The dominant branding on Twitter or Facebook is still that of Twitter or Facebook. While some have seen the rise of social media as reducing the importance of websites, other athletes have still realised their potential to communicate their brand personality in a unique way.

This article looks at some of the best athlete websites as prime examples of using the channel for clear strategic purposes.

1. LeBron James

In 2009, LeBron’s image took a serious dent after The PR gaffe that was “The Decision” – an hour-long ESPN special where LeBron announced he would be leaving for Miami. Since that incident, there has been a consistent effort to portray this considerable talent in a more balanced light.

To that end, LeBron’s website firmly puts the emphasis on his philanthropic work with the website split between – The Man – The Philanthropist – The Businessman – The Athlete.

The message is clear and simple, LeBron is a very talented athlete who is doing a lot of work in his home community to improve the plight of ordinary people.

Key Takeaway: A website can be a bespoke solution to a specific problem.

2. Andy Murray

Andy Murray’s site was recently updated from a swirling 100% Flash-based, tennis court morphing maze into a sleek, contemporary, minimalist design featuring the essential details and little else. The site is simply designed and highly functional, in the best sense.

Key Takeaway: Design should remain contemporary and be somewhat future-proofed or else a site risks looking very dated very fast.

3. Jessica Ennis

The golden girl of the London 2012 games and Adidas sponsored athlete, Ennis’ website is particularly clean and lean. Without the same level of resources as other athletes on this list, it’s key for the heptathlete to communicate a polished yet approachable media presence, which she carries off very well in reality and through her website.

The aspect which sets this site apart is the added touch of responding on her blog to children’s fan-mail, this adds a real human touch rather than some of the over inflated egos found elsewhere in sport.

Key Takeaway: There is still room to reach out to fans in a way that is far more meaningful than a retweet or a 160 character reply.

4. Maria Sharapova

The landing page of the Russian tennis star is a slick amalgamation of her social media in combination with a space to push her brand extensions. Her own brand of sweets, Sugarpova’s, feature prominently on the top line of the landing page which is all in keeping with the consummately cultivated image which the tennis star presents throughout.

While some athletes are beginning to abandon official websites for communicating solely through Facebook and Twitter, Sharipova’s site is an excellent example of how a website can still provide a customised shop-window for an athlete’s brand and deliver a more unique experience than the one-size-fits-all approach of social media.

Whereas tweeting ‘Buy my sweets’ might look crass, everything on this site is carefully manicured so as not to look out of place.

Key Takeaway: If an athlete is particularly active across social media, a website can provide a good collation point for all those activities.

5. Cristiano Ronaldo

Although it might be a bit too much for the casual admirer of CR7, it’s a site that certainly knows its audience – fans who are obsessed with Cristiano Ronaldo – and delivers full value in that department. The website is the heart of a burgeoning merchandising and endorsement empire.

Key Takeaway: Whereas a shameless plug of a sponsor can seem off or soulless through social media, merchandising can be done more explicitly through websites since its target is truly hardcore fans.

At Atomic Sport, we have our own strong beliefs on how best an athlete can present themselves and their brand online. The examples in the article above are snapshots of what to do and what not to do, if you want to discuss an athlete or sports web project, patrick@atomic-sport.com is your guy. Or contact us here.

The post Best Athlete Websites – Web strategies of 5 world famous athletes appeared first on Atomic Sport - The Sports Marketing Agency.

The English Football League recently announced that they will provide live streaming of every non-televised game to overseas supporters from the 2017-18 season onwards. The digital platform, called iFollow, will cost £110 for full access.

The EFL hope that the service will open-up a significant new revenue stream for clubs and provide a platform for enhanced engagement for overseas fans. In the context of the fragmentation of traditional media and falling linear TV football ratings, does this signal a wider trend of the diminishing role and importance of match-attending fan; is traditional match day under threat?

At first glance, a review of the attendance data for the Championship this season paints a picture of strong growth. The total attendance for season 2016-17 was 11.10 million, up 1.37 million on the 2015-16 season, or growth of 14.13%. The average stadium was 71.20% full, up 5.74% on 2015-16’s mark of 65.46%. The average attendance was also up 14.13% from 17,583 to 20.067.

However, it’s clear that the divisional average figures have been inflated by the strong support of the three Premier League clubs relegated into the Championship at the end of 2015-16. Newcastle Utd had a great season on and off the pitch. Clinching both the Championship and the top of the table spot in our league table of stadium occupancy.

As well as having the highest stadium occupancy at 97.52%, Newcastle Utd contributed 1.175 million to the total attendance figures. They registered 436,978 more visitors than Aston Villa who were next highest with 738,464. Newcastle also boasted the highest average attendance 51,106, Aston Villa were again next up with 32,107.

Villa registered the second highest average attendance but only the tenth highest average occupancy with 75.04%, perhaps reflecting their disappointing performance on the pitch as Steve Bruce rebuilds.

The other relegated club, Norwich City, also posted an impressive stadium occupancy of 96.73% with the sixth highest average attendance of 26,354. To put this into context and demonstrate the uplift driven by the three relegated teams, in 2015-16 Derby County had the best stadium occupancy in the division with 88.29%, followed by QPR on 87.11%.

The divisional average occupancy last season was 65.46% with 5.74% growth to achieve this season’s figure of 71.20%. The impact of the three former well-supported Premier League sides can be seen.

Of the twenty-four teams in the Championship in 2016-17, eighteen remained in the division from the previous season. Of those eighteen teams, in 2015-16 Derby County boasted both the highest stadium occupancy 88.29% and an average attendance of 29,663.

Derby saw a 2.14% drop in average attendance this season with Pride Park on average 86.44% full, 1.85% down on the previous season. Five clubs saw both their average attendance and stadium occupancy drop this past season while a further twelve saw an uplift.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given their remarkable ascent to the top of the table early in the season and the sustained success of the campaign that ultimately resulted in Play-Off glory, Huddersfield Town recorded a great season off the pitch. Across the season, they saw a mighty 31.47% increase in stadium occupancy from 51.56% to 83.03% and a 37.91% increase in average attendance from 12,631 to 20,343.

Promoted alongside Newcastle Utd and Huddersfield Town after a tremendous season, Brighton and Hove Albion also enjoyed success off the pitch at the American Express Stadium. Brighton’s stadium occupancy was up 7.84% from 83.20% to 91.04% with 8.62% growth in average attendance from 25,583 to 27,996.

Leeds Utd’s rejuvenation under Garry Monk saw the club fighting once again for promotion to the Premier League. Elland Road’s occupancy grew 13.06% to 68.89% with the average attendance up 18.96% to 27,698.

Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday, who also enjoyed a good season on the pitch, saw growth of 11.16% in stadium occupancy to 68.14%. Both Leeds and Wednesday have relatively large stadiums of approximately 40,000 and boast large and loyal supports.

Leeds Utd and Sheffield Wednesday have the fourth and fifth largest average attendances in the Championship, but both have large stadiums to fill thanks to their top-flight heritage and ambition. In many ways, clubs like Leeds and Wednesday encapsulate the performance and commercial challenge for clubs in the Championship.

Championship clubs are under pressure to stretch to compete for promotion and the promised riches of the Premier League. However, resources are limited, and fan-bases appear finite and ageing. Live TV viewing of Championship matches is the privilege of those that can afford a Sky subscription, which impacts on the amount of exposure that these clubs can generate, and that may ultimately be self-defeating.

Clubs must continue to develop new and existing income streams to compete, but it’s clear there are significant strides that need to be made to drive incremental commercial and match-day revenue.

There is obvious capacity across the league; more than a quarter of seats are vacant, and that surely is something of a concern for all commercial and marketing executives involved.

Talk to Patrick@atomic-sport.com about how we can help clubs deliver ticket and commercial growth plans.

The post Is Match Day dying? – #MatchDayInsight appeared first on Atomic Sport - The Sports Marketing Agency.

The growth story is born out across almost every metric and every club. The average attendance is up 10.1% across the league from 11,696 to 12,875, with average occupancy up by 4.47% from 75.10% to 79.57% this season.

Wasps’ strong performance on the pitch this season has been matched off the pitch. Their growth has propelled the average figures upwards.

Under coach Dai Young, Wasps have stormed to the top of the Premiership and into the Semi-Finals. Wasps have shown the biggest uplift in average occupancy this season which is doubly impressive as they have the biggest Premiership arena to fill, the 32,609 capacity Ricoh Stadium. Average occupancy is up 11.07% from 46.16% to 57.23%. Their average attendance is up 3,611 from 15,051 to 18,662 representing an uplift of 24% from last season. They also smashed last season’s best attendance by 6,062 with the visit of Saracens filling the Ricoh Arena to 30,115 or 92% of capacity.

Of the twelve teams in the Premiership, five boast an average occupancy of over 90%. Harlequins have enjoyed the highest stadium utilisation rate of 98%. Saracens lead a pack of teams including Northampton Saints and Bath Rugby on 95%, high-flying Exeter Chiefs on 91.17% % with Leicester Tigers and Gloucester in the next band on 89% and 88% respectively.

Leicester Tigers actually boast the highest average attendance in the Premiership with 22,899. Leicester have performed well on and off the pitch growing their average occupancy by 4.2% to 87.53% and their average attendance by 4.95% to 22,899.

Northampton Saints have not quite lived up to their high expectations this season and this is reflected in their off-field performance. They are the only club in the Premiership to register a drop in average occupancy. Admittedly, they are stating from a high base, last season they registered the highest average occupancy at 98.20% and the third highest average attendance at 14,975. This season they have dropped 2.49% in occupancy to 98.20% and 2.54% in average attendance to 14,594.

The performance of Premiership teams has set a high standard in 2016-17, one that will be a significant challenge to better next season. However, it’s clear there is still capacity for growth across the league. If clubs are smart and strategic with their marketing and engagement programmes there is a good chance to embrace the current goodwill that exists towards the game and propel the results to even higher levels next season.

There is a tremendous opportunity for clubs to take maximum advantage of the growing popularity of the sport to acquire new fans, enhance the loyalty of existing fans and drive improved revenues from commercial opportunities.

Talk to Patrick@atomic-sport.com about how we help clubs deliver growth plans for ticketing, sponsorship and fan engagement.

The post Season of Growth in the Premiership – #RugbyInsight appeared first on Atomic Sport - The Sports Marketing Agency.

• Huge challenge for Super League clubs to take advantage of significant excess stadium capacity – the average Super League stadium on match day in 2016 was just over half-full at 54.64%
• Marginal uplift from 2015 to 2016 as average stadium occupancy grew 0.55% from 54.09% to 54.64%
• Total Attendance up 2.6% from 1.177m to 1.207 million.
• Average attendance down 0.2% from 8,978 to 8,962

With the 2017 Super League now underway, we’ve extended our #RugbyInsight programme monitoring attendances versus capacity into Rugby League. We’ll be monitoring and commenting upon performance and trends in the 2017 season. The RFL are currently into the third year of a five year deal with Sky Sports worth £182.2 million with approximately £150 million going to Super League clubs. A review of the 2015 and 2016 attendance data shows that growth is negligible.

Have Super League clubs become too reliant on the TV broadcast income at the expense of in-house activity to drive incremental revenue?

Despite a record TV deal, it’s clear that there is significant scope for revenue growth off the pitch.  The average occupancy at Super League matches in 2015 and 2016 seasons was just over 54%; the average ground was just over half –full.

f the twelve Super League teams, half of the teams had an average occupancy of over 60% in 2016.  Leeds Rhinos had a consistently full stadium across the 2015 and 2016 seasons. In 2016 they enjoyed the highest average attendance of 15,324 and an average occupancy of 74.97%. Average attendance was 3% down on 2015 decreasing from 15,742 to 15,324. In context this was a minimal reduction, Leeds’ drop in performance on the pitch in 2016, from 2015 Treble winners to 9th position, was far more marked.

There were two further teams with average occupancy over 70%. Catalans Dragons enjoyed an average occupancy of 75.11% whilst Warrington Wolves averaged 73.61%. They both enjoyed significant growth on their 2015 performances with the Dragons up 9.26% on 2015 and the Wolves up 8.79%. Castleford Tigersalso saw a 3.92% uplift in average occupancy to 67.77% for 2016. Wakefield Trinity were able to fill their stadium more effectively in 2016, with average occupancy up 5.52% to 41.20% in 2016.

However, the seven remaining clubs saw average occupancy drop by between 0.5% and 4.89%. Salford Red Devils saw the biggest drop in average occupancy, down 4.89% to 30.21%  occupancy. Widnes Vikings also saw a 4.43% decline in average occupancy to 42.27%.

A huge opportunity exists for clubs across the league to enhance stadium utilisation and drive commercial revenue. In December 2016, Wigan Warriors announced that they had sold 7,500 season tickets for the 2017 season. At an average season ticket cost of £211, a 20% uplift in season ticket sales would net Wigan an extra £316,500.

If we take the average number of season ticket holders across the league to be approximately 60% of average most teams can expect a similar revenue uplift. St. Helens have approximately 7,500 season ticket holders, with 20% growth they can get an incremental £207,000 with an average season ticket price of £138.00.

Carried across all the Super League clubs if each one was to extend their season ticket base by 20%, the incremental revenue opportunity would be £2.3 million. Analysing the full extent of the excess capacity across the stadia, if Super League clubs were able to sell out fully, the combined opportunity is in the region £16.4 million.

Are Super League clubs doing enough with their brand development and outbound marketing to drive incremental season ticket sales?

Talk to Patrick@atomic-sport.com about how we help clubs deliver ticketing growth plans.

The post Super League’s Growth Challenge – #RugbyInsight appeared first on Atomic Sport - The Sports Marketing Agency.

As TV ratings drop, are clubs doing enough to convert occasional fans?

There have been a number of recent reports highlighting the decline in football’s TV ratings. Sky’s flagship Super Sunday shows a five-year decline with the average audience down 39 percent from 2011-12.

With future TV revenue potentially under threat, how are clubs responding and performing on one of their other key revenue streams, their match-day income?

With approximately two-thirds of the season run, the hectic Christmas and New Year period is behind us and the ‘business end’ of the season is in sight. The overarching attendance trends in the Premier League and Championship remain constant. The Premier League as a whole continues to track at approximately 96% stadium utilisation. Thirteen of the twenty Premier League clubs boast stadium occupancy rates of over 95%.

In the Championship the season average to date is 71.28% stadium utilisation, which is up 6% on last year’s season average of 65.46%. This figure is bolstered by the presence of well-supported clubs such as Newcastle Utd, Aston Villa and Norwich City.

These figures also reflect the importance of the bumper programme over the festive season. A review of the impact of the festive games from an attendance perspective reveals an almost universal Christmas bounce for those teams at home over the festive period.

In the rarefied air of the upper echelons of the Premier League, stadium utilisation is maintained in the high nineties across the season. Of the clubs in the Premier League with an average occupancy of under 95%, all four clubs that hosted home games experienced a Christmas bounce in attendance.

Burnley had a full house against Middlesbrough on Boxing Day. Sunderland saw 95.46% occupancy against Liverpool, Southampton were at 97.44% against Spurs on the 28th December and Hull City achieved 90.42% against Man City, up 11% on their average stadium utilisation.

The Christmas bounce was even more pronounced in the Championship. The machinations of the Championship schedule dictated that six clubs did not host a fixture over the Christmas break. Of those 18 clubs that hosted at least one festive fixture, 16 achieved attendances over and above their average.

The biggest bounce occurred at Deepdale as Preston hosted Leeds Utd on Boxing Day and achieved an uplift of 33% from an average occupancy of 56.23% to 90.82%. The following game against Sheffield Wednesday saw a more modest 7% uplift with the season average boosted to 59.43% by those two fixtures. Aston Villa saw a 23% uplift for the Boxing Day visit of Burton Albion whilst Blackburn rovers saw a 22% increase for the visit of Newcastle on Boxing Day.

Appetite for Christmas football highlights the potential for clubs to achieve incremental ticket sales. Are clubs doing enough with their marketing programmes to convert floating fans to more regular visitors? 

Talk to Patrick@atomic-sport.com about how we help clubs deliver ticketing growth plans.

The post Converting the Casuals – #MatchDayInsight appeared first on Atomic Sport - The Sports Marketing Agency.

We’ve extended our #MatchdayInsight series monitoring attendances versus capacity into Premiership Rugby. It’s an exciting time for English rugby with the sport in a period of growth and clubs benefitting from a record-breaking BT Sport TV deal.

The challenge for clubs remains to continue to grow and maximise their commercial and match-day revenue to take advantage of these favourable market conditions.

From our analysis of the 2015-16 Aviva Premiership into this season’s performance to date, it’s clear that there is a growth story in the league. The average attendance is up 6.8% across the league from 11,696 to 12,496 with average occupancy up by 2.62% from 75.10% to 77.72% this season. This will have been helped by Bristol replacing relegated London Irish. Bristol have an average attendance of 12,958 and average occupancy of 47.99% at the 27,000 capacity Ashton Gate, more than 4,000 and 11% up on London Irish’s 2015-16 record.

Of the twelve teams in the Premiership, six boast an average occupancy of over 90%. So far this season Harlequins enjoy the highest stadium utilisation rate of 97.10%. Saracens lead a pack of teams including Northampton Saints, Leicester Tigers and  Bath Rugby on 94% with Gloucester and Exeter Chiefs in the next band on 89% and 91% respectively.

Leicester Tigers actually boast the highest average attendance in the Premiership with 23,128. Wasps have the next highest average attendance with 17,628 but sit at just tenth place in stadium occupancy, playing at the biggest stadium in the division, the 32,609 Ricoh Arena.

Wasps have also shown the biggest uplift in average occupancy this season. Their average attendance is up 2,577 from 15,051 to 17,628 representing an uplift of 7.9% from last season. A critical factor must be Wasps’ improved performance this so far this season as current leaders in the Aviva Premiership and well set for an exciting end to the season.

Incremental season ticket revenue opportunities exist across the Premiership. Wasps, in particular, have enormous growth potential. At 32,609 Wasps’ Ricoh Stadium boasts the largest capacity in the division and even though Wasps have the second highest average attendance at 17,628, they also have a large number of empty seats at each match. This presents a huge opportunity, with on average 14,981 empty seats there is an incremental season ticket revenue opportunity of over £2.64 million.

A number of other clubs in the division can also grow their season ticket sales revenue and match-day revenue significantly. Bristol, based at 27,000 capacity Ashton Gate, have on average approximately 14,431 empty seats presenting an opportunity of £2 million.

With An average 3,500 empty seats, Newcastle Falcons have a revenue opportunity of approximately £1million.

Worcester Warriors are currently tracking at an average attendance of 7,776 and approximately 4,248 empty seats presenting a revenue opportunity of £1.2million.

How much are these clubs doing in terms of outbound marketing to achieve additional season ticket sales and cross-sales to drive matchday revenue?

Talk to Patrick@atomic-sport.com about how we help clubs deliver ticketing growth plans.

The post The Revenue Challenge – #RugbyInsight appeared first on Atomic Sport - The Sports Marketing Agency.

We came across the idea of getting fans to interact with Instagram posts a little more than just giving posts a like, and spark some match day activity ideas in the lead up to the game.

Through setting up a secondary Leinster account “Leinster Match Day”, fans could interact with the post. We instructed fans to 1) tap on the image then 2) tap on the tag within the image, which brought them to the next stage where they could choose from three categories of match day activities.

Fans could choose from Shopping, Dinner and Things To Do. Each category had a map of the surrounding area close to the Aviva Stadium, with activities focused around each of the category headers. Each point of Interest had the venues Instagram tag embedded where applicable.

You can view the initial post by clicking here and then follow the instructions in the post.

The post Using Instagram differently for Match Day appeared first on Atomic Sport - The Sports Marketing Agency.

A highlight for me was Maverick Carter and Uninterrupted, further recognition of the power of the individual athlete when it comes to fan reach and engagement. Granted, the US leagues abound with players willing to tell their story in highly personal and open ways, a trait still very uncommon to athletes on this side of the globe.

It was, however, interesting to see Manchester United and Adidas come together in the presentation of Paul Pogba as a United player this past August – player-centric, stylised and creative, a departure from the jersey over shirt, scarf-holding press conference we are all so familiar with. Recognition, that even for a goliath like Manchester United, player power is only getting bigger.

Why invest in player marketing?

Fans don’t care about ads, slogans or commercial initiatives at their chosen club. They care about players, performances, results and the tribe they are part of! Where it is impossible to control on field performance and results… one thing you can control is the presentation of your star players. The more you as a club invest in that presentation, the bigger the return from engaged fans.

A prominent rugby head coach once confided to me that he considered it vital that the club ‘generate superstars’, because superstars, and not marketing campaigns and aggressive ticket selling, generate interest and ticket sales.

Lessons for Club Marketers

From first-hand experience of working closely with clubs, I’m well aware of the difficulty in getting access to players before, during and after long playing seasons. Access is important, but it isn’t everything, and a lot can be done with some forward planning and creative thinking.

Lesson 1 – Player access is worth fighting for

Plan it as far in advance as possible. Invest a little money, but a lot of time and energy in securing it. Start planning next seasons access in January of the preceding season – at the very latest! Engage the player leader group that exists at most clubs with the reasons and plans for working with players, they are the gateway to good relations with the playing side.

Lesson 2 – Stockpile your assets

When you succeed in getting access to players, future proof your marketing activity by capturing as much photography, video and content as possible.

Lesson 3 – Prep your players

Professional sportspeople live a very regimented life and typically don’t like a curveball. Let them know exactly what is expected of them ahead of time and stick to that plan.

Lesson 4 – All content counts

Movie quality video is great, and you can shoot quality content on your smart phone these days, but beyond that, get creative with stock imagery of your players in action, consider audio clips, copy quotes and infographics. There are many ways you can deliver content that no other sources have access to. Experiment with, and find, those ways.

Lesson 5 – Think BIG

Your club may already harbour a player or players who actually want to tell a story and want to be part of that storytelling process. Look to the US leagues, look to the content that Uninterrupted are producing – plan, pitch and invest time in informing the playing side at your club what you are trying to do in moving the club forward.

Patrick Murphy is a Director at Atomic Sport. Contact him to talk about your sports club, organisation or event marketing.

e: patrick@atomic-sport.com
t: @atomicpat

The post The Players – Your Best Marketing Asset appeared first on Atomic Sport - The Sports Marketing Agency.

The visual concept for #FootbALLornothing is to convey the intense passion of Irish soccer fans and align that with the new Euro 2016 Irish jersey. We are showing the length the fans go to support the team. Everything is presented in the context of the fans in the stadiums in France cheering on Ireland in the Euros. To bring this to life we have captured detailed, expressive, energetic and entertaining portraits of a series of characters being fans while wearing the jersey.

The post #FootbALLorNothing for Life Style Sports appeared first on Atomic Sport - The Sports Marketing Agency.

The first, and most obvious, answer is that success on the sporting field translates into growth in social. If you take the most recent numbers for the FAI, for example, you can see that the positivity around the team and their qualification for Euro 2016 have seen them achieve a 32% growth in reach. Similarly, Connacht Rugby has seen a 19% growth in their fan base in the last eight months too. No coincidence that they’re sitting second in the Pro 12.

But to say that is the only reason for these successes is the on-field achievements is disingenuous. We have to give credit where it is due. A lot of this growth can be chalked down to the huge improvement in terms of content creation and distribution and the realisation by the teams running these accounts that social is not a one-way conversation.

Up until quite recently, sports institutions in Ireland suffered from the same social malaise that lots of brands did. They treated it like another broadcast channel, posting team updates etc and not really engaging the fans with the thing that we seek most.

The truth is that these entities have something that we fans all crave. Access to the talent. So when this was realised and leveraged, and when the teams we loved started to engage with us, talk to us, ask our opinion and generally engage with us, we engaged right back.

The range of types of content has definitely expanded too and we’re seeing more acceptance of the fact that well-produced content can have a very positive effect on teams’ social platforms. We’re seeing a much more polished level coming from teams. Leinster Rugby, for example, are producing some very fine video content too, and in long form. Fans enjoy it, watch it and share it and it spreads the message far and wide.

The use of hashtags has also allowed teams and institutions to create rallying cries for supporters on social. Cricket Ireland fans will regularly be seen posting that they’re #backinggreen. That Cricket Ireland themselves use this hashtag and reach out to those who post that they’re supporting the teams during tournaments etc means that the fans feel appreciated and that they’re making a difference. Something that is very important to a sport that plays a lot of their games on foreign soil.

The landscape has definitely changed on social for Irish sports teams and entities. Instead of being served links to posts in the news section we’re getting content that is behind the scenes and interesting. It gives us insights into the lives the professionals live and the things they do to stay at the top of their game. We see them in the less formal moments, the down time and when they’re their own person.

And it makes us feel like we know them. It makes us want them to succeed more. Because now, we’re more invested in them, and if we’re invested in them as individuals, then we invest in them as a collective.

So if you’re working for a sports team and you want to grow your social engagement and following, there are a few things that you can do.

Find What Works

If you’re creating content and seeding it out without looking back at the performance of your posts, your just creating work for yourself. Taking stock of the kind of content that your fans engage with means that you can replicate that success by using the same format or layout as before. If something is popular you should always be prepared to try something similar again. You should aim to review your content on a monthly basis at a minimum.

It’s Not Just Pretty Pictures

Images are great. But so are videos, gifs and sounds and people like variety.

Learn New Skills

Video production isn’t cheap. Especially if you want broadcast quality, but that’s the beauty of social, it doesn’t have to be. Creating content for social can be done on a budget – but you need to have the skills to squeeze the most out of it. So get yourself on a course and learn how to use programmes like After Effects and Illustrator.

Be Prepared

You can’t run multiple social accounts without quite a bit of planning. There are obviously things that pop up that require your attention on a daily basis – but you can certainly plan quite a bit. Create a content calendar and input the topics that you’re going to post about. Then use a tool like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule posts in advance.

Beware The Intern

Social media management is not the intern’s job. Just because they’re young, it doesn’t mean they know who you are, what you stand for etc. They need direction like anyone else. Do it right, or just don’t do it.

Who Are Ya?

If you haven’t done it already, take some time to do it now. Figure out who you are, what you sound like and what kind of language you use. Create a lexicon if you need to for others to follow. The point being – posts shouldn’t reflect the personality of the poster. They should reflect the body you’re posting on behalf of.

Get the right gear

If you’re going to be going to events, meets or games don’t rely on your own phone. Get a phone that is solely for these events. Get a decent one, with a good camera and a decent data package. And a decent camera. It doesn’t need to be a top of the range Canon, but a decent DSLR that will allow you to shoot nice photos and even video can enhance the quality of your visual content quite a bit.

If you do those few things, then you’re on the right road. And if you need some help with it, then get in touch.

The post Content is King – especially in sports marketing appeared first on Atomic Sport - The Sports Marketing Agency.