TIPS & ADVICE FOR LEAGUE ADMINISTRATORS. Marketing Handbook

Transcription

1 TIPS & ADVICE FOR LEAGUE ADMINISTRATORS Marketing Handbook

2 ACTIVE Network works with thousands of local sports programs to improve efficiencies and increase participation in these sports. Throughout our experience working with local leagues like yours, we have learned a lot about the marketing approaches that have proved to be successful. In this handbook, we ll go through six main areas of marketing and how you can use them to promote your league. Whether you are trying to get more players involved in your league, looking to create stronger or social media communications, or just want to build some consistency in your marketing efforts, this guide will serve as useful resource. Table of Contents: 1. Messaging Tips 2. Website Utilization 3. Online Marketing Tactics 4. Social Media Best Practices 5. Marketing How-To s 6. The Top 6 of Offline Marketing

3 1. Messaging Tips Do you ever feel like you re repeating yourself over and over, and you re still not getting your message across? Successfully marketing your league will take more effort than it should unless you say the right things in the right way. Aside from keeping a bullhorn at your side at all times, there are a few tricks you can use to make sure you re being heard and understood by parents and players. Below are some tips on the what, how, where and more: What to Say Getting attention, building trust and creating motivation to take action can be the most challenging parts of crafting your messaging. Here are some tips on what you can include in your marketing to resonate with your target audience effectively. + + Partner Affiliations. Include the logos or a mention of your affiliation with your local youth organization business sponsors, community alliances, etc. This will help build credibility for your league among people viewing your marketing. + + Testimonials. Ask your parents how their lives have changed since their child started playing in your league. Or ask them what they like about your program. You can get creative, but remember that letting your players and parents speak for you adds credibility! Include these testimonials on your website and other marketing pieces. If you want to get more advanced, you can even record videos. + + Incentives. With the popularity of things like Groupon, Black Friday, and online coupon codes, it s clear that people not only appreciate good deals, they expect them. Create online registration deals for your league around something that s important to you (e.g. getting early registrations, offering sibling discounts, etc.) and convey a sense of urgency by setting deadlines for the deals. And don t forget to include requests for volunteers and financial support! How to Say It Now that you know what to say, it s important to say it in a way that catches your audience s attention. + + Draw attention to your promotions. When promoting something as important as signing up for your league, be very obvious with statements like Sign up now or Last chance or Heads up! + + Use standard conversational language. When putting together your marketing pieces, it can be easy to overthink things. Don t do that! Your target audience will respond best to real words and phrases versus formal or sales-y terms. Keep all of your messaging simple, direct and personable. + + Avoid fluff. Stay away from buzz words (or too many words in general), for example, revolutionary or best-in-class. Use bullet points instead of lengthy paragraphs and stick to one single call to action (e.g. Register Now, Sign Up Here, etc). Also, keep the visuals clean. Don t use blurry pictures or lots of different font sizes and colors.

4 Where to Say It You can market your league both online and offline, and there are advantages to both. + + Online marketing is successful because the majority of your community is online, searching for things that interest them on their phones, tablets, laptops, computers, and every device imaginable. You want your league marketing to be online as well so people can easily find information about it and you can engage in conversations with them. Plus, online tools are continually being improved, can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection, and often are free or very affordable compared to offline tools. (See #3 below for more online marketing details.) + + Offline marketing is more tangible and sometimes can make a stronger impression because it is physically present. For example, your registration flyer will be hanging on the fridge or sitting on the coffee table, reminding parents every time they walk by the dates. It can be more expensive to print flyers or send postcards, but it can pay off. (See #6 below for more offline marketing details.) Your marketing efforts should include a combination of online and offline methods so you can reach parents in different places in a variety of ways. Always keep your branding and messaging consistent to make the strongest impression! When to Say It Timing is everything, isn t it? Here are a few tips on what objectives you should be focused on throughout the year: + + Pre-Season. During this time, it s important to promote registration and drum up excitement for the league. Tell all past players and volunteers about the upcoming season s dates and sign ups as early as possible and get them pumped up to play. Don t be shy about promoting your league and its registration! + + In-Season. When you are knee-deep in games, it s the best time to build loyalty and keep parents and fans engaged. Communicate with your community often and through multiple channels send score and standing updates, inform on league news, recognize volunteers, players and sponsors, etc. + + Off-Season. Now is the time to maintain your league families and learn how you can improve for next season. Send surveys and polls to collect feedback from your parents and players, using their responses to learn what processes or offers can be better. Keep in touch consistently to ensure your league will stay on the minds of your busy families. When generating marketing during any of these time periods, ask yourself first, what are you trying to achieve with this message? Whether it s to get someone to sign up for your league, getting a league related update out to coaches, or learning which players plan on participating in the fall, create your message around achieving this objective. Don t muddy the waters of your goal by trying to include too much in one message.

5 Remember to Repurpose! Whatever you say and how you say it can be reused. Save copies of your s, flyers, and other marketing pieces for future seasons. This will allow future league administrators to avoid reinventing the wheel each year and will help build your brand with consistent messaging year after year. You can also reuse your copy from one marketing channel to the next. Once you have created an , use the subject line or opening line as a social media post. If those pieces resulted in your desired outcome, go ahead and apply some of that copy to a flyer or postcard. 2. Website Utilization When done well, your website will act as a strong foundation for your league and can create an effective online presence that organically markets your league for you. So, before you start promoting your league and registration, make sure your website looks clean and is up to date and organized for the best user experience. If your website is unclear or confusing, your online visitors will leave before they can learn about your league or register! Resource: eteamz.com Here are the top things to include on your website: + + Your Branding & Logos. Be sure you include your league s logo to establish validity. Also, consistently use your league s colors across the site to create a strong brand presence. + + Registration Details. Whether you use online registration or not, your website is the best place to explain the steps players and parents need to take to get signed up. During your registration period, put registration information at the very top of your homepage it s likely to be the top reason people are visiting your site and you want to make it as easy as possible on them. If you do offer online registration, make that link prominent on your homepage, perhaps even creating a button for it. Over 20% of youth activity registration happens online so don t be shy about promoting it! Also, don t forget to include links to donate or volunteer. Resource: ACTIVEsports.com + + Calendar & Important Dates. List important dates and/or create an online calendar that plots out all of your not-to-be missed registration deadlines, tournaments and more. + + Incentives. If you ve got a great deal going on, make sure your site visitors know about it. For example, if parents can save $5 by registering before January 1st, put that on your website in a prominent place.

6 + + League Boundary Map. As of now, your boundary map is probably on a piece of paper that can be hard to get in the hands of new families. A better method is to create an online league map based on your league s boundaries you set. Maps must be accepted based on your organization Use our site finder to locate a team or league in your area. Resource: eteamz.com/search + + Pictures & Videos. Everyone likes pretty pictures, so be sure to load up your site with images of player and game from last season. You can also create short videos of either game recaps or welcome messages from board members, etc. Remember that visuals are a form of content and they can be more affective to a particular group of people. 3. Online Marketing Tactics We previously mentioned online marketing in the Where to Say It section. To give you a little more detail, here are two specific online marketing tactics that you can use to promote your league: Local Online Media & Calendar Listings Check your local online media outlets for additional opportunities to get the word out. For example, calendar listings, like those on ACTIVE.com, are typically free. The great thing about these online news outlets is that they are highly optimized for your city. So, while your own website may not show up in Google when someone searches [Your Town Name] Baseball Registration 2013, searchers will still be able to find you because of the listing you created. This is valuable especially for newer leagues or those who have only recently started offering online registration. If you re not familiar with your local online media outlets, simply Google News + [your city] and look for relevant results. Or just do a Google search for your local news stations to find their websites. Online Ads Start by exploring opportunities to get complimentary ad space. Ask your sponsors and local facilities if they can host an ad, article, blog post or video on their website or social media pages on your behalf. You can also use visual ads in your own s and social media channels to draw attention from the standard text. If you do want to invest in paid online (or offline) advertising, you will want to ask yourself and the advertising avenues you are exploring the following questions: + + Is the audience who is viewing or receiving this targeted to my league s boundary? You don t want to pay to get visibility in areas your league can t serve. + + Does this publication attract parents or kids that would be interested in joining your league? For example, is it a resource for family based activities or sports? + + Has advertising in this publication worked for organizations like mine? Ask for references, testimonials and case studies.

7 + + Does the publication provide design services for your ad? If you don t have design resources on your board, you will want plan for this fee if it is not included. + + Is there a way to track performance? When investing in advertising, your visibility and whether it is working for you or not is essential for your future success. Designing Ads Don t have budget to design ads? Here are some helpful and free design resources: Little League Chartering & Marketing Toolkit Photos: With the Little League Chartering & Marketing Toolkit, you have access to free stock photos for your use in marketing materials. Note: remember to abide by the photo use regulations listed in this section. + + Jing Screen Capture: Use the Jing tool to capture screen shots, write text over them and save them as a picture for use in your marketing materials. You can also use this tool to record onscreen video from your computer. + + Timetoast Timeline Creation: This site allows you to create compelling, interactive timelines and share them around the web. For example, you could create a timeline of your league when it was founded, how many kids play each year, any notable championships, etc. + + Wordle Tagclouds: This tool allows you to generate word clouds from text that you provide. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes and print them, put them on a poster, add them to your website, etc. Best Practices for Creating an Ad + + Craft a clear call to action (e.g. Register now to save $5, Click here for more info, etc) + + Keep text to a minimum + + Explain next steps + + Use incentives & promotions + + Where possible, include references from parents & players + + Mention your league affiliation + + Be bold to get stand out and get attention + + Test different messages/tactics!

8 4. Social Media Best Practices Social media is a fast and easy way to market your league and it s free. While there are many social media channels out there, the following are recommendations on how you can utilize Facebook and Twitter specifically. Tips on Crafting a Post For some people, posting on Facebook and Twitter is a blast for many, it creates anxiety and frustration. Following these best practices for posting can help improve the effectiveness of your posts regardless of which end of the spectrum you are on. + + Be brief, use casual language, and be topical. Your followers are likely visiting their social profiles for a mental break and a smile. Using casual, friendly language as opposed to formal posts will be more liked or retweeted and shorter posts are less likely to be skimmed over. + + Be clear with your call to action. Tell your followers exactly what you want them to do for example, ask them to like, share, or retweet a post and you ll be surprised how many people respond accordingly. These are the most important actions as they will result in your post appearing in your fans Newsfeeds, giving more exposure to your league. + + Link directly to online registration. Simply directing them to your homepage can lead to Ok, where do I go now? questions. If you don t offer online registration, link directly to a page on your website that is dedicated to registration dates and details. + + Return the engagement. Always reply to comments submitted via your social media channels and tag your commenter in your reply. When you do this, the commenter gets a notification and you give them the chance to respond/retweet you, increasing your visibility even more. + + Know your audience. Check your analytics frequently to see which posts are getting liked, shared or retweeted the most, as well as to see who is consistently engaging with you online. Apply your learnings to your future social media efforts. Download free sample posts that you can repurpose and make your own! Get Creative with Your Content Facebook s algorithm rewards users that create the coolest content with more attention in users newsfeeds. What does cool mean? Posts that are popular and get liked or shared a lot. Here s a few ways you can make your posts cool : + + Ask questions of your fans. Employing the words where, when, would and should increase engagement. Posts that include would consistently yield the greatest interaction because they allow fans to agree through a simple like rather than writing a comment. For example, you post something like, Would you like to have Gatorade at all home games?

9 + + Host polls and mini-contests. People love to vote or offer up their opinion, so use that to get engagement. Ask fans to pick their favorite uniform or, ask them to tell you why their coach is the best for a chance to win free pizza for their team. + + Use pictures and video. Eye-catching pictures and video produce high engagement in social media. Luckily, you ve got lots of those because you ve got the unbeatable combination of kids and sports, so it s easy to depict the value of participating in your league via pictures. If you want to get more pictures, try holding a photo contest in which you ask coaches to post a photo of the week on your page to win a pizza party for their team. If they tag their parents and players in the pictures, your league will get even more exposure. Note: If you have any videos, post them to YouTube and Vimeo as well as Facebook/Twitter and be sure to link to them in your s and newsletters and remember to obtain proper approvals for photo and video usage. Create a Social Media Calendar It s important to plan ahead for your social media so that your profiles do not become stagnant when you get too busy. While there will certainly be in-the-moment posts you will want to add to your schedule on the fly, there are always static events and activities (such as registration day) that you can plan ahead for. Whether you plan this out using an online tool or simply any Excel sheet, be sure to note the date, text and link used for all of your posts so you can easily copy and paste as well as refer back. Because the most activity tends to happen on the weekend with sports, it is commonly thought that in this industry, posting on the weekend will result in more engagement from fans. However, the most optimal times to post can vary significantly from organization to organization. So, the best thing to do is to test and measure results. See what times and days of the week create the most engagement from your followers and adjust your future efforts accordingly. Quick tip: Try using a scheduling tool, like Hootsuite that allows you to upload your posts, dates and times and will automatically post for you. This could force you to sit down and plan your social media content in advance and save steps for you down the line. Display Social Media Links/Feeds Include links to your social media profiles on your homepage and other popular subpages to drive new fans and engagement to your social channels. For eteamz PLUS users, simply utilize the built-in Facebook Administration feature to add the Like button as well as your Facebook newsfeed. Additionally with this feature, you have the option to update your Facebook page at the same time you are updating your site right from the backend of eteamz, essentially saving you the need to visit your Facebook page unless you are engaging fans.

10 5. Marketing How-To s While not a new technique, is still very effective and can be an opportunity to tie all of your marketing together. Best Practices + + content should be 125 words or less + + Subject lines should be 50 characters or less (with spaces) + + Carefully consider your subject lines. We recommend using questions, incorporating the first name of the recipient, and making it very clear what the is about. + + Customize your message to each recipient. For example, open up the with Hi [first name]. + + Segment your lists into relevant groups (e.g. segment by team, past vs. new players, etc) and craft messaging for each group. Pre-Season Marketing Below is a suggested calendar of when to send registration s: Timeline Subject Matter 1 Month Prior to Reg Open Save the Date Registration will open on XX online and XX in-person 1 Week Prior to Reg Day Reg Day Details Include relevant reg day details/ offers (ex: refer a friend, get $X off) Online Reg Open Day Reg is Officially Open - Click here to register in minutes (ex: early bird special) 1 Day Prior to Reg Day See You Tomorrow Reminder of details, and the option to register online During Online Reg (every 2 wks) 1 Week Prior to Online Reg Close Don t Forget to Register Sign up your player in 15 minutes or less Last Chance to Register Don t miss out on another season, click here to register When writing your pre-season s, consider using an online registration incentive. Offering an online registration discount encourages early sign ups for your current season and sets a good standard for successive seasons. Also, we recommend updating your website and posting to social media with similar messaging on the same day you send an . And don t forget to segment your lists and tailor your messaging for each group for the best results! Download free sample templates that you can repurpose and make your own.

11 In-Season Marketing As we mentioned in When to Say It in the Messaging Tips section, in-season is the best time to build loyalty and keep parents and fans engaged. Here are five ways you can do just that: + + Ask for feedback from parents. As you know better than anyone, parents care a lot about how the league is run. Tune in to what they have to say to get some insight on how you can improve their experience. For example, send a survey to see how registration went. Was it easy to sign up online? Do they have any suggestions for next season? + + Consider a bi-weekly or monthly newsletter. Keep parents and fans updated and engaged in what s going on in your league. Invest them in your league happenings to build loyalty. + + Promote your social media page links. Don t forget to promote your Facebook page or Twitter handle to readers. For example, in a newsletter article, you can ask readers to like your Facebook page to see your recently added player pictures or to take a survey. + + Recognize volunteers, players & sponsors. Give shout outs to the people who keep your league running strong. Feature a volunteer of the month, MVP, or new sponsor. + + Include added value. If national sponsors or your local sponsors have any special deals or discounts being offered, pass them along to your community. Here are some helpful tools: + + Mailchimp Software: If you have less than 2,000 contacts, you can utilize this easy-to-use system to create, send and track professional s at no cost. + + Survey Monkey: You can use the free version of Survey Monkey to send short surveys (10 questions or less) to your desired groups and receive compiled responses. + + eteamz: PLUS users can take advantage of the Surveys & Polls tool (located under Website Pages in your Admin Resource Center) to catch a pulse from their users on important topics. Additionally, the Center tool can be used to quickly generate and send s out to your segmented lists.

12 6. The Top 6 of Offline Marketing As noted in Where to Say It, offline marketing can be effective because it can act as a physical reminder to parents and players of registration dates, upcoming deadlines, important league information, and more. Here are the five offline marketing tactics for your league: Signs & Displays Place posters or banners promoting your league around playing fields and within sports facilities.* You can also set up tabletop signs in schools, coffee shops, grocery stores or other relevant locations to help spread the word. *Obtain permission from local government or businesses to post these signs. Flyers & Postcards Pass out and post flyers at local schools, libraries, grocery stores, pharmacies, family physician offices, community centers, and coffee shops. Again, always ask permission first! You can also use repurpose any flyers or postcards you create in your online marketing efforts. Don t forget about snail mail send reminder postcards to past players with news of the upcoming season and registration open/close dates. Radio & Television Outreach Contact local radio and TV stations to ask about being included in their broadcasts and website announcements. Many of these stations are looking for good local news and will want to help you promote your league. Newspaper & Local Magazine Ads Consider advertising in local community newspapers, newsletters, and magazines. Make sure the media outlet can target your ad to the section your parents and fans will most likely be reading (e.g. Local Sports News). Test out different tactics such as pictures/visual ads versus text articles to see what gets you the greatest response. Events Hold a parent meeting prior to registration to educate parents on the divisions, the opportunities available to their kids, and introduce them to league representatives. When planning your registration day(s) consider holding it at a venue that attracts young families or perhaps offer an incentive. For example, hold registration at a local grocery store and offer a coupon for shopping or a free snack for attending. Use a laptop to take registration and payment to ensure you are getting complete and accurate player info. To get a jump start on next season s sign ups, you can even hold a registration opportunity at the end of the current season, perhaps during an end-of-the-season pizza party.

13 Signage Best Practices Don t go overboard with lots of words and busy designs on your signage remember that you re just trying to get them to your site where they can gather the info they need. Include a link directly to registration and your league contact info. Also, try including a QR code that links directly to your website when scanned, especially if you have a long or difficult to remember URL. Here are some helpful and free offline marketing resources: + + ACTIVE Network emarketing Center: Find poster, flyer, postcard, templates and beyond in ACTIVE s free emarketing Center. + + Beqrious.com QR Code Generator: Ever wonder how to generate these useful little images? You can make them online it just takes a minute and it s free. 6 Steps to Getting Started on Your Marketing Plan + + Create a marketing calendar. Organize your messaging and carefully consider where you can re-purpose the content you create + + Optimize your website. Do an audit of your site and prioritize where you need to update to provide the maximum value + + Research your online marketing outlets. Plan out your target hit list of potential online and offline media opportunities and contacts + + Implement social media strategies. There is no off-season for social media - you should be actively engaging your fans all year round + + Plan your marketing efforts. Look back and what has worked (and not worked) in the past and plan out your messaging around it + + Create signage for offline marketing. This can take some time and effort give yourself some time to be strategic CONCLUSION Now you are ready to get started on creating a successful marketing plan for you league! Keep this handbook as a guide for you and your fellow volunteers to reference each season. CONTACT ACTIVE NETWORK ACTIVEsports@ACTIVEnetwork.com