For 100s of years, dating as far back as the ancient Roman Colosseum, sport has always found its way to engage fans. As technology has progressed, new ways to drive fan engagement in sports have begun to blossom, specifically on social media.
We live in a digital world where fans have a ton of options when it comes to engaging with their favorite sports teams, players, and leagues. More than 90% of Gen Z fans use social media to consume sports-related content, including game clips and highlights, live events, athlete interviews, and posts from athletes.
As a sports social media manager, you need to have a proper strategy in place to drive digital fan engagement within the overly saturated world of social media. Keep reading this blog to learn more about doing exactly that!
How to Define Social Media Engagement
Sprout Social defines social media engagement as an umbrella term for actions that reflect and measure how much your audience interacts with your content. It can include (but is not limited to) metrics such as likes, comments, and shares.
Now that you understand what fan engagement is on social media, let’s now look at content strategies that are going to help drive it for you!
1. Promote Culturally Relevant Storylines
Creating culturally relevant and personalized content is paramount when driving fan engagement on social media. Now more than ever, there is an increased demand to keep fans engaged with sports leagues through personalized experiences.
Knowing this, a good sports SMM will prioritize content that fosters discussions amongst their audience. This can range from jumping in on current relevant storylines happening within the sports industry to starting a new discussion altogether.
Let’s use a post by theScore Bet on X as an example of tapping into what’s hot to drive fan engagement in sports social media spaces.
Image source: theScore Bet on X
When reports that Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman might get traded during the 2023 MLB season, they posted Stroman’s current stats from the year and asked if they should trade him (this creates discussion, and the strategy is in motion).
However, they then took it a step further by deciding to quote their original post, asking if the Toronto Blue Jays (Stroman’s old team) should re-acquire him. They did this knowing the vast majority of their followers are from Toronto and are Blue Jays fans.
With hundreds of thousands of impressions, this post is a key example of the strength behind knowing your audience and capitalizing on culturally relevant storylines. When executed correctly, you can drive fan engagement to the moon on your accounts!
2. Provide Fans With Exclusive Access
Another one of the best fan engagement ideas is providing as much exclusive access and behind-the-scenes content as possible.
This content helps engaged fans experience the game in a more personalized fashion, fostering a sense of belongingness and creating a welcoming space for them to engage with your account. Helping people watch sports isn’t enough; you need to help them grow their sports fandom if you want to build invaluable fan loyalty over time!
What, What is Behind-The-Scenes Content?
Almost 90% of audiences find that behind-the-scenes content keeps them hooked on their favourite types of media. In sports, it looks like locker room insights, facility tour vlogs, and unique glimpses—all of which foster emotional connections.
Utilizing platforms such as Instagram stories for behind-the-scenes content is essential. On stories, sports SMMs have a plethora of options to create engagement amongst their fans. Employing a mix of polls, trivia, and question features as events unfold is a consistently easy way to keep your audience engaged.
Once you master the behind-the-scenes and exclusive access style of content, you’ll have another strategy in your toolkit to drive sports fan engagement.
Image source: Canva
3. Collaborate With Relevant Creators In Your Space
Another strategy that can drive engagement amongst sports fans on social media is collaborating with relevant creators in your space. It amplifies your brand to audiences you would not have reached before, creating additional avenues for fan engagement.
The power of an athlete or creator’s audience is not to be taken lightly. During the 2020 NBA “Bubble”, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler went viral for always having a coffee cup on him when he would interact with the media—it just so happened to be the prototype for his soon-to-be-debuted coffee brand, Big Face Coffee.
Big Face Coffee now exists, and Butler has a partnership with e-commerce company Shopify. He also announced he was partnering with famous baker, Zak Stern, to serve his coffee at Stern’s bakery during Art Basel, one of South Florida’s largest tourist events, in 2022.
Butler’s story not only illustrates the power and influence that athletes have within these spaces, but also proves how many opportunities exist for brands willing to collaborate with them on their level. These are can’t-miss opportunities.
Read More: Napoleon Launches New Grills With Bubbie Golf
Drive More Sports Fan Engagement With Our Help
Social media is all about testing, learning, and repeating. Once you learn which engagement strategies perform best amongst your fans, drill it home and you will see your fan engagement in sports spaces increase dramatically.
The experts at The Influence Agency can also help! We have experience crafting sports-centric campaigns that excite, earning valuable online engagement with older and younger fans who are passionate about your brand. Complete digital elevation is our specialty.
Contact us today to get started!