7 Effective Snapchat Marketing Ideas for Sports Teams
On our blog we have talked a lot about different methods of sports team marketing. We have covered how to use Twitter, create a professional Facebook page for your sports team, run a sports team blog, use Pinterest for sports team promotion and more.
Today we want to add another piece of the puzzle: Snapchat.
Snapchat is a relatively new platform that has been making a lot of waves in lately. A lot of online marketers are talking about it, big businesses have started using Snapchat as part of their marketing strategies and mobile users are flocking to the platform with the little ghost.
Why not sports teams?
To make the platform available for sports team marketing, in the following we will explain to you what exactly Snapchat is and why you should consider using it. After that, we will also give concrete Snapchat marketing ideas that you can use to start promoting your team.
Ready to get your Snapchat on? Then let’s get started right away.
What the Hell is Snapchat?!
Snapchat is a mobile messaging service launched in 2011. It can be used to share photos, videos, text and drawings (so-called “snaps”) with your contacts for free. What makes it different from other services is that the messages you are sending are automatically deleted within a few seconds of viewing them.
The service, which is especially popular with the younger generations, also comes with all sorts of additional functionality to spruce up the snaps. For example, users can draw on top of photos, add text and also stickers. In addition to that, Snapchat has filters (called “lenses”) that can be used to add all sorts of effects to your snaps before sending them.
Source: Adweek
Snapchat also has a feature called Stories. Here, users can combine several pictures into a storyline that is visible for 24 hours. For images you want to keep around longer, there are Memories. They allow you to upload saved snaps and images and share them with others. The functionality is rounded off with a chat function to talk one-on-one with other users.
In short, Snapchat is great tool to share visual content. If you are still a bit confused about it, the video below offers a great explanation about what Snapchat is and how it works.
Why Should Anyone Use Snapchat?
Begs the question why anyone except teenagers who want to stay in touch with their friends would use the platform. Turns out, Snapchat also offers a lot of potential from a business point of view.
First of all, although it’s just a few years old, the service has remarkable user numbers. By now, 150 million people use it every day (that’s more than Twitter) and, at least in the US, Snapchat is better known than Pinterest and LinkedIn.
In addition to that, the platform gives access to a very young demographic: 70% of Snapchat users are under the age of 35. In fact, Snapchat is the most popular social platforms among Americans ages 12-24, even before Facebook. No wonder, Facebook offered to buy Snapchat for $3 billion and has been trying to copy the platform ever since.
Today, Snapchat’s market valuation is estimated to be around $19 billion. Not bad for such a young company, right?
However, how does all of that matter for sports teams?
Well, Snapchat is becoming increasingly popular in the sports industry. More and more teams discover it as a means to connect with fans, promote themselves and communicate in real time.
Case in point: 30 out of 32 NFL teams are now on Snapchat and not too long ago the service launched the first official story for a Premier League football game. The latter event let fans, who were watching the game, contribute their own snaps and become part of the story.
If the big leagues are doing it, it can’t be wrong for your own team, can it?
Snapchat gives you the possibility to engage a younger audience with fun, engaging and visual content. Sounds good? Then let’s see how you can get started in Snapchat right now.
How to Get Started
Getting started on Snapchat is pretty easy. All you need is a mobile phone.
Download the Free App
Snapchat exists for both iOS and Android and is free to download. Just input the platform’s name into the app store of your choice, download and install it to your device.
Create a User Account
When the download is done, it’s time to set up your user account. Of course, if you already have a Snapchat account, all you need to do is log in. Everyone else needs to sign up first.
To create a Snapchat account, the first thing you require is a valid email address.
After that, it’s time to pick a password. Be sure to choose something save!
Then, input your birthday. This is mainly to check whether you are older than 13 years old. Here, it’s probably a good idea to pick the birthday of the person who will take care of the account.
When you are done with that, it’s finally time to choose a unique username. Since the account is supposed to be for your team, it makes sense to pick the team name or the same handle you use on other social networks. That way, fans and followers will have an easier time finding you.
When that is done, all that’s left is to verify your phone and import existing Snapchat contacts. Now you are good to go and can move on to the tactics laid out below.
Quick note: Since going over every function Snapchat has to offer is beyond this article, we recommend familiarizing yourself with how to use it via the official Snapchat support page beforehand.
Snapchat Marketing Ideas for Sports Teams
Alright, your team is finally on Snapchat, now what? How can you use the platform for sports team marketing? Here are a few ideas and strategies to get you started.
Post Regularly
As mentioned earlier, snaps delete themselves after a while, including those added to stories. The ephemeral nature is part of the appeal of Snapchat, however, it also means that you regularly need to provide fresh material to stay on your user radar.
As a serious Snapchat user, it’s advisable to get into the habit of posting a few times a day. Since followers get notifications for every snap you add, it’s the best way to stay on their mind and connected.
Promote Your Snapchat Account on Other Social Platforms
One of the weak spots of Snapchat is its search function. Unless you have the exact user handle (or Snapcode, more on that below), it’s very hard to connect with anyone.
For that reason, one of the best ways to gain followers is to let your existing audience know that they can also find you on Snapchat. That means, put your handle in the bio or description of your other social accounts, send out regular reminders (especially when you are running some sort of campaign on Snapchat), publish saved snaps or do whatever needs to be done to get the word out.
When you do, one of the best ways to let followers know where to find you is to provide them with the correct URL which is http://www.snapchat.com/add/yourusername.
Alternatively, you can also use Snapcodes. These are similar to QR codes that others can scan inside Snapchat to automatically add you on the platform. You can get yours here (requires a login).
Special tip: Set the Snapcode as your profile pic on other platforms so your followers not only know that you are on Snapchat but can also add you right away. While you are at it, don’t forget to add your Snapchat account to the social profiles on your sports team website.
Be Personal
In contrast to many other social platforms, Snapchat is used for in-the-moment material. It doesn’t live off of polished team photos and videos but allows you to show a more personal, fun and less “marketized” side of your team. Because of that, it’s a good outlet for content that doesn’t appear on other social channels, such as personal messages as well as fun and silly stuff you would send to friends.
Doing so allows you to have fans join the fun and create a personal connection. This lets them feel like they know you and your team personally and are talking to someone they know rather than admire from far off. However, while can show a different side of yourself on Snapchat, make sure to stay true to your team branding so that people still recognize it’s you.
Use All the Tools at Your Disposal
For such a simple app, Snapchat allows users to do a whole host of things. You can take pictures and videos, add stickers, text and doodles as well as use different effects. It’s what distinguishes Snapchat from other platforms.
Snapchatters know that. For that reason, to effectively communicate with your users on there, make sure to take advantage of the whole arsenal. By sprucing up snaps with funny commentary and more, you not only convey personality and increase the entertainment factor but also show them that you know what you are doing. Apart from that: it’s loads of fun! So don’t hold back.
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Provide Exclusive Access
Since users only have limited time to look at your snaps and because images can’t be re-shared very easily, Snapchat is the perfect vehicle for exclusive content that is available to a small group only.
In fact, businesses often use the platform for promo codes, discounts, product teases and the likes. As a sports team you might try upcoming events, new additions to the team roster and any other novelty concerning your club. Doing so will create curiosity and make users feel good for being among the selected few to hear about it first.
If there is stuff they can only get on Snapchat, they have a good reason to stay connected to you.
Provide Behind-the-Scenes Content
As mentioned earlier, Snapchat is quite personal. Users often share their day-to-day life on the social platform for their friends to follow along.
You can do the same thing for your sports team or club. Share photos from the team bus on the way to a competition, pre-game rituals in the locker room, videos showing players getting ready — the possibilities are endless.
When you do so, users will appreciate the inside scoop and also the possibility to answer back with (hopefully encouraging) messages of their own.
The same tactic can be used to promote events. Snapchat stories are a great vehicle to explain an event beforehand and provide behind-the-scenes footage while it is happening.
Start a Conversation
Snapchat’s built-in features allow you to easily add questions, calls to action and other pieces of communication to your pictures and videos and send them out to followers. This lets you start a conversation and move them to talk back to you.
For example, you might ask your fans to send pictures of themselves and draw something on it that has to do with your sport or team. All answers can be added to a story and users can get exclusive answers from the team and its players.
You might even combine it with a sweepstakes where the best entry gets a tickets to the next game, a jersey or some other prize for taking part.
Summing Up…
Snapchat is a new and innovative marketing channel that sports teams can take advantage of. It’s a great way to communicate with fans in a visual way and reach out to a younger demographic. Plus, it’s free to use. Just download the app, create an account and you are ready to go.
Once you have created an account, you can use our Snapchat marketing ideas above to start growing your following and communicate with your fans via the social platform.
Since Snapchat is a very new medium, feel free to experiment and try out things you wouldn’t do on another platform. In combination with proper market research, we are sure over time you can find effective and fun ways to communicate with your audience. Good luck and happy snapping!
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