Customer Engagement is critical, and businesses can learn a lot from sport. Let’s face it, a Fan is better than a customer. Fans have an emotional attachment to a brand. Sporting teams create fans but they are also, in essence, businesses. We can learn a lot from these brands.
For example, I am a fan of the Essendon Football Club. 2013 has been an emotional roller coaster for Essendon Fans. But I am still a member and I will be a member next season. I will still by merchandise and still attend games. I will stand up for my team when others criticise them.
Don’t you want people to have this emotional reaction to your business? Wouldn’t it be good to have some Fans in your corner if something goes wrong? Here are some things you can learn from Fans in growing and marketing your business. I’m going to concentrate on the Essendon Football Club because I am a passionate Essendon Fan but I am also a believer that they utilise channels well.
Utilise a variety of channels – Essendon FC has a prolific communications department creating content across their website, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter amongst others. They combine video, pictures and text well.
Mix up your content – Essendon FC utilise a variety of content forms – photos, news, questions, special offers, insider views – to keep their customers engaged. There is not only one type of post that would quickly bore a customer. They utilise a number of different content styles to ensure that customers don’t get bored
Control the channels – Whilst on Facebook Essendon has over 240000 fans, and this is an excellent platform for Essendon and Fan Engagement, Essendon recognises that they don’t own the Facebook Channel. Nothing is published solely on Facebook. A post on Facebook generally links back to their own website, a channel that they can control.
Get content out quickly – An important thing to remember is that you need to get content out quickly. Essendon has faced a number of off-field dramas this season and needed to respond to accusations and media reports. Essendon have reacted quickly and always released statements first through their social media sites and through their website.
What Essendon does with their digital channels can be embraced by any business. You may not have 241000 Facebook Fans but you can still develop and embrace passionate fans of your business and create a community online of people who share a love for your product or service.
Greenlight Communications have experience building communities and creating passionate fans. If you would like to discuss how we can help your business, get in touch today.