Rugby deserves more than just a like – what is the Rugby World Directory?

“Rugby deserves more than just a like”

This phrase was crafted in the very early days of brainstorming about the idea that was to become the Rugby World Directory (RWD). It drives us every day and helps us to keep our focus when confronted with the risks and challenges that go along with any start-up.

The Rugby World Directory is the new free social media resource for Rugby. Connect, share, engage and have fun with your Rugby friends,  globally.

In taking on some of the big boys of social media head on, it was about defining a goal and what we wanted to achieve. In essence, we were frustrated at the difficulty in finding the people, clubs, places and businesses that make up or support Rugby. How epic would it be to have one platform for everyone and everything related to Rugby? We’d no longer be at the mercy of the Google and Facebook algorithms. This would make organizing a trip or connecting with Rugby people so much easier.  It would provide benefits to the global Rugby community limited only by the imagination. It could become a resource and it could even be fun!

So we built one.

In the process of building RWD we’ve seen about 5.000 rugby websites and about 95% of a club’s or governing body’s website is filled with information that visitors aren’t interested in. This empty content we’ve found forms a barrier to finding the information people are really looking for:  Who’s who, where is the club and how do I get hold of them.

Like today’s traditional social media platforms, a profile in RWD provides that, and much more, immediately.

The nature of social media is that it should become a source of information for everyone in it. That is the directory element. We’ve based the directory on location so that searches can be very specific and not at the mercy of algorithms.

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In creating the RWD, this is generally what we’ve had in mind, driving our desire to get it out there.

  • The trip committee of a rugby club throws a dart at a map of Europe stuck to the dartboard and it lands on Seville, Spain.
  • Immediately they open the RWD Directory and search for the clubs in Seville and message them directly in RWD to set up matches.
  • On the same search page, they search under destinations for accommodation, pubs, places and activities and message them directly.
  • On the same search page, search under travel for bus, train and airline companies servicing Seville and Spain. And they also check the offers deals discounts page for any offer, deals or discounts.
  • Under brands search for suppliers of trip shirts – worldwide.
  • Use the communication and planning tools to engage and inform all those going on trip – to PC or mobile phone.
  • In RWD, people at those clubs join and connect with the people organizing or going on the trip remaining Rugby friends forever!

All done and organized in the time it takes to drink a couple of pints.

To generate more than likes alone – RWD is also a resource for and by its community. As rugby players we have our own interests and by talking with other players we’ve refined what we think is useful.

One feature of the social media platform is the ODD page which we believe, is set to become the eBay or Gumtree for Rugby. We’ve all purchased those boots online only to find that they’re too small or too big. Clubs may want to get rid of old equipment and other clubs might want to buy that equipment. Brands, pubs, travel companies, gyms, supplement companies, for example, can also reach their target audience here. All this can occur on the ODD page and internally in RWD itself.

RWD is also designed to communicate, plan, share and organize. Clubs, groups, causes and even governing bodies use so many platforms to get their message out. But instead of leading to clarity, this actually leads to confusion and information blindness. We’ve worked to make it simple – one platform, one way. Features of the RWD include the ability to message others, posting text images and YouTube videos on your profile as well as a host of other actions that are involved in recommending, reviewing and interacting with others on the network.

In the next phase of the project, it’s been important that we identified our challenge which is for the RWD to become an essential part of the everyday life of everyone and everything associated with Rugby. RWD will need to, not only, answer the question of “what users want” but also get users to want to use it.

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The sophistication of the major social media has raised expectations. Start-ups are not only judged on “the idea” but we’re very quickly judged on factors such as design, immediacy and user friendliness. As a start-up, RWD has gone for a different look, feel and angle. But the nuts and bolts that make it happen need to meet the expectation of the modern internet user. We wanted to take what’s best about the most popular social media platforms but brand it in a way that represents RWD.

The rugby community is just starting to come to terms with using social media. Many clubs and organizations have invested time and energy in motivating people to join Facebook groups, pages, communities, Google docs, Microsoft Clouds, Dropbox, WhatsApp, Pitchero, Google +, LinkedIn, Sports Apps and so on. And now RWD comes along just as things are settling down. We understand this and accept the challenge of being a very small fish in a very big pond.

At Rugby Expo Twickenham and the World Rugby Conference and Exhibition Dublin it was clear that at industry level, questions are still being asked. In particular, organizations are concerned about the return on investment of time put into social media. Also, clubs and governing bodies are putting enormous amount of energy, finance and time into their websites. They are also seeking to generate advertising revenue from their sites and as such really see social media as a threat.

The RWD PromoPanes provides an answer here. If an advertiser wants to be associated with a governing body, part of the deal will be a profile in RWD. This profile will be joined to the community of the governing body and included in a PromoPane of that governing body. Plus, that governing body can recommend & review sponsors or comment on sponsor posts – spreading the word and engaging the community.

This applies equally and more importantly to grassroots clubs and their supporters. When another club views the profile of their opposition in RWD they see immediately who’s who, can contact them directly and see sponsors in the PromoPanes.

RWD is still in its start-up phase and we’re working hard to meet expectations and increase brand recognition. Our mission is to bring Rugby closer. Our direction is based upon the belief that RWD needs to be useful, meaningful and valuable. We support Rugby causes, such as the recent Red Hot Chilli Challenge for Matt Vosa. It’s not about posting images, tweets or likes that no one sees. It’s not about converting non-rugby people or impressing them. It’s about understanding that Rugby people are intelligent and sophisticated and demand a useful Rugby communication tool and resource.

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