You might think that marketing is something that only businesses and professional sports clubs do, but you would be wrong. A lot of the success of a grassroots club is based on how well it is marketed.
Marketing your grassroots club correctly is important, and it requires more thought than posting something on your personal social media account you knocked up in five minutes. You will be glad to know, though, that you won’t need a full-time marketing team working around the clock either – you just need a well-thought-out plan of how to utilise what you have available to you.
Every grassroots club is unique and has its own story, so sharing yours with the world is a must. To encourage people to support your club – either by wanting to play, volunteer, watch, or sponsor – they will need something to buy into. They want to know what the club is doing, how it supports the community, first-hand accounts from those at the club, how they can join and who everyone is – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Social Media
In 2022, the use of social media is nothing new to connect with your audience, but there is a right way and a wrong way to use it. Firstly, you need to understand that each social network comes with a different audience. For example, the average Facebook user probably isn’t going to be the same as the average Tik Tok user.
Consider what you are hoping to achieve on social media and the message you are trying to portray. No one is expecting a grassroots club to rival the social content of professional clubs, but they do expect regular content that gives an insight into the club. Visual posts, such as images and videos, do so much more than text – especially on visually-based social networks such as Tik Tok and Instagram.
Drawing up a social calendar, complete with events at the club, special days/anniversaries, matches (if applicable), and more will help to generate ideas for content. Also make sure that you are responsive on social media, ensuring that someone is available to pick up messages/comments received promptly. In the modern-day, interested parties are just as likely to open contact via social media as they are to send an email or make a phone call.
A common downfall for grassroots clubs on social media is the lack of uniformity between official club accounts and those associated with the club. If the club has a new logo, make sure that everyone is using the same logo to avoid confusion. Remind anyone connected with the club that they are representing the club, so to be mindful of what they are posting on their social accounts, especially when it comes to any posts directly relating to the club and/or sport.
Increase the reach of the club’s social media accounts by encouraging everyone at the club to like/follow and share posts with their followers. Some will naturally be more active than others, keen to show off pictures of their team winning trophies and medals, but it can never hurt to get players, coaches, volunteers, and parents to share the club’s social account on their timelines – often putting the club in front of the eyes of others in the community.
Website
Even more so than being on and using social media, having a clean website is nothing new. Many grassroots clubs fall short when it comes to keeping their websites updated with new content and up-to-date information. If someone finds your club’s website and is looking for the best point of contact, only to find out that the person hasn’t been associated with the club for years, they probably aren’t going to bother trying to find someone who is.
Again, it is understandable that without having a full-time dedicated person working on the website that some things make slip the net and/or updates can take a while to be posted. Everyone is giving their time for free and has their own responsibilities away from the club, but time does need to be made for this.
As touched upon in the previous section, a content calendar is key to providing direction for the website and social media which should work in tandem. Don’t set the bar too high, expecting to post daily updates as it’s not going to happen. Consider the time available and the areas that you believe are the most important to cover and go from there.
Having already stated that no one will be expecting anything fully polished, do make sure that what the club produces is to a good standard. This is supposed to be the first impression of the club, so it needs to be a good one. It could be the case that you already have someone connected with the club that can do a fantastic job in this area – send messages internally to see if anyone would be willing to give their time to help. You might just be surprised as to who comes forward and what they can offer.
Word of Mouth
As far as persuading people to come to your grassroots club goes, nothing beats word-of-mouth advertising. When receiving a recommendation from someone you know and trust you are much more likely to be persuaded, so encourage everyone at the club to talk about the organisation.
Grassroots clubs simply wouldn’t survive without the support of the local community, so it makes sense to ask your players, coaches, volunteers, and anyone connected to spread the word. This is by far and away the best recruitment tactic, with players convincing their friends to come and play for you, or supporters bringing a friend or family member to come and watch.
The louder the person, the better they will be to spread the word. Get your club’s biggest characters involved and have them attend events where they can put their natural charisma to good use.
Branding Your Grassroots Club
Another area that we have already loosely touched upon is branding. As with any organisation, ensuring your branding is on point is highly important. This is one of the areas that potential sponsors will look at – the better it looks, the more likely they will be to want their brand associated with it.
One of the key things here is to try as hard as you can to make sure that players, coaches, and volunteers are easily identifiable by what they are wearing. All teams should wear the same playing kit (and training wear), coaches should all have the same tracksuits, and anyone that volunteers at the club should also be given a shirt and/or jacket that they can wear (again, spreading the reach of the club when wearing out and about).
Sponsors are keen to see smart branding is that, one, it shows that the club has its ducks in a row and, secondly, because the club’s uniform is where you are trying to sell them advertising space. Therefore, a smart-looking kit/uniform is a must.
Branding should be the same across all areas of the club, meaning that the badge and colours of kits should be the same as those used on the club’s website and social media. If the club has recently updated its badge, then it needs to be changed across all areas. The last thing you want is for new people to see two badges and not recognise that they are for the same club.
Support Local Businesses
Offer to help local businesses, especially those that have already sponsored the club. This is fantastic for generating news pieces for your club’s website and social media, as well as possibly making the local news (make sure to tip off local journalists).
Some examples include helping out at car washes, players helping customers to bag their shopping at supermarkets, or even offering to advertise local events through your club’s media platforms. The more the club helps local businesses, the more they will be likely to help the club and the local media exposure this can generate will keep your club in the community’s consciousness.
By building a reputation for being active in the community, and generating plenty of media interest, the club will be a far more attractive proposition for sponsors to work with.
Listen to New Ideas
Lastly, always be open to new ideas. When new people become involved in the club, they have fresh eyes and fresh ideas that can bring value to the club and its marketing. The club should always be evolving and, with that, its marketing too.
Don’t be afraid to try something that might not work. There is always something that can be learned and taken away. As long as whatever is produced is well planned and reflects the club’s values and message, it can only be a good thing. Fresh content is important.
Start by getting something out there, especially if your club’s digital presence is nil. Play around and see what works, and what doesn’t work. Always be sure to spread the word as much as you can.
