Creating a digital fan experience amongst fans is something that every social media manager strives to cultivate. Encouraging fans to participate in conversations and gathering feedback through social media can help you build a strong community of loyal and engaged fans.
But why does your sports club’s social media team need to create a digital fan experience? Learn more about it here!
What is the digital fan experience?
Digital fan experience is very similar to the regular customer experience which we are all familiar with. However, in this case, the customers are the fans of your club or sports team. The main purpose of cultivating a strong and memorable digital fan experience is to generate profits and retain your fans’ attention for events and products to come.In short, creating a digital fan experience is crucial for growing your potential fan base from casual enjoyers into recurring ones.
Having tailored, online-based, sports experiences for your fan base can allow your team or club to bring them into a connected space with a VIP-like vibe.
Why does your social media need to include a digital fan experience?
For many of your potential customers (non-fans, casual fans, and strong adherents), being into sports can be a full-time task that occupies much of their life. For that reason, digital platforms become the #1 medium where clubs and teams can leverage their attention during big events (on matchday and every other day).
Thanks to the ubiquitous presence of social media, fans can create viral moments and bring tons of new eyes to your club or team’s internal community. Additionally, the presence of COVID restrictions in some arenas and stadiums might urge your club to cater to your fans by providing unforgettable experiences without the limitations of a physical place.
Investing in the right channels and the right social media content tailored specifically for your team’s online community can bring great positive changes in the way they consume game-related goods and products. A well-thought digital fan experience can create a journey where your team’s brand presence reaches both the fans sitting at home and the fans at the pub and the stadium.
Ways to improve digital fan experience
- Create and offer fans digital memorabilia: Most sports fans adore it when they can wear or bring something home with their favourite team’s logo on it. Believe it or not, it’s a $370 billion market for jerseys, equipment, stickers, and many more. simply love sports merchandise and memorabilia.
Digital sports memorabilia like digital tokens and NFTs can also be an easy way to satisfy your hardcore enthusiasts. It can be as simple as digital badges, or as meaningful as a 1:1 chat with their favourite player in the team.
Asking your fans what they want is a great way to pre-qualify sales. Social Asking recently worked with Bolton Wonderers FC and created an interactive survey to find out the fan base’s preferences for the next football kit. The survey not only helped the marketing team choose the next kit, it also gave the fans a platform where they could discuss their opinions and be part of a digital fan experience.
- Create right content for the right platform: Sometimes an instant replay while the match is on is simply not enough! Today’s fans need more than live TV to feel satisfied. Many rightsholders can offer a club’s fan community almost instant highlights and behind-the-scenes content directly from the arena, which becomes shareable and likeable in almost no time with zero cost. Therefore, creating as many touch points as possible is crucial when creating a digital fan experience for your team.
Depending on your fans’ demographics–especially if they’re not GenZ, and spend less time on their phones–short-format video content like TikToks or reels may not resonate as well. In this case, having a website with well-researched information and targeted surveys might be the way to go.
- Survey your audience: By driving people to a dedicated landing page and asking them to leave their feedback or answer a short survey, you will be able to understand and action meaningful customer feedback. Creating adigital fan experience also includes having solid and reliable information on the communities’ reactions, opinions, and feelings regarding events and merchandise. Social Asking is a great way to gather feedback, whilst providing a place for fans to interact with one anotherl. Our surveys are not only custom branded and easy to use, but they also capture and sort the data into an actionable report at the end of your campaign. By using smart filters, our software can report on the data that’s most important for you, including topics and keywords.
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Social Asking is an intelligent new tool that lets you invite your audience to share meaningful feedback, get fast responses and build community effortlessly. In simple terms: It’s a feedback loop that people will actually want to be a part of.
Put your quantitative data to work by using it to make informed and adequate decisions for your club or sports team today. Get in touch with our team today to see how it works.