It’s fair to say minor league teams will never get the marketing budgets that the big teams are fortunate to have. Often, small cities get baseball’s farm teams or the NBA’s D-league teams. However, the fans of these minor league teams will never come as automatic as even the smallest market teams like the Portland Trailblazers of the Tampa Bay Rays. In this case, it takes a little creativity and awareness from marketers to get the fans to the local team’s own big game.
Awareness Campaign
There have been several occasions where I have been caught off guard at the fact that there are local minor sports teams in the many cities I have lived in across the US. Something like an awareness campaign via Facebook ads or getting a friend of mine to engage in branded content that I would have inevitably seen from my end, could be the defining point between me attending or not.
Awareness campaigns are great for the fact that they can get people to recognize your branding. Things like hats, uniforms, logos and even arena/stadium design are part of the branding experience. Showcase the things that investments have been dumped into. Use the tools that many digital platforms have created to help you own your marketing.
Jack Be Nimble
The Miami Heat took advantage of the Harlem Shake, and although it was very late in terms of timeliness, it still took off. Much of that can be attributed to Lebron’s highly engaged followers. But in reality, marketers must take note of the flexibility of the players and staff. They recognized the trend and subsequently, more teams followed. Don’t be the follower, be the leader.
Another notable team, the Harvard Crimson who blew up the internet with their take on Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.” This wasn’t even branded content, this was a bunch of young guys doing exactly what many young guys use the web for, making videos and having fun. Harvard had the insight that it was a best practice move to post it to their own YouTube channel, which shows flexibility that even though your name wasn’t attached, it’s best to understand the value of UGC (user-generated content).
Have Fun
Have fun with your brand. I imagine sporting events to be some of the funnest things to market to people. There’s already an established level of interest from the consumers. Even better, there’s allegiance by proximity that you are able to use to pique their interests.
With small teams you have to get creative. Look at what the bigger teams are doing and take notes. If the Miami Heat are acknowledging internet memes, there must be something there. But don’t make the process unbearable. This creates resentment.
By having fun, you will allow yourself to create content that the consumer feels a desire to engage with. Look at the HR films in your work, most tune those out, and they will never tweet about them. Unless it’s in traditional #firstworldproblems context. Make the content people would want to share with their friends.
Customer Service
Does your director of ticket sales use Twitter? Your potential season ticket buyers do. Affluent consumers are everywhere, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and more, consider this when considering how your social media is going to work.
It’s never about the business, it’s about the customers. They moved to social media, brands followed suit, because this is the shift of the times. Consider that, meet them on their level and take time to get to know them.
If a consumer tweets how the bathrooms are nasty, could you take care of it right away and post to Instagram: “We apologize for the inconvenience, we took care of it!”? That’s nimble, responsive customer service at its finest.
Consider platforms like Foursquare, where you can encourage people to check in, thus letting their own social networks know that they go to your sporting events. By using a small 5, 10 or 15 per cent discount you can watch the checkins at your establishment increase month over month. Note the fact that this also helps with your awareness campaign, because users typically push through to their Twitter or Facebook feeds.
Behind the Scenes
Oregon famously created their social media command center. What they did wasn’t cutting edge, but what they did was move fast enough so that they beat out other schools, giving them the PR edge.
When games are played, they are watching every public conversation. The Ducks are running an amazingly flexible behind the scenes operation that allows them to track and manage every conversation.
With hundreds of third party applications you can do the same for your own small team. ViralHeat has a nice option to help you follow the conversations while Twitter has an awesome search feature to help you follow along in real time.
Effectiveness
Don’t be D-league in digital, step up to the big leagues. There is much you can do with a little budget, it’s about getting creative and doing what others are failing to do. Being effective takes time, testing, measuring and ultimately, paying attention to your fan base. Try new things, establish targets and how you want to present your stories to the unique buyers. Families buy differently from retirees and singles.
Digital and interactive media have equalized the playing field for marketers in the position that small teams put them. Use this to a build community in support of your team and brand, and always remember the fans!
Businesses of all sizes can benefit from the consistency and ease of using a social media tool. Viralheat is available at a number of price points to fit any business’s budget.
Danny Schotthoefer is a social strategist on the Old Spice team at Wieden+Kennedy. He was also a TEDx event organizer and is an avid Oregon Ducks and Portland Trailblazers fan. You can also find him running via Nike+ and cycling via Strava – he is highly social. Follow him on Twitter or connect via LinkedIn. Forewarning: He Talks A LOT!
