Using Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to build interest in your club
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Using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, the presenter discusses how Millwall Rugby Club built interest in their club by capitalizing on attention around the Rugby World Cup. They followed people in the local area discussing rugby-related hashtags and posts to build their audience. During the tournament, they promoted membership offers, return-to-rugby programs for beginners, and opportunities to watch matches at their club. This led to increased attendance at training sessions and the recruitment of 75 new members through their return-to-rugby program. The presenter provides tips for clubs to set goals for their social media use, be realistic about time commitments, and ensure they deliver a good experience for any new members or visitors
Using Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to build interest in your club
- 1. Using Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to build interest in your club Andrew Hesselden (Millwall Rugby Club) @andrewhesselden
- 2. Andrew Hesselden Communications Officer Millwall Rugby Club www.millwallrugby.com @millwallrugby Creative Director Coralfish Communications www.coralfish.co.uk @andrewhesselden
- 3. How you can use Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to build an audience that’s interested in your club
- 4. How we used social media during the Rugby World Cup to build interest in Millwall Rugby Club
- 5. 250 adult members 3 adult men’s teams 1 adult women’s team 1 touch rugby group Approx 60 training regularly 40 youth members Minis, Cubs & Juniors (Ages 3-12) Approx 30 training regularly
- 6. How many of you… • have a Facebook Page or Group? • have a Twitter Account • have an Instagram account? • make Vines • make YouTube videos
- 7. What social media channels do we use? A lot of this… Some of this… A bit of this…. And sometimes a little bit of these too…
- 8. Statistics & Demographics • 58% of adults use Facebook. • 23% of adults use LinkedIn. • 22% of adults use Pinterest. • 21% of adults use Instagram. • 19% of adults use Twitter. • 24% of adults are on two social sites. • 16% of adults are on three social sites. • 8% of adults are on four social sites. • 4% of adults are on five social sites. • 70% of adults use Facebook daily. • 49% of adults use Instagram daily. • 36% of adults use Twitter daily. • 17% of adults use Pinterest daily. • 13% of adults use LinkedIn daily. May 2015 Source: http://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/
- 9. How else do we communicate? • Website • Blog • Bulk Email Marketing System (for communicating with members, supporters & potential members) • Using a match day programme • Face to Face at training sessions & matches
- 10. The Rugby World Cup • International Rugby came to East London for the first time! • 120 million viewers worldwide • 2.47 million tickets • Over 1 million people in Fanzones • #RWC2015 used twice every second
- 11. How we made the most of the Rugby World Cup • We held an open day in August • £17 spent on Facebook advertising • Special offer on membership during the RWC to bring in TV spectators to our bar • But most of it via ‘free’ social media: 1. Wording 2. Calls to action 3. The right #hashtags 4. The right timing 5. The right photography
- 12. What we did at Millwall Rugby Club 1. Increased our audience • Followed people tweeting and instagramming during matches from within the boundaries of Twickenham Stadium and Olympic Stadium • Followed people using the hashtags #rugby or #RWC2015 in Tower Hamlets 2. Posted content to interest that audience • Info about RWC2015 matches • Info about our new Return to Rugby Programme • Promoted opportunities for complete beginners • Appealed to the positive emotions they associated with their experiences with rugby in the past.
- 13. Return to Rugby • Return to Rugby • 50 clubs, 300 sign-ups via www.returntorugby.com • 75 sign ups at Millwall alone! • Doubled our regular men’s training numbers from average of 15 to 35+ every week. • Structured training programme. 10 have transitioned into third team rugby already. • Women from 8/9 to 15 regulars.
- 14. Ingredients of a good post 1. A few well chosen words 2. A few relevant #hashtags that your target audience watches already plus a #hashtag or two that might lead them to something else you want them to learn about 3. A great photo that evokes emotion 4. Single, clear call to action
- 16. Use local hashtags like #canarywharf
- 17. Talk about what everyone is talking about • Include your #hashtags along with the ones other people are using
- 18. Include a call to action • Include popular #hashtags and a photo that shows what to expect
- 19. Calls to action • Click • Look at • Register • Sign Up • Come along to • Hit “Going” (on a Facebook event)
- 20. Keep your fans up to date
- 21. Post results even if you lose
- 23. Show a bit of character
- 24. Photography • Choose authentic photos that represent what people will experience if they come and try you out • Appeal to emotion and the subconscious • “If I take this action, this is how I could feel”
- 25. Making it work for your club
- 26. Who is responsible for social media in your club? • One person? • Several people? • Everyone on the committee? • All the members? • No one?
- 27. #1 Have a goal
- 28. “Doing social media without knowing what you actually want to achieve is like an adventure down a rabbit hole”
- 29. Goals/strategy • Where are you now? – How many members do you have? • What do you want to achieve? – Recruit x new members? – Recruit beginners? – Retain your current members? – Recruit and train coaching volunteers? • How will you get there? – What action will you take? Who will you target? • How do you know you’ve got there?
- 30. Deciding who to target and how 1. Ask your members 2. Ask those you want to target 3. Use tools like www.sportengland.org/segments
- 31. #2 Be realistic
- 32. “You can’t do it all on your own”
- 33. #2 Be realistic • Set limits on how long you want to spend yourself posting and responding • Share the load, involve others especially in responding to enquiries • If you’re going to pay for advertising set a budget • Remember, you are not a FTSE100 marketing department and it is unrealistic for people to expect you to be
- 34. National Campaigns • Make the most of campaigns run by Sport England, your local council, City Hall and your governing body. • For example #thisgirlcan – aimed at getting women into sport and #returntorugby from RFU
- 35. Automation www.ifttt.com You can find people who use certain hashtags and follow them You can search for tweets or Instagrams in an area at a specific time and reach out to them You can cross-post Facebook to Twitter and Instagram to Facebook etc (but take care)
- 36. #3 Be ready to deliver
- 37. If you tell people, they will come But if you don’t give them a good experience they may never return again
- 38. Three thoughts #1 Have a goal. Know who you want to target and decide what success will look like. #2 Be realistic. You can’t do it all on your own and it’s not authentic to do it al on your own. Work out your personal time limits and your club budget. Get people to help you. #3 Be ready to deliver. Make sure that you deliver on your promises and give people a good experience so they want to talk about you to their friends.