Innovation

Social Media Marketing For Your Sports Organization: Part I

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By LeagueApps
October 10, 2014
3 min

This post was written by our friends at Four Kicks Marketing.  They’re experts when it comes to driving demand and customer conversion through social media.  To learn more about Four Kicks marketing, head over to our Deal Center!

Which Platforms Are Right For My Sports Organization?

Utilizing Social Media to promote your sports programs and gain awareness in your community can be a powerful tool. After all, when it comes to internet use, Social Media sites are where your players spend most of their time online. Given the seemingly endless number of platforms within the realm of Social Media you can quickly find themselves spread thin.

Trying to exist on too many Social Media Platforms could affect your daily productivity while choosing the wrong ones will certainly affect your overall results. Your goal is to choose wisely and put a solid plan into action.

When selecting a Social Platform, consider a few things:

  • Determine Who is your targeted audience? Is this where your players already are? Does the platform lend itself to the nature of your organization?

  • Does the platform allow for easy sharing and connection with Fans and Followers? Should you consider paid advertising to increase reach?

  • Time How much time do you have to dedicate yourself to each platform? Should you hire someone or a professional agency to manage your communities so it’s done well?

  • Goals What do you want from Social Media? (Awareness, Direct Response and Sales, Recruitment)

Now that you’ve given some thought to your organization’s needs and objectives, it’s time to determine which Social Networks are relevant and best achieve your goals. Here are some statistics, overviews, and recommendations that will assist you with finding your place in Social Media.

Facebook: Creating a Facebook Page is a MUST

  • 1.32 BILLION Monthly Active Users

  • 90% of US Smartphone users check their newsfeed every day

  • People Ages 25-34 represent the largest group of active users

  • One out of every 5 page views on the internet is on Facebook

  • Facebook has highly targetable ad units that can reach your customers on any device

LeagueApps Top Tip: Our built in Facebook functionality makes it extremely easy for your participants to do the work for you.  Each and every registrant is prompted to share their registration for you programs with all of their friends and family on the Facebook network.

Twitter: Great for “listening” for new opportunities

  • Say almost anything to anybody in 140 characters or less – it’s the “what are you doing right now” platform

  • 271 MILLION active users

    • 63 MILLION active users in United States

  • Text-based posts dominate with links to external sites

  • “Listening” is possibly the most important use for Twitter; find new customers by looking for key phrases and opportunities to join the conversation

Instagram: THE visual platform

  • Branding is the primary function of a business’ existence here…for now

  • Share pictures from your events to spur the interest of potential players

  • 150 MILLION users strong, most users are active daily

  • User are young, mostly under the age of 35

Hopefully by now you’ve developed a sense of how and where your organization should be represented online. That’s great, but it’s not going to be enough to simply create those Social Media profiles. You’re going to need a strategy, an organized content calendar, and some ad budget set aside to ensure accurate and effective reach.

In the next edition of this four part guest-blog series we will examine content strategies and examples, some do’s and don’ts, and get you set you off down the path to Social Media success! Stay tuned!