Are you struggling to grow social media followers of your sports club? Are you not getting the desired engagement for your sports club? We answer your queries today.
Today, fans are interested in everything happening with their favourite sports team. They need to know about the latest happenings, locker room stories, players’ fitness routines, and many other things. So, how do you deliver this content to your fans? The simple answer is social media.
Social media is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Social Media is best to engage your fans. A large following on social media can help you get more sponsorships as well. So a perfect win-win. Content for fans and money for your club.
But the question remains – How do I go about social media? What strategy do I use? What content format will my audience like? Well, worry no more, we’ve got you covered.
Today, we will discuss 4 methods to grow the social media followers of your sports club.
- Choose the right channel –
Be where your audience is. The first and most important step in embarking on your social media journey is to choose the right social media channel.
Today we have many channels to choose from – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Reddit and the list goes on. But, there is no point in having your presence on all channels. Further, managing more channels will come at an additional cost.
We suggest going with one or two channels to start off with and focus on growing those channels. Once, you get a good response, you can decide to try out other platforms.
Now to decide which channels to go with, look for your rival clubs. Look at their following on various channels, look at what type of content they are putting out on those channels.
Compare all the channels and go with the ones where your rivals get the most engagement and also fits in your budget.
- Create a content calendar –
It is always better to approach social media with meticulous planning. So it is advised that you should prepare a list of content buckets – different types and themes of content you would like to post on social media beforehand.
To come up with the content ideas you could do the following –
- Check out what your competitors are posting
- Survey your audience
- Look for current trends
After you jot down your content ideas, decide the frequency of posts. Generally, a sports club should post 2 to 3 times a day. On match days, the frequency will surely increase.
As a sports club, you will have a plethora of content to post during the season as there is a lot happening around you.
But what about the off-season?
How do you engage your fans during the off-season?
A simple answer is pre-plan. Again come up with content ideas/topics you would want to share in pre-season and start collecting/producing them during the on-season.
One important note here – Do not post the same content on all the platforms,
- Try various content formats –
Social media is all about experimentation and creativity. Do not make your feed boring by posting the same type of content over and over again.
Come up with some fresh designs every season, come up with some exclusive content that your fans would love.
Mix up your content with static images, graphics, and short and long-form video content. Nowadays, reels on Instagram are a great way to increase your reach.
The point is – never settle. Keep surprising your fans and give them a reason to keep following you.
- Engage with the community –
Social media is not one-way communication. While you are communicating with your audience through your posts, the audience communicates via – likes, comments, shares and retweets.
The more you engage with your community (fans), the happier and loyal they will be.
Stories are a great way to communicate with your fans.
Asking questions about the game, doing trivia nights, and going lie often are all great ways to engage with your audience.
These 4 methods can help you increase your social media following drastically. Understand that social media is a long term game and one should be consistent enough to see the desired result.