from increased user engagement to the point of capturing that ever-elusive social media ROI.

Unique Strategies For Using Social Media in Sports Marketing

Social media has paved the way for businesses, media outlets, and a host of other organizations to have direct conversations with their customers, allowing for a truly unparalleled level of audience engagement. Sports franchises and clubs have also found ways to leverage this incredible new marketing tool, working to realize the dream of any sports executive: to create a passionate, invested fan base. As Dr. Alyssa Tavormina, a faculty social media marketing university member at the University of Florida’s online Master of Science in Sport Management program describes, “Through social media, fans not only connect with sport teams and leagues, but the athletes themselves have accounts which allow potentially millions of fans to connect personally to the athletes and their teams. This direct connection has allowed fans to now be a part of the sport organization’s story.” The Florida Gators have their own experience making full use of social media, launching their “#GatorAlways” campaign last fall and integrating the fans into the campaign by having them share their own personal story what is social media marketing about becoming a Gator via social media. The responses of the fans displayed the true passion and investment of the fans into the Florida Gators. Dr. Tavormina went on to say that, “Unfortunately, many sport organizations lack a complete understanding of the social media users’ motivations and needs. As a result, they have not realized the full potential of social media as a marketing tool.”