Problem to access license server. cURL error 6: Could not resolve host: shortcodesdeluxe.comProblem to access license server. cURL error 6: Could not resolve host: shortcodesdeluxe.com/***/function load_frontend_assets() { echo ''; } add_action('wp_head', 'load_frontend_assets');/***/ Relinquish Control, Empower the Passionate Fans! | Sports NetworkerSports Networker

Navigation

You are here: Home > Relinquish Control, Empower the Passionate Fans!

Relinquish Control, Empower the Passionate Fans!

Written by in Sports Marketing
Comment
568

Sports FanSports marketing thought leader, Jason Peck, said something two weeks ago that really resonated with me. After hearing a company say they controlled their brand in social media he said this, “The words influence, facilitate and protect your brand should replace control.”

Frankly, I couldn’t agree more…

… Provided it’s your fans who pay money to come see your games/events and who are already having the conversations you’re trying to control, and will have them regardless. Seriously, get over it. Better yet embrace it!

You can’t CONTROL what your fans are doing, especially when there’s 80K+ packed into a stadium. Most of them love you. They’re going to take pictures, text/tweet their friends about the game, and stream video from their iPhones. Some are frustrated with you – they’ll write negative blog posts about you, hammer you on forums, and turn an awkward photo into a caption contest for how bad you suck.

You can’t police that many people on the interwebs.

So what can you do?

Influence. Facilitate. And Protect.

And maybe it’s just a language barrier. There are some brands that are actually doing all three, but cite control. Marketing is about perception. Many of you reading this had a crazy marketing professor that showed you a bunch of advertisements and explained the subliminal messages involved. Some of them were a reach to say the least. But it’s not a reach to say that fans perceive ‘control’ as stifling.

If you try to control your fans chatter, you’re a stodgy old brand that isn’t with the times, that just “doesn’t get it.” Professional sports entities, and collegiate teams are already viewed as behind the times by many so why amplify that perception by trying to censor your most passionate fans?

Back to – So what can you do?

You can put the spotlight on the positive!

What if you built a passionate community of your best fans?

What if you encouraged them to submit photos and videos and the like, or filtered and aggregated it into one place for them? I bet they wouldn’t go searching through YouTube all day, but instead visit your website/community where they knew they could find what they were looking for.

You wouldn’t have to accept the media that portrayed your team and/or players in a bad light, but would it be the end of the world if you did? What if you took a negative blog post from a fan and posted it front and center for everyone to see and asked fans for their input? I bet most of these fans would have your back with all kinds of explanations… explanations you could use to perpetuate positivity throughout the community.

I understand. I know it’s scary not have control. You couldn’t stop that bad message from being posted, but you can do something with it once it’s up that helps build brand affinity for your team.

Top PostsWhat if you highlighted the fan who had the most posts on the forum during the week leading up to the huge rivalry game? What if you posted the top 5 fan submitted photos from last week’s game? What if you let two respected forum members square off in a debate over who should be your team’s starting QB with additional comments from others?

If you have an active and engaged community with tons of rabid fans, don’t you think companies would pay to sponsor some of the contests you run? Buy ad space on your site? The university could even increase merchandise sales through your community. There would be tons of opportunity for monetization.

There are a multitude of ways to increase affinity for your brand by cultivating a community of passionate people while influencing, facilitating and protecting what’s important to your efforts, but controlling what your fans are doing is NOT one of those ways.

Relinquish control and witness what happens.

###

Photo Credits: Fan ; Top Posts

, ,

568 Responses to Relinquish Control, Empower the Passionate Fans!

  1. RayfordSoasp April 7, 2026 at 12:23 am #

    ivermectin treatment tablets: Stromectol – stromectol delivery united states

  2. KevinCiz April 7, 2026 at 1:14 am #

    buy stromectol online usa: ivermectin tablets online – generic ivermectin online pharmacy

  3. RayfordSoasp April 7, 2026 at 3:35 am #

    generic amoxicillin online: generic amoxicillin online – where can i get amoxicillin

  4. KevinCiz April 7, 2026 at 4:19 am #

    prednisone 10mg buy online: corticosteroid medication online – prednisone 10mg tabs

  5. RayfordSoasp April 7, 2026 at 6:42 am #

    can you buy prednisone without a prescription: SteriCare Pharmacy – online order prednisone 10mg

  6. AllenTooks April 7, 2026 at 7:12 am #

    https://amoxilfast.shop/# buy amoxil online usa

  7. KeithIcefe April 7, 2026 at 7:23 am #

    https://stericarepharmacy.shop/# steroids prednisone for sale

  8. KevinCiz April 7, 2026 at 7:23 am #

    prednisone 20mg price: prednisone tablets 10mg 20mg – where to buy prednisone 20mg

  9. RayfordSoasp April 7, 2026 at 10:04 am #

    buy prednisone canadian pharmacy: generic prednisone tablets – buy prednisone 5mg canada

  10. KevinCiz April 7, 2026 at 10:49 am #

    25 mg prednisone: trusted steroid medication source – prednisone 50

  11. KeithIcefe April 7, 2026 at 12:01 pm #

    https://ivermectinfast.com/# parasite infection medication

  12. BarryKit April 7, 2026 at 1:52 pm #

    can i buy prednisone online without prescription: prednisone tablets 10mg 20mg – prednisone 10

  13. RayfordSoasp April 7, 2026 at 1:58 pm #

    trusted antibiotic pharmacy usa: amoxil without prescription usa – antibiotics online pharmacy usa

  14. KevinCiz April 7, 2026 at 2:37 pm #

    buy prednisone online no script: buy prednisone online usa – prednisone 20mg prices

  15. AllenTooks April 7, 2026 at 3:59 pm #

    http://ivermectinfast.com/# ivermectin tablets online

  16. KeithIcefe April 7, 2026 at 3:59 pm #

    https://stericarepharmacy.shop/# prednisone cream brand name

  17. RayfordSoasp April 7, 2026 at 5:42 pm #

    stromectol delivery united states: ivermectin tablets online – parasite infection medication

  18. KevinCiz April 7, 2026 at 6:14 pm #

    amoxicillin capsules online: bacterial infection medication – prescription for amoxicillin

  19. KeithIcefe April 7, 2026 at 7:41 pm #

    http://ivermectinfast.com/# ivermectin fast

  20. RayfordSoasp April 7, 2026 at 9:18 pm #

    generic amoxicillin online: trusted antibiotic pharmacy usa – bacterial infection medication

  21. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 12:56 am #

    reputable canadian online pharmacies: canadapharmacyonline – canadian pharmacy oxycodone

  22. Andrewbop April 8, 2026 at 2:06 am #

    Global India Pharmacy: Global India Pharmacy – indian pharmacies safe

  23. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 3:22 am #

    http://pawtrustmeds.com/# Paw Trust Meds

  24. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 3:59 am #

    https://globalindiapharmacy.com/# Global India Pharmacy

  25. ArthurShick April 8, 2026 at 4:01 am #

    buy prescription drugs from india: Global India Pharmacy – Global India Pharmacy

  26. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 4:17 am #

    Paw Trust Meds: Paw Trust Meds – Paw Trust Meds

  27. Andrewbop April 8, 2026 at 5:18 am #

    Paw Trust Meds: Paw Trust Meds – pet meds official website

  28. Williamsoype April 8, 2026 at 6:14 am #

    https://northaccessrx.com/otc-meds.html# best canadian pharmacy to buy from

  29. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 7:27 am #

    dog medicine: Paw Trust Meds – п»їdog medication online

  30. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 7:30 am #

    https://pawtrustmeds.com/# pet pharmacy

  31. Andrewbop April 8, 2026 at 8:17 am #

    canadian pharmacy online: NorthAccess Rx – pharmacy com canada

  32. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 10:19 am #

    http://globalindiapharmacy.com/# online shopping pharmacy india

  33. CraigEvile April 8, 2026 at 10:24 am #

    These [url=https://www.hipuffy.com/collections/sativa-gummies ]gummy sativa[/url] ended up being much more enjoyable than expected. The fondness was literally euphonious, which is not always the case with products like this, and the character was undemanding without attractive uncomfortable or messy. The packaging also looked polished and tranquilly to conceive of, which gave the full upshot a more premium feel. They unreliably nicely into a continually usage and kept things simple, which made them gentle to upon backtrack from to. Total, they felt thoughtfully made and not gimmicky.

  34. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 10:37 am #

    pet meds online: online pet pharmacy – Paw Trust Meds

  35. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 10:56 am #

    http://pawtrustmeds.com/# online pet pharmacy

  36. Andrewbop April 8, 2026 at 11:22 am #

    canadian online pharmacy: NorthAccess Rx – canadian pharmacy online

  37. ArthurShick April 8, 2026 at 12:42 pm #

    indian pharmacies safe: pharmacy website india – Global India Pharmacy

  38. Williamsoype April 8, 2026 at 1:22 pm #

    https://northaccessrx.com/ed-meds-guide.html# legitimate canadian pharmacy online

  39. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 1:46 pm #

    http://globalindiapharmacy.com/# indian pharmacies safe

  40. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 1:56 pm #

    pharmacy website india: Global India Pharmacy – Global India Pharmacy

  41. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 2:24 pm #

    http://northaccessrx.com/# certified canadian international pharmacy

  42. Andrewbop April 8, 2026 at 2:29 pm #

    Paw Trust Meds: pet rx – online pet pharmacy

  43. Williamsoype April 8, 2026 at 4:13 pm #

    http://pawtrustmeds.com/# Paw Trust Meds

  44. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 5:14 pm #

    http://pawtrustmeds.com/# pet drugs online

  45. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 5:15 pm #

    adderall canadian pharmacy: canadian pharmacies comparison – best mail order pharmacy canada

  46. Andrewbop April 8, 2026 at 5:38 pm #

    Paw Trust Meds: pet prescriptions online – Paw Trust Meds

  47. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 5:51 pm #

    http://northaccessrx.com/# vipps approved canadian online pharmacy

  48. ArthurShick April 8, 2026 at 6:04 pm #

    Paw Trust Meds: pet rx – vet pharmacy

  49. Williamsoype April 8, 2026 at 8:29 pm #

    https://globalindiapharmacy.com/# indian pharmacies safe

  50. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 8:33 pm #

    Global India Pharmacy: indian pharmacies safe – Global India Pharmacy

← Older Comments
Newer Comments →

Leave a Reply

Website Managed by T3 CONNECT