Sports Then and Now

Now that spring is in the air; you may be wanting to consider new and exciting ways to attract fresh talent to your sports club. If you live in an area where there are a variety of clubs or organizations for people to join, then it can be tough competing against larger clubs – in particular, if you are just starting out or need to take on a particular demographic for your teams. It’s easy to raise your team headcount if you know how, just as on the field it will take grit, determination, and consistency to ensure that you reach your goals and have a winning season.

Remember, that to attract new talent for your teams you will need to make sure that any marketing campaign efforts that you make remain on the up over time. You cannot expect to get results immediately either, as it may take time for your efforts to be noticed. When it comes to raising your sports club profile, then word of mouth is not enough, you will need to explore merchandising, digital outlets and even print publications to make sure that you can continue to grow and expand your club.

Create your own merchandise

You don’t have to be on a team to enjoy and want to wear merchandising, in fact, this is a quick and easy way to raise your club profile and make a fashion statement at the same time. If you are looking to create your team merchandising from scratch, then you will need to consider a range of factors such as your colors and even if you want your beloved club mascot to feature on any jerseys or sweaters that you make. Once you’ve made this all-important decision, then you can start to enjoy yourself and have some fun with your merchandising. You could ask your supporters what kind of merchandise that they would buy, or maybe get them to provide feedback about the kind of merchandise that they already own but feel would be both successful and practical. From investing in foam hands to making your own team pins or even water bottles and Frisbees, be sure to consult your team players and any members of your club executive committee before splashing the cash. If you are on a budget, then creating your own pins such as on this website is the ideal way to boost your team profile.

Get on social media

You may already have a club website, or perhaps you use some social media channels already, but if you want to see serious results, then you will need to treat any digital outlets that you have as an investment. From Facebook to Twitter and even Instagram, social media is ideal for engaging with your entire fan base – plus you may even discover that you have some famous celebrity fans too. When it comes to building an online following, it takes more than posting a few photos or dates of future fixtures; you will need to encourage your followers to like, share and comment on any posts or articles that you put online. While this can be a double-edged sword, and you need to be prepared to deal with trolls or members of other clubs too, this is not necessarily a bad thing. The beauty of social media is that you can use any negative posts to your advantage, effectively shaming your haters and playing them at their own game. Not to mention, you can engage with your fans and followers even during the low season or if your team is taking some time off the pitch to train and regroup. So, if you are not making the most of social media, then it is time to start using this outlet to help improve your team culture and boost morale.

Get out there

If you want to raise your club profile, then you are also going to need to get prepared to get out and engage with the local community. From hosting a stand at local school fairs or a company trade show, to supporting and sponsoring cookouts or local activities, make sure that you explore a range of sponsorship deals and opportunities to help boost awareness of your club. You should also take time to engage and thank any current members of your club, or long-standing supporters. This can be as big or small a gesture as you have time, budget and scope for; from sending out an email of thanks to scripting and getting a personalized letter signed, just make sure that you don’t waste too much money, as you could be injecting this into your merchandising efforts. By getting out and giving back, you are sure to make people much more aware of who you are, and you are sure to be surprised come team trial outs.

It can be tough working out where to start when it comes to boosting your sports club profile, in particular, if your team has been around for several years already. However, as with any project you need to make sure that you approach this with a fresh pair of eyes and get ready to put the time and effort into making sure that you help to improve and boost awareness of your club. First, make sure that you run some surveys and work out which types of merchandising will work best for your club. Be sure to consider your team colors and mascot too. Next, take time to create a community on social media and be prepared in case you obtain any negative comments and feedback so that you can respond and engage with these accordingly. Finally, make sure that you consider opportunities for sponsorship and boosting your presence in your local community too. You should also thank long-term supporters and fans who have backed you since the very beginning. When raising your sports club profile, remember that this can take time and effort before you are going to see results. So approach this just as you would your team training, and you will have a long and effective season ahead.