Sports Marketing For The New Age

 

Marketing a program or a sports team comes down to your fan base or awareness of what you represent. It doesnt matter if you believe that you have the best program around, if the general population doesn’t think the same, it’s really not. Getting people involved with your program through social media, professional development clinics, and fundraisers are without question huge parts of getting your program to be at the top.

Social media has become a modern day news paper. People wake up and read their “newsfeed” from their smart phones and learn about what is going on in the world. Twitter allows people to follow and be updated by which programs and people they are interested in. Each person or program with a twitter posts, or tweets, about what’s happening in their life at that moment and informs their followers. If someone follows a program on Twitter that they are interested in, they can see the changes it is making and stay updated on events and renovations the program is making. This is great for alumni and especially students who are new or may be trying to decide a major. If a program is marketed in a way that a wide variety of people can see and be informed of, this will allow your program to grow. Also, even if you do only catch the eyes of half the people that you would like to bring to your program, word of mouth is the best way to advertise. So if 50 people find out about something that has changed in a program and everyone tells one person, 50 becomes 100, 100 becomes 200, and so forth.1

As a professional in a program, your knowledge and experience is envied by others. People who are in the same field want to learn more and they also haven’t had some of the opportunities. Hosting clinics and seminars are important especially when you want to promote your program. When you bring in other professionals, those people go back to where they came from, spreading the word about your program and what they learned from you and your staff. This becomes a way for your program to gain attention from circles outside of the town, state, and even country you are in. Everyone’s goal should be to have national attention and recognition in a good way. This will also help out the individual who is at the helm of a program because if it gains positive recognition and is widely known and respected, it will help later on when finding other jobs.2

Hosting a fundraiser or just trying to obtain extra money for supplies, gear, or other equipment is important for any program. When a program is out somewhere and seen, it needs to be presented like it is the best. When everyone is dressed to impress and has the best tools or equipment, it shows a presence of dominance and commands respect. Most programs have a problem with a small budget so by having fundraisers like T-shirt sales, cook offs, raffles, and hosting clinics can raise money to put towards buying things to help get a program to a top level. A program cannot run off of a lack of equipment or a bunch of mix and match parts. Everything needs to be precise and in order and this will also reflect on the person who runs the program if everyone looks good and has everything in order.

Marketing a brand, name, or program comes down to how can everyone hear or see it. The main goal should be to make your program a household name and the first thing people think of when your related field is mentioned.

References

1. 5 Ways The Sports Marketing Industry Is About To Change Forever. (2014, March 11). Retrieved November 2, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/markfidelman/2014/03/11/5-ways-the-sports-marketing-industry-is-about-to-change-forever/

2. Deng, O. (2014, February 20). How and When to Start Marketing Your Product: Four Steps to Follow Read more: Http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2014/24449/how-and-when-to-start-marketing-your-product-four-steps-to-follow#ixzz3I6ZtnTXg. Retrieved November 2, 2014, from http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2014/24449/how-and-when-to-start-marketing-your-product-four-steps-to-follow