Table Of Contents
Word-Of-Mouth
Update Your Website
Use Social Media Regularly
Create Sponsorships And Partnerships With Other Local Businesses
Get Your Club Merchandise Out And About
We all know sports clubs are vital in building strong communities, promoting health and fitness, and educating children on movement skills. However, committees can sometimes forget about the business side of running a sports club while too busy dealing with club politics. But like all businesses, to be successful and remain viable to continue running, clubs need to retain current players and attract new ones.
This is where marketing comes into play. We've gathered five easy-to-implement tips to promote your sports club!
1. Word-Of-Mouth
Want to know one of the most effective ways to get your club out there? Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool that spreads information about your club quickly. You're winning if you can encourage your members to invite their friends, family, and classmates to join or attend club events. People value the opinions of their friends and family and are more likely to follow them rather than a random person they don't know. To get more people talking about your club, offer incentives for referrals or free trials. This helps you increase membership and promotes a welcoming environment full of community and belonging.
2. Update Your Website
If you hear about a sports club you haven't heard of before, what's the first thing most people are likely to do nowadays? Search them up on Google! Therefore, your website plays a massive role in whether someone signs up at your club. If your website needs to be updated and more professional, what impression does that send to potential new members? That you don't know how to keep up with the times? There will be none of that on our watch! Provide helpful information such as the number of teams available at different ages and levels, training and game schedules, contact information, events and activities paired with high-quality photos. That allows you to not only promote your club but also provide valuable information to both your prospective members and current members.
3. Use Social Media Regularly
Too often, we see clubs with social media pages full of great content and images, but they aren't posting regularly. Keep it interactive, light, fun and wholesome – post about events, game schedules, critical achievements for your players, match day photos and videos. It doesn't need to look professional, and you definitely don't need a graphic designer with all of the great free tools available. But making at least a few monthly posts to maintain your presence will keep you engaged with the social media algorithms, allowing your posts to spread to your current and prospective members.
4. Create Sponsorships And Partnerships With Other Local Businesses
Sponsorship and partnerships are all about mutually beneficial arrangements, so think about ways you can also help them. Look for local businesses or organisations near your club, whether they have connections to the club or not. It may be easier if a potential new sponsor's owner is a father of a child at the club, but even when speaking to sponsors who don't have ties to the club, think of ways you can benefit their business. If you'd like assistance with sponsorship proposals, feel free to contact us, and we can provide you with our sponsorship proposal template. Or check out our Selling Your Sponsorship Proposal blog post!
5. Get Your Club Merchandise Out And About
What's a free advertising tool for your club? Your uniforms and apparel! Think about it for a second… You have a member wearing your gear to the shops; how many people will they walk past and give your club exposure to? High-quality, well-designed merchandise can create many new prospective members with very minimal effort! If you'd like to discuss how merchandise and apparel can benefit your club, please reach out to us via email at sales@cheetateamwear.com.au or give us a call in the office on 03 7017 1972!
