In an often divided world, sports have the unique ability to act as the connective tissue that unites diverse communities. Due to the rising age of social media, collegiate sports organizations connect their athletic program, student-athletes, and target audiences—encouraging positive relationships and enhanced brand loyalty. With this in mind, here are three methods to link target audiences and increase sports fan engagement via social media platforms.
Identifying An Organizational Voice
As a sports team, it’s critical to develop a strong sense of brand identity that outlines the organization’s values and key messages. Fans and supporters often find their sense of community and belonging amongst teams that embody their own values. By demonstrating the team’s values, fans will feel more engaged in the content and connected as an integral part of the team’s identity. To support audiences, sports organizations have the power and platform to speak on matters that impact their audiences. A sports team that represents a greater purpose, such as basic human rights, demonstrates its commitment to providing support to the backbone of its success: fans.
Highlighting the Person Behind the Player
In the sports industry, it’s most common for fans to support a particular team for two reasons: the team’s performance ranking and its athletes. From a fan perspective, it’s extremely valuable to feel connected to your favorite athletes rather than the league itself. Social media has the unique ability to reach audiences that exceed geographic limitations to unite sports fans from around the nation. With this in mind, sports organizations need to provide direct athlete interaction opportunities to engage fans in social media content. To create stronger fan engagement, athletic programs should share personal athlete interviews, challenges that connect fans to athletes, and behind-the-scenes content to bring fans into the culture of the team. By featuring athletes at the forefront of social media platforms, fans and supporters establish a sense of community and belonging.
Implementing Interactive Content
To directly engage audiences, athletic programs can provide opportunities for fans to voice their opinions on the future of the program. When sports fans feel organizations care about their voice, they are more loyal and share mutual respect as a consumer. Although it may not be the ultimate deciding factor, it’s important for fans to feel that their voices are heard in determining major organizational decisions. On social media platforms, sports teams can implement interactive content such as questionnaires on what charitable organizations the team should donate to or polls to determine game day performances (half-time shows, national anthem, etc.). Allowing sports fans to input their opinion, will positively affect their participation and loyalty to the program itself.
With the constant evolution of social media, it’s important for athletic departments and sports teams to capitalize on digital platforms to engage target audiences. Athletic programs unite sports fans and athletes under their common love for sports. As the backbone of the program’s success, sports fans deserve to feel valued and represented by organizations with whom they find a sense of community. By implementing interactive methods, athletic departments and sports teams empower their audiences to find their voice in the organization while directly engaging with athletes, further strengthening the bond that unites communities under sport.