Guest Post: Iain Taker is an associate at Kemp Little LLP, specialising in commercial and sports law, and a registered lawyer under the FA Football Agency Regulations.  You can follow him on twitter @iaintaker or on LinkedIn.  Following on the from the success of his last article here on UKSN, here is the first of two part look at sports bodies and clubs interaction with the public through digital media.

A digital media strategy is increasingly not only an accepted part of sports governing bodies, clubs and players (“parties”) interaction with the public but a necessary part.  This article will look at the importance of interaction with, opposed to merely talking at, the public.  A number of parties appear to have failed to harness the potential digital media offers but those who have understood its capabilities are reaping the benefits in both monetary and non-monetary terms.

This article will examine aspects of a digital media strategy that should be foremost in the mind when planning and reviewing such a strategy and extracting the maximum benefit from its use.  It is clear that there is no one size fits all strategy and that parties need to determine their individual requirements, budgetary constraints and the skills available to them before creating, implement and maintaining a suitable strategy.  A common complaint from fans of the parties is that there is often a lack of understanding in relation to the difference between having a digital media presence and using that presence to engage the fans.

Engaged or merely courting?

A vast number of parties now have a presence through digital media platforms and in particular an increasing presence on social media channels. However there is a significant difference between presence and successful engagement. Too few parties have been successful in achieving a sustained level of engagement. Often this is a result of not prioritising digital media efforts, lacking the sufficient expertise or having an ineffective policy.

Many may wrongly believe that a successful strategy is simply a case of being able to make the necessary resources available, but this is not the reality.  A recent survey by Newcastle United Supporters Trust found that only 3% of fans believed the club listened to them. Such a figure is not uncommon even amongst the higher profile teams and it is symptomatic of the argument that the sports industry (as a whole) takes fan loyalty for granted rather than seeking to build a business to customer relationship more akin to alternative ‘business led’ industries.

It is widely believed that the NBA in the United States has been the most successful sport in engaging with their public, as digital media opportunities have been pursued from the governing body, the teams and individual players. The NBA has developed its digital media strategy by embracing opportunities and learning what works and what has been less successful.  In the United Kingdom the slickest operation is undoubtedly Manchester City as exemplified through initiatives such as use of FanCam and streaming post-match interviews via their social media channels. One reason for their success is that their digital media strategy works in harmony with their long term overarching intention of creating a global brand.  It is by understanding the fan, their wants and likes that will enable a party are able to fully engage the public.

There are a number of factors behind many parties’ failure to actively engage the public such as an over focus upon increasing revenue from the outset and inadequate available skills within the employees which results in a failure for the parties ability to get to grip with the impact that digital media can have.  Richard Ayers, Digital Playmaker at Manchester City believes that the biggest hindrance faced by many is a lack of internal communication and co-ordinated planning.  Without understand what the aim of the communication is it is virtually impossible to create a consistent and effective on-going engagement with the public.

Considerations for parties

Strategy

In order to have a successful engagement with the public there needs to be considerable planning and consideration as to what the party is actually seeking to achieve and what would need to occur for the strategy to be deemed a ‘success’. As part of this the party should undertake a process to establish what an acceptable return on its investment would be (this may be commercial returns or cultural returns).  In order for the strategy to have a chance of being a success the aims must be line with an honest review of the budget, the time that key personnel are able/prepared to commit and the available skill set of the employees.

Without the commitment of the key people within the party any planned strategy is likely to be unsuccessful. In order to achieve this ‘success’ it is necessary to highlight shortcomings, and quite possibly advisable in the case of skill sets, to bring in a consultant to work alongside the existing employees of the party to create, implement and maintain a viable digital media strategy.  Digital media is a specialist area and the specialist skills required to fully utilise its capabilities should not be underestimated.  Successful digital and social media offerings are increasingly the result of utilising third parties experience. Manchester City for example decided that in order to become a market leader they need skills which were not available internally and brought in an external team.  Individual players are also increasingly using the expertise of consultants who take the player’s wish to engage with fans and turn it into a professional offering as shown by Wayne Rooney’s recent hiring of Jae Chalfin from Sports New Media.

Target

One key aspect to fully engaging fans is ensuring that the social media strategy is fully targeted. The Party should determine to whom the content is designed for. Some content will be suitable for the public as a whole such as Manchester City for example use the twitter hashtag #blueview on match days a simple idea to initiate but highly effective and has been equally well received by those attending the game and their international fans.

Where however this is not the case attention should be paid as how best to engage the relevant part of the public.  For example on a match day there are two separate groups that the digital content make seek to engage e.g. those attending the game and those who are not at the game.  Therefore it may be a possibility that those at the ground can be offered more targeted content e.g. traffic news, latest offers in the club shop etc. while those unable to attend may get different content e.g. latest offers in the online store. Where a party is seeking to maximise its engagement with international fans there are significant benefits to providing content in a range of languages along with region specific content e.g. heavier focus on players from that region etc.

Analyse and improve via feedback

To improve the level to which fans feel engaged it is important to ensure that the digital media analytics are effectively monitored as this will provide evidence see how the successful the engagement is.  For example by analysing social media data such as the number or comments on Facebook, replies or retweets on Twitter for example it will enable a greater understand of who the audience actually is.  In addition it will provide valuable information that will help to target content and improve the value of digital media offerings to the party.

While the digital media strategy must have a long term goal it is necessary to have built in flexibility in order to adapt to trend changes for example.  It is therefore vital to encourage the users to have their say on both the content and how it is being provided, e.g. weekly suggestion competitions with the winners getting a shirt/voucher/ticket etc. and importantly incorporating the suggestions. The provided content should be simple to use, interesting and fun for the public. By thinking from the mind-set of the target public (easily done through using their feedback) it is possible to understand what will be most appealing e.g. behind the scenes access or interactive content.

Make content engaging and authentic

Jae Chalfin believes a key aspect of having a successful approach is to embrace the ethos or personality in the offerings as fans will know, and been turned off, when there is a lack of authenticity.  Parties must understand that there is a significant benefit to focussing on producing engaging content for fewer platforms than a lesser presence on many. Dan McLaren, from here at UKSN, says that “a number of pitfalls are the result of parties doing something for the sake of it and not really understand why they are providing content.”  The content must engage the public and not be solely about the commercialisation of a party, by providing content that is authentic and interesting the party will see a greater uptake of their message.

As mentioned above parties should place themselves in the shoes of the public what content they would like to see? For individuals and clubs it is very much about contact, the behind the scenes access is constantly top of fans favourite features on social media surveys.  For governing bodies its again about removing the feeling of us and them and enabling the public to understand how the body functions. Governing bodies should seek to be informative and give the public an insight into the latest going-ons within the sport and utilise former professionals to give context around events.  For example the Rugby Football Union can use former players to discuss the upcoming Six Nations games as well as news about team line up, fixtures etc.

Traditional media v Digital media

There is a careful balance to be taken between an over reliance on either traditional forms of media or digital media as they each offer advantages and drawbacks such as the cost, speed, target markets that they will reach.  There is a need and benefit for undertaking a co-ordinated marketing and communications plan that embraces both types of media.  There has been a hesitancy by many parties in embracing digital media to a greater extent. This does not come as a surprise to many as the vast majority of decision makers have often built their careers during an age of traditional PR/marketing opposed to the relatively new phenomenon (particularly in relation to social media) that is digital media. This situation is slowly changing and with the addition of decision makers who have digital experience, or directors who are open minded enough to hire someone with such experience and give them sufficient authority, increasing synergies between the two forms of media are occurring.  Richard Ayers believes that it is this lack of digital experience coupled with the authority to act that is resulting in missed opportunities for many parties who often continue to struggle to make digital media part of their standard operating procedure.

It is vital that a party, who wants to maximise their opportunities and engagement, uses specialists within each area but also that these specialists work in conjunction rather than competition with each other.  Traditional media still has a very significant role to play and the different types of media can benefit from each other as many social media marketing campaigns cannot work without the awareness that TV, print, etc can bring and in turn digital media can reach a wider and different audience than traditional media.  When choosing the correct media to use it is still important to remember who is the target market is as some age categories and countries are more effectively reached through traditional media than digital media. This is shown by a quote given by an ICC spokesman when discussing the difficult balance they have between using traditional and digital media “particularly given that we are an international organisation trying to reach out to countries where consumers behave very differently when it comes to what kind of media they engage in.”

So what expansion ideas should be looked at?

The social media focus of most digital media strategies has been on Facebook and Twitter, which is not surprising due to the popularity and possibilities available on these platforms.  However, these platforms should not be relied upon to the exclusion of others for example Manchester City currently has nine separate components of social media available to their fans.  However it is prudent to build a presence on one or two platforms and build up rather than spreading the content too thin across multiple platforms. Prior to releasing content onto any digital platform the plan must be well-thought through and tested.

The ICC is very sensible looking at utilising the experience held by their broadcast and sponsors to find new and creative ways to engage fans at their marque events such as the ICC World Twenty20 later this year in Sri Lanka.  It is important to undertake market research as to what the targeted audience is looking for.  A governing body should seek to offer a different service to that of a sports club or player who will seek to engage their fans on a daily basis. The governing body should look to work with their members and collectively share their experiences as different members will have alternative strategies.

A few thoughts that the parties should consider are:

Be fan driven

It is the fan who generates a significant amount of revenue for the club and holds a passion for the team. It is important to always think of what content they would like to receive rather than just what you wish to provide.  Regularly interacting with fans is crucial ideas such as competitions, exclusive access, uploading fans photos and Q&A sessions may make them feel part of the team and in turn encourage others to join.  Taking the time out to reward particularly loyal fans shows that you are interested in their support. The cost to do this may be negligible but the value could be significant. You should encourage your fans to suggest ideas and encourage them to interact with each other e.g. offer a hashtag where fans can share their thoughts.

Remain focused and up to date

It is not necessary to try and put content out on every available platform and it is advisable to focus upon a few outlets (the most common being the body or club website, Facebook and Twitter).  Three considerations should always be borne in mind, content must be correct; content must be current and content must be of interest. Utilise the strengths of the platforms you are using to their maximum, the club webpage can provide significantly more details/stories etc, Twitter should be used for very quick updates the fan should hear the latest news from the party themselves not a third party.  Facebook offers an easy platform to upload interactive content and fan pictures etc.  

Where parties wish to utilise digital and particularly social media to drive revenues it is often a collaboration of non-revenue content that will enable this.  For example when a party is launching a new kit or event the videos of such a launch or announcement can be accompanied by a link to be the first to buy the kit or tickets. Fans will not be upset by having commercial driven content alongside relevant content, they will however be turned off it the content is primarily focused on increasing revenue streams.

Constantly benchmark against other sports team/bodies or players

Once a party has set up their digital media offerings they should always be looking at how to deliver an improved service.  A simple way of doing this is looking at what offerings other parties and brands are using.  Not everything that is successful elsewhere will work for every party but there are often elements that will help to ensure that your content is engaging.  If you think of an idea it is worth trialling it and making a point about its trial in order to: a) create hype around it; b) receive feedback; and c) enables it easily to be taken down if it is not successful. It is by trying new and innovative ideas that you will establish what works for you and your fans.  New ideas do not have to cost a lot of money but can really set you apart from the competition e.g. Manchester City and Vincent Kompany who held the Premier League’s first post-match interview on Facebook and Twitter. Another simple but clever initiative is being used by Sheffield Wednesday FC who allow supporters to use Facebook to find where their friends are sitting when buying a ticket.

Size of digital media market domestically and internationally

One of the most prominent advantages of digital media is that the vast number of people (both current fans and potential fans) that it enables a party to reach across international boundaries.  It is this fact only that should mean that the digital media strategy should be an integral part of any party’s business strategy.  The market enables quick and easy access to a greater number of fans than traditional media is able to.

Due to the international support that parties now have and the possibilities available through digital media platforms the content should be provided in a language other than just English, such as Manchester City providing their content in Arabic. The party should seek to utilise the international aspects of digital media in line with its core business plan, this has been shown by Manchester United’s development of mobile video highlights of its games across Asia and Europe.

Conclusion

Digital media is too often an area that many parties undervalue and its full potential is yet to be embraced by many.  The increasing popularity and acceptance of smartphones means that digital offerings can be viewed more often than ever. A successful strategy must be well planned and implemented but should not be in place of existing traditional media offerings utilised with such offerings. Digital media is not a fad and is a specialist industry in itself and often the cost of hiring an consultant to guide a party through the available opportunities will be money reaped back many times over.

A fan-centric approach should be adopted by parties as the culture of digital media, and in particular social media, is very different to traditional media.  Fans expect content to be tailored to be of maximum interest to them and when this is achieved will revenue generate activities be established. Facebook itself showed that by having patience in getting the offering correct prior to commercialising the platform can be very lucrative in the long run.  It is likely that an increasing number of parties will embrace the opportunities available through digital media in the coming years.  While there are some potential pitfalls where handled properly it can be an incredibly effective tool.

I would particularly like to thank the ICC, Richard Ayers (Manchester City), Jae Chalfin (Sports New Media) and Dan McLaren (We Are Social/UKSN) for their help in writing this article.