Millions of people and our entire team at ScoresAndStats work as online marketers.
It’s likely some of our readers also have side hustles involving online marketing. Sports is one of the biggest industries in the world with multiple leagues generating billions in annual revenue.
Marketing trends are evolving constantly and sports leagues/teams are often at the forefront.
Five Lessons Online Marketers Can Learn From Sports
So, what can we learn from sports when it comes to online marketing?
Engagement Should Always Be Your #1 Priority
You know how sports team’s become more popular? They engage with fans to build loyalty.
As online marketers, we can throw links across our social media profiles, but the best results will come as you engage your audience. Ask questions, answer questions and be available.
Focus on Relevancy
If you’re an active sports fan on social media, you’ve likely shared highlights, post game interviews and other content, right? Sports fans will happily engage and share content they enjoy.
What can we learn from this?
For one, you can’t expect many people to share product ads across social media. You need to share relevant content that your audience wants, which isn’t necessarily the content you want to share.
Consistency
During the early stages of COVID-19, all major US sports were postponed. There were no live sports on and the sports networks were forced to air historical match-ups on a nightly basis.
Ratings were obviously done, as fans crave live sports, not games from ten years ago.
If you’re not consistent with your online marketing efforts, you’re never going to gain the steam you need to be successful. It can be tough, but remaining consistent is extremely important.
Analyze the Data/Analytics
In sports, we’re now seeing them track everything, including the speed of a pass.
The amount of data and analytics sports teams are now using is astonishing. Online marketers also need to utilize every piece of data available to them to make profitable business decisions.
It can be as simple as analyzing the daily users visiting your Twitter profile. What time slots have the most engagement? Once you know this, you now know the best time to publish new content.
Start Utilizing AI
AI is still slowly emerging, but it’s going to be a huge industry in the next decade.
Several sports teams have already begun experimenting with AI. For example, the Premier League team Arsenal have developed an AI robot (Robot Pires) to engage with fans on social media.
The more online marketers can utilize AI to automate tasks, the better.
In Conclusion
Sports have mastered marketing and are reaping the billions of revenues now.
Online marketers can learn a lot of lessons from sports and adapt them to their industries. A lot of sports teams have millions of followers across social media.
At the end of the day, focus on engagement, being consistent and utilizing your data. These three tips alone will push you forward in your efforts to successfully market online.
