It comes as no surprise that social media has taken over the internet. With more than a billion users on Facebook and Instagram, we cannot live without social media even a day.
For sports teams and esports, social media plays an even more prominent role. Social media has enabled teams to reach out to their fans more closely, build more connections, and become globally renowned.
Sports fans have very close-knitted connections to the teams they follow, and with social media platforms, this connection has become tighter and more robust.
Understanding the importance of the social media following, sports teams are on a rat race to increase their fanfare by growing followers, likes, and connections by the day.
More Facebook likes! Another thousand Instagram followers.
But is that a win? Apart from the exaggerated number to boast, are they fulfilling the objective?
No, they don't.
Having just a ballpark figure of followers isn't going to make you thrive in the modern digital age, but engaging fans will be vital for a sports brand to be successful on social media.
"A thousand engaging spectacular fans are more valuable than 10,000 likes," and that's why Fanzia is the ultimate solution for a sports brand to capitalize on the digital landscape.
A brainchild of ardent soccer fans, Fanzia is set to change the dynamics for sports teams and Esports teams in their approach to social media management and is a one-stop solution to build an exceptional fan following.
But before that, we need to get to the bottom of the original story –
WHY DO SPORTS TEAMS NEED TO HAVE SUCCESSFUL SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES?
Sports fans have an emotional appeal to their supporting teams. Having an online presence will undoubtedly enhance that presence and provide these sports fans with a sense of fulfillment.
A successful, engaging social media page is all that is needed to boost brand image, increase brand value and reduce marketing costs.
Take the NBA, for example. According to Forbes, the highly engaging content strategy saw a high level of engagement around all the leading social profiles of the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors.
Another fitting example is F1 and their rise to fame. The overall brand value of the racing competition saw an elevation, thanks to their highly engaging social media strategy that all of their leading racing teams Mercedes, RedBull, and McLaren, implemented (with a bit of help from Netflix).
YOUR FACEBOOK LIKES ARE USELESS
Someone had to say it out loud. Yes, the likes are useless.
The continuous desire to increase likes on Facebook, the followers on Instagram, or any other platform is ultimately useless.
Let's get it straight, Facebook (and now Instagram) matters for content marketers, with its sheer size and the high engagement rates, breaking down all other metrics in the market.
Today Facebook has 2.89 Billion active users monthly, but the quest to gain mileage has become equally challenging.
According to a recent study revealed by SocialSamosa, only 1% of the users who like a business will actually visit the brand's page.
Think of this from a numbers point of view. Your Esports page recently acquired 1000 new likes on Facebook. You get excited about the 4 figure count, but what will the 1,000 people do?
Nine hundred ninety of them will not be of any use at any time. Out of that, only ten will be interacting with your page and browsing around.
Was the effort actually worth it?
This number has a slight increase for sports team pages, but it is by no means a valuable figure to work with. For a successful content strategy, you need engagement, and to build effective engagement, the likes figure isn't going to be enough.
YOU CANNOT BE A SPORTS TEAM AND NOT RECOGNIZE FANS!
Today, there is a growing need for personalization. Fans and customers seek validity from the brands that they interact. They no longer want to be associated with brands that don't respond or reflect any human aspect.
Fans demand personalization from the brands. Research suggests that there is a 56% boost in engagement thanks to personalized marketing.
The same goes for sports brands. You cannot be a sports team and not acknowledge the fans that rally behind the team.
Bigger established teams are successfully doing this, and so can you.
And, sports fans are a passionate bunch. Be it soccer, baseball, NFL, or even Esports, they have high regard for the teams they patronize. As a sports brand, acknowledging and appreciating this is the best thing you could ever do.
The more personalized the offering becomes, the increased conversions you will receive at the end of the day. This level of connections can eventually lead to long-term loyalty, which would be beneficial in increasing the ROI.
Sometimes, in the mix of things, the loyal followers can get missed. When they get ignored constantly, their passion for the team they follow can also eventually fade away.
And, losing your ardent fans isn't a good thing at all!
ENTER FANZIA
A platform that is the ultimate fan zone, fulfilling the requirements of sports teams and playing to the passionate sports fan is Fanzia.
Fanzia fulfills both objectives for sports teams and fans – increasing engagement rates on social platforms while providing fans with an opportunity to connect with their sports teams at a much more personal level.
Let's face it, the fight for engagement gets tougher with the social media algorithms that are beyond our control. Think of Fanzia as the controller that is working in favor of you in this engagement crisis.
Sports teams can use Fanzia to have challenges laid out in a way to fulfill their engagement activities. In return, the fans are rewarded upon completion of the selected challenges.
Let's take an example. Imagine your sports team is having a Q & A on Facebook. Using Fanzia, you set an objective, inviting fans to ask a selected number of questions from the team.
The fans will accept the challenge, ask questions, and, once completed, will submit their result on the app. Once done, they will be rewarded or given a selected amount of points on the app.
Once they complete several challenges and accumulate enough points, the teams can reward them with valuable gifts. These gifts can be anything that is of any significant value in terms of a fan. The choice is entirely up to the teams – it can be either digital or a physical product.
A digital product can be an exclusive one-on-one chat with a few players. If you are an Esports team, a reward can be additional coins or points for purchase in-game or any valuable inventory boxes – the possibilities are infinite.
A team can have multiple or single objectives involving gamification leading to a solid foundation to build an engaging fan zone. Because sports fans are a genre of passion-driven, Fanzia is giving purpose to their passion and re-igniting their spirit.
NO LONGER JUST A NUMBER BUT A PERSON!
What fueled the founders to build a platform with the capabilities of Fanzia was their passion. As sports fans following soccer, the recognition for their unwavering passion was minimal.
In the sea of supporters, they were unseen. And they weren't the only ones.
That's what Fanzia changed. Because in marketing, consumer recognition is vital for growth. When you connect on a personal level, you create a positive relationship with the brand that is long-lasting and memorable.
Similarly, Fanzia opens up this dynamic to sporting teams – to establish a personal connection with their fans and relate to them on a personal level. As a fan, when you complete challenges, you get rewarded.
This gamification means fans know that they are no longer just a like on a Facebook page but recognized as individuals that the sports team knows and applauds. Even in the sea of supporters, you know that the team knows that you are in that top 20% list of ardent fans.
This set of engaging fans are going to be the most valuable bunch of fans. They are patronizers of the team and are not just limited to just engaging.
They will be the individuals who would take word around, and this way, with Fanzia, sports teams get direct access to interact with them.
Plus, the data collected through the app will be advantageous for the teams' future use in implementing new additions, giveaways, and exclusive fan events.
As a platform, Fanzia has covered almost all of the essential aspects of being a successful sports brand on social.
AN ALL-IN-ONE SOLUTION AWAITS
Today, having followers will not be enough for you to become successful as a sporting brand. And social media is an essential dynamic in judging success, be it a sports team or an E-Sports team.
The only way to be successful lies in the engagement numbers that are created.
Successful social media presences attract more sponsorships, increases brand mileage and brand value.
Fanzia is an essential solution for all sports teams to achieve success as a digital platform in such a setting. The extended functionality, the enhanced usability, and the engaging user experience make it a 'must have' addition in every team's tool kit.