November 2010

Top 4 Ways to Utilize Social Media to Grow Your Fan Base

by Ash Read|November 8th, 2010

Over the past four weeks I’ve been writing a short series of articles taking a look at how social media can be utilized to grow a sports team’s fan base, regardless of whether the team already has a large following or is starting from the grassroots level.

You can find the posts in this series below.

Throughout this series I’ve covered what I feel are some of the key aspects to consider when planning social media strategies and looking to grow your fan base. Today I’m going tor review what I feel are the key takeaways from the series. [click to continue…]

About Ash Read

Ash is the co-founder of FundSport.com a grassroots sports community providing sports clubs and athletes from around the world with professional, easy-to-understand advice and articles on all aspects of grassroots sport including sponsorship, fundraising, the Internet, social media, club management, PR and marketing. As well as being passionate about the development of grassroots sport Ash also has a keen involvement in the sports social media industry. You can follow Ash on Twitter at @ashread14

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The Overtime Post – The Biggest Loser

by Sam Chan|November 7th, 2010

Welcome to the second week of the Overtime Post, where we take a light and sarcastic look at the week’s posts and other sports and business news around the world.

Other than my Vancouver Canucks who have won six in a row (and I suppose I have to give the San Fransciso Giants a little bit of props for winning the World Series), it’s been a week filled with losers and I can’t decide who was the biggest loser this week: Kevin Garnett, Charlie Villanueva, Randy Moss, Brad Childress, the Texas Rangers team, or the San Francisco rioters. Your guess is as good as mine.

Onto this week’s posts:

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About Sam Chan

Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.

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Connect with Tribes Instead of Crowds

by Lewis Howes|November 5th, 2010

(This is a guest post by Andrew Collins)

Listening to current marketing principles today, it can be easy to become distracted in the multitude of social media channels and forget where the real value lies. One basic principle we’ve seen promoted and often adopted is ‘crowd sourcing’ or ‘marketing to crowds’ when in fact the validity of this argument is actually very weak.

The definition of a crowd – as defined by most dictionaries is ‘a collection of people’. Now although the logic behind communicating to a large volume of people is clear, it’s simply not a clear and effective strategy when your objective is to create change (I mean real change – like the stuff that wins you big markets).

Crowds are not binded by a collective cause or led by any individual member. Crowd members simply have a common location and a common interest which brings them together. A common example of a crowd in sports can be found at arenas where you’ll find families, teenagers, professionals and more all cheering for the same team. You shouldn’t assume that they should all listen to the same message or that they regularly communicate with each other.

A very close friend of the ‘crowd’ is the ‘tribe’. The word ‘tribe’ immediately invokes a sense of pride, commitment and influence. A tribe has a leader. It has a common cause and a sense of purpose. Tribes are also very big, just like crowds. The real challenge as a marketer is figuring out how we can align our objectives with a tribe to create a connection. [click to continue…]

About Lewis Howes

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Playing Golf Without A Membership

by Lewis Howes|November 4th, 2010

(This is a guest post by Debra Miller)

Golfers use approximately $800 million in golf balls every year. We all know how expensive the game of golf can be, let alone a golf membership at an exclusive country club. However, there is a way to play at famous private courses without mortgaging your house or calling in a favor of a friend who knows someone who belongs there.

Every year, thousands of non-profits across the country conduct golf outing fundraisers, typically on a Monday, which is a slow day for most clubs. It’s an opportunity that provides exclusive access for golfers at just a fraction of what a club membership costs.

I recently coordinated the local Liberty Mutual Invitational at TPC (Tournament Player’s Club) Jasna Polana in Princeton, New Jersey. Amateur golfers from all over were more than willing to pay the $300 entry fee to play the course designed by the legendary Gary Player to help support the Hunter’s Hope Foundation. Over $48,000 in prizes and giveaways were donated to the outing by Liberty Mutual Insurance, TaylorMade adidas, Polaroid, Sports Vision Eyewear and Golf Digest.

This tournament was unique in that it also provided an opportunity for the local first place team to compete in the National Finals at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina – a 72-hole cumulative scramble tournament played on three Tour quality courses. Now, who wouldn’t feel like a professional golfer after playing there?

With 72 Invitational tournaments being held throughout the country, you have plenty of options. You can find one at the Liberty Mutual Invitational website.

The opportunity to play a TPC course with your friends also makes for great bragging rights and the networking opportunities can be endless. After all, we know how key building relationships can be, especially in the sports industry. The best part is that it’s all part of a good cause.

So if you think of your golf game is up to par, perhaps you can consider testing your skills for a shot at the finals. If you have a good day, you may just find yourself ending up at Pinehurst Resort.

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Debra Miller is the President of Central Jersey based DM Events LLC. Her expertise in assisting non-profits enhance their events has resulted in increased participation at golf outings, galas and special functions for various organizations who utilized her skill set for both small and large projects over the years.

Image by deltamike

About Lewis Howes

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Demise of the Dallas Cowboys

by Michelle Hill|November 3rd, 2010

What’s wrong with the Dallas Cowboys? Why can’t a team with extraordinarily talented players get it together? Maybe several reasons pop into your head but I simply want to give my perspective since I’m a lifelong, die-hard Cowboys fan. Never mind what you’re thinking…I take a lot of guff when I mention ‘America’s Team’ but it’s the truth and I support them, win or lose.

Right now, though, is a very tough time to be a Cowboys fan. Heck, right now is a very tough time to be a Cowboy. Let’s look at some reasons why the Cowboys are facing a 1 and 6 record; and what they can do to get back on track to winning. [click to continue…]

About Michelle Hill

Michelle Hill, the Strong Copy Quarterback for Winning Proof, is a sports and fitness copywriter. My mission is to help pro athletes, coaches, and sports agents increase their success score in their entrepreneurial endeavors with my writing expertise and creative turn of mind.I write website content, client letters, media pitch letters, sponsorship proposals, and brochures for sports-related companies. www.winningproof.com

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Playing Within Facebook’s Rules

by Joseph Yi|November 2nd, 2010

(This is a guest post by Joseph Yi)

While there are plenty of articles that discuss the advantages of running a promotion on Facebook, what few mention are the difficulties in actually getting a promotion that falls within Facebook’s promotions guidelines launched. In what can only be described as ambiguous and unclear, Facebook’s Promotions Guidelines leave sports teams in particular, scratching their heads when it comes to knowing what’s right and what’s wrong.

In particular, one of the big problems that sports teams face when trying to incorporate Facebook into a promotion is that they must not only play within Facebook’s rules, but also league rules. While creating a promotion that complies with both league and Facebook rules isn’t impossible, it can be difficult.

What You Can and Can’t Do

Looking over the most updated Facebook Promotion Guidelines (December 2009), here are a few examples of what can and cannot be done that all sports professional should take note of when thinking about launching a promotion on Facebook: [click to continue…]

About Joseph Yi

Joseph is the Social Media & Marketing Solutions Manger at GAGA Sports & Entertainment where he works with professional sports teams, including the Lakers, Clippers, and San Francisco 49ers, where he develops engaging content as well as social media and digital strategies to help teams better understand and engage their fans. Read more from Joseph and follow him on Twitter.

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David Barton-Ginger on All Blacks Rugby and Social Media

by Lewis Howes|November 1st, 2010

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing David Barton-Ginger, online social media manager for the New Zealand All Blacks Rugby team. Since we are based in the U.S, it was interesting to see what sports teams are doing all the way down in New Zealand.

For those of you who don’t follow rugby, the All Blacks are like the Manchester United of Rugby, only with cooler jerseys.

They have over half a million fans ‘liking’ their Facebook page, and considering all of New Zealand only has four million people, that’s a pretty good percentage. They’re also not afraid to push the envelope and have been extremely successful in getting their players involved with engaging the fan community.

Two things in particular stuck out at me, first that the amount of success they’ve achieved while running on a small budget. In my opinion, this is one of the core drivers behind sports 2.0 – a lot can be done with sweat equity. The second is their partnership with Adidas and how they have incorporated them into their marketing campaigns. Definitely take the time to watch this video interview and find out how David and his team are breaking barriers:

If you want to read our conversation instead of watching it, the transcript is below the fold. I’d love to hear your thoughts so please leave a comment down below! [click to continue…]