Why Sports Marketers Need Social Media

From Anthony Burke - WSI Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing for Sport - 3 Reasons Why Sport Marketing Needs Social Media 

Sponsoring an athlete, sports team or an event is not just about signing a big cheque and getting your name on the side of a car, a sign in the stadium, or even your logo on the shirt. For those of you that know me, you know that Sport is my passion and I’m also involved inbusiness consultancy and digital marketing as well, so there is my connection!  I have a passion for rugby, cricket, football, windsurfing - well anything that moves actually! So here is my take on Digital Marketing for Sport:

Basically, if you want your investment in sponsorship to be an effective marketing tool, you need to increase your initial sponsorship just to promote the fact that you have a sponsorship deal. So, if you’re sponsoring a rugby team, you need to tell your customers about it, and get them to support and cheer for your team.  If you’re sponsoring a football team, you need to get your best customers into the corporate box to watch the game. Even if you’re sponsoring a small local village football team, you need to find a way to bring the parents into your pub or restaurant after the game.  So you need to spend a lot just to let everyone know that you are even sponsoring the team or event in the first place.

The Same Old Problem - You Can’t Effectively Measure Traditional Marketing

Sports marketing is no longer just about getting money from big companies.  For the campaign to be effecive, you have to be able to demonstrate the ROI of a sponsorship deal.  Measurement and analytics for off-line marketing are traditionally very difficult.  It is almost impossible to know which radio or tv ad actually increased sales, and which ones lost money. You don’t know which billboards brought visitors to your website. And you certainly don’t know which logo placement or "after match" interview  was responsible for any increase in sales.

But social media can do all of that, and much more . Here are three things social mediacan do for sports marketers:

1. Social Media Can Prove ROI in Sports Marketing

The great thing about social media is that it’s easy to demonstrate the ROI to your business. With tools like Google Analytics you can build an effective measurement system to see how many people found your website, requested additional information, downloaded a white paper or purchased something on-line.  You can measure the success of a campaign and figure out which variables, messages, day of the week and even time of day brought the best results. You can see if you your website gets spikes in traffic before, during, or after an event and whether the spikes are taking place in a particular location or city, or if they’re more regional and spread out. You can even set up different URLs, landing pages and do A/B split testing to see which variables brought the best results. With social media, you can see who’s talking about your brand, manage your reputation and interact with the "fans" who are the most vocal, whether these are positive or negative. You just can’t do that with a billboard, radio commercial or a TV ad.

2. Social Media Can Help to Grow a Sports Marketing Audience

There are many social media tools out there that can help.  In fact, the list is almost endless and there are also lots of ways to connect with customers online.  Facebook and Twitter are obvious places to start.  Twitter is a great tool for interactive connections with your favourite team or sport.  You can use tools like Twitterment, NearbyTweets, and even Twitter’s own search function to find people who is interested in your team or sport. Use Twitterfall or TweetDeck’s search feature to watch for discussions about your team or the event that you are planning.  Make sure that you connect with these fans, and discuss the team, the players, the drivers, the horses, the weather and the event itself.  The main point is not try and sell them anything or talk about your company. However, you can hold a special contest or make a special offers  For example, if our team finishes in a certain place or higher, the first 10 people to tweet us gets a coupon for a free widget or a  discount on a particular widget.  But other than that, just talk about the things that interests the fans because this is not about YOU!

3. Social Media Can Deepen Relationships With Fans and Customers

So if you are sponsoring a horse racing event, enhance your customers’ experience on race day by live blogging, tweeting, and video streaming from the stands, the riders, the sponsor’s tent, or even the finishing line.

• Get some behind-the-scenes shots (assuming you get permission from the team) at what it looks like in changing room.
• Hold a special Twitter chat with a racing driver or one of the team members.
• Have a give a special video greeting or tour of the stadium for fans.
• Set up a blog and ask different team members to blog about their experiences over the season, complete with photos and videos.

Social Media should be an integral part of your Digital Markeing plan. The big advantage of Social media is that it  lets fans see the "behind the scenes" events they might be missing and that they are very interested in.  Help them feel like they’re part of the experience and get them involved. By doing this, you make them feel more like they are a part of the team. They’re insiders, they get special knowledge about the team, the athletes and the event. By feeling  connected, they’ll become more of a fan, not only of the team, but of the organization or brand that helped them get there.

At WSI we are experts in generating leads for your business, enhancing your credibility and helping you stay in touch with your customers or "fans".  Social Media is one of our core competencies, so give us a call and we'll help grow your business.  Use the contact form or just give us a call on 01580 819529.