If your sports team isn’t in the big leagues quite yet, it doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve the same backing and appreciation that teams with more financial funding might receive. All sportsmen thrive off of hearing their supporters cheering them on at their games, so why should it be any different for your team? If you want to increase the social standing of your players, gain publicity and find financial sponsors who will bear your logo proudly, then you have to promote your brand correctly. It might not be a quick process, but by putting yourself out there, and applying the correct marketing techniques, you can get your team the support it deserves.
Create a website
A good website is possibly the most important element in promoting any type of business. Several website builders are available to create a smart, professional and user-friendly website design that will attract visitors. This will be the central hub for people discover all they need to know about your team, and all the essential information must be available there. For example, it is a good idea to provide details on your location, the team’s history and previous success. It would also be relevant to include information about each individual team member, from management to mascots. This allows people to build a connection to your team, and will make them more emotionally invested in your success.
Email Updates
Once people become aware of your team, you want them to stay connected and up to date with any developments. One way to engage with your existing supporters is to provide a service where people can subscribe to regular email updates. This would be in the form of an e-newsletter, and would deliver key information to the teams’ followers. For example, you might advertise upcoming games or tournaments the club would be participating in. Various email newsletter tools are available at very little cost, and will also provide a great way to get financial backing in the long run; in exchange for monetary support, you can advertise sponsors’ businesses within your newsletter. They key is to distribute these bulletins on a regular basis, but this should be restricted to once a month, or at most every two weeks. Otherwise, this could be seen as spam, and would reduce the effectiveness of this type of advertising.
Distribute flyers
Creating flyers is a great way to gain a wider network of support within your area. You can use a free flyer template to create engaging and informative leaflets, which can then be posted to members of the community, or handed out in person. Within the leaflets, you want to clearly advertise the team’s strengths, the club’s backstory and make it clear why your community should support them. In order to build a stable, reliable support network, you need to build from the ground up, and that means ensuring the locals in your area can be relied on to back you. Advertising that you have the support of respected local businesses within your flyers will also help to boost the reputation of your team, as well as keep the sponsors happy.
Building your team’s reputation will increase the number of new members interested in joining you, as well as broadening your support network, and increasing funding. While large improvement is unlikely to happen overnight, if you continue to advertise your team well, you are likely to see the desired results in due time. Appropriate marketing is cost effective when done properly, and utilizing social media, on top of increasing support through word of mouth, is sure to help.