Edit.org has created the first communication guide for soccer teams. We'll provide you with some basic marketing notions as well as with customizable templates for sports clubs. By following all steps stated in this manual, you'll obtain positive results with a dedication of fewer than two hours a week.
The guide highlights some examples of how the proper management on a team's social media platforms can increase its number of fans and the number of players interested in being a part of your club. It has been written by experts in social network marketing and by analyzing dozens of success stories in clubs around the world.
Having active social networks is a basic element in any business in which people are a fundamental part. Through social media, soccer teams can interact with their audience and increase their engagement and motivation. It's also a straightforward way to get to know the fans' opinion.
On this guide you will discover:
Have you ever stopped to think about the image your club is giving on social networks? If you've never thought about it, it's about time you did. Nowadays, if you're not on the Internet, you're nobody. But it's not just necessary to be there, you have to be constantly updated. That's why it's so important that you keep all your players and fans informed through interactions on social networks. Some of the advantages you will have with good management of your networks are:
You'll get more chances to achieve such goals by dedicating just a little of your time to create good images. With Edit.org, you will have your designs ready in a minute! Its use is easy and intuitive, so you don't need any design notion to use it. Unlike other programs, it's not necessary to do any previous course or paying hundreds of euros per year.
Let's list which networks are essential. Although you should have all of them active, you can focus more on one. One of the most relevant functions of the editor is the possibility of adapting the size format to a specific platform, so it's possible to publish the same design in all of them without having problems with the different measures set by the applications.
The social networks that work best for a sports club are:
It is one of the most vital points of the whole communication plan. You should always stay close and polite to your audience, even if you have to deal with offensive comments.
Avoid creating topics that could generate controversies that end in fights between fans. Don't let any comments or references to the account go unanswered. All comments and mentions are equally important.
Speed matters, so try to give answers in less than an hour even though it's understandable it's not always possible.
Although each social network is different, you have to maintain uniformity in the design to enhance the image of your brand, i.e., the team. To achieve harmony, always use the colors of your team and the same filters or letters.
It's very important you take care of the quality of the images uploaded to the networks, especially in your profile photo. Then, be careful with the sizes. With Edit.org, the images automatically adapt to the social network format needed.
Here's an example of what would be a good weekly content plan for Facebook. You can adapt it to any platform with a simple click:
MONDAY: birthday greetings. Make a special publication any player's birthday (it can be any day, it doesn't have to be just Monday). And don't forget to tag him or her! With this detail, you will bond with the players and interact with your followers, who will also want to wish him or her a great day.
TUESDAY: player of the week. After a match-laden weekend, it's a good time to reward those who have excelled the most. Although it may seem like a minor detail, it can serve as a motivation for the players.
WEDNESDAY: subscriptions campaign. Midweek is a perfect time to promote the recruitment of new members. You can advertise the subscription prices and make special discounts for a limited time.
THURSDAY: announcement of upcoming matches. Make a calendar presenting the matches for the weekend, specifying the times, the opponents and, of course, the stadium in which it will take place.
Always remember to keep your sponsors in mind as the more publicity you give them, the happier they will be. Therefore, make them visible in the stadium so that everyone can see them. Publish photos of the training sessions a few days before the match. With this action, the fans will know the team has working hard for the game. Don't forget either to add some hashtags and tags.
FRIDAY: alignments. The day before the match, you can share the names of the players chosen to play.
SATURDAY: match day. The day has arrived! Keep all your followers informed about how your team is doing: share the team's goals and everything that happens on the field instantly. You can use Facebook Stories and Instagram for this. At the end, don't forget to publish the result!
We recommend you to use a predesigned template with your team's shield and a small detail of the colors of the club. Also, publish 3/4 photos during the whole match, especially in goal celebrations.
SUNDAY: the day after. It's the perfect time to congratulate the team if they win, or support it if it doesn't. You can post a picture with the coach statements or one of the players about how they felt on the field.
It's always a good time to have a detail with your club members and supporters by rewarding them with a giveaway. It's possible to offer whatever you want! For instance, tickets for the next match, matches of higher categories, the team's equipment, or balls with the players' sign. Your fans will appreciate it. One formula that works very well for raffles is to make those who want to participate have to follow these next steps:
With these basic rules (you can add more) you will increase the number of followers. Once you have gained new followers and if the posts you share are relevant enough, you will make them keep following you.
Thanks to statistics, you will know which are the days and hours in which your publications have a greater impact on the followers. Depending on the network, the frequency of posts will be higher or lower. Anyway, publish something in your main networks every day:
The frequencies explained are an approximation and, in no case, an immovable rule. Each brand has to act based on its experience. An important thing to keep in mind is to be constant: it's useless to publish 7 posts in a day if the rest of the week your activity is going to be zero. Distribute the content and interact throughout the week with our followers.
It's quite common for a sports club to have teams in all categories, from pre-Benjamin to veteran. That's why we recommend that you create a profile for each of them on different networks, especially Facebook. This way, you can keep your fans well informed without boring them with information that doesn't interest them. Thanks to Edit.org's folder organization system, it's possible to structure all your designs and organize them by categories.
The possibilities with Edit.org are endless. In this article, we have only shown you a small example of what you can do with the editor. In our packs of templates, you will also find designs for new signings, designs for soccer tournaments or templates for match results. Also, find more than 20.000 templates of different categories waiting to be edited.
Start now to create professional and original designs for your soccer team. Increase your team's social network engagement and reputation with Edit.org.