Marketing your athletic program is more important now than ever. How you can get jump started quickly
Community support and vibrant booster programs are becoming a key part of avoiding athletic staff and activity cuts. While previously a luxury, cultivating that support by marketing your athletic program to your community is now a necessity.
There are two goals for successful athletics marketing: Develop personal relationships with community members, and create a buzz around your programs that will pay off in gate receipts and booster functions.
You could write a book on this. But time is scarce in athletics, so here are 3 things that you can do in 15 minutes per day to begin to accomplish these goals:
- Connect with parents through a regular athletics blog (60min/month)
On a monthly basis, write a 300-word blog (opinion) highlighting athletes or teams, or discussing current issues. Starting this dialog with parents is a key first step toward developing a relationship between them and your program.
Get started blogging here.
- Develop ‘buzz’ through a Facebook fan page
(5min/day)
Most students and parents are on Facebook, so it is an ideal way to reach them. Keep them involved on an ongoing basis by posting accomplishments, news, scores, trivia and more right to their news feed. This creates an ongoing, informal connection with your community, and anyone who visits will feel the buzz. Don’t forget to respond to “Likes” and comments.
Get started with Facebook here.
- Use Twitter for quick promotion
(5min/day)
Twitter is the social network for quick updates and connections. Many parents use Twitter to connect with their friends virtually. They want to be excited about your program, but they need the info. When you find articles about your student athletes online, or when you write in your blog, post a link to your Twitter page to help spread the word.
Get started with Twitter here.
