Digital marketing has always been important for pro and college sports teams, whether they’re in or out of season. Sports teams allow their fans to feel more connected by engaging with them through social media and on their website. After all, without fans, it would be hard for most teams to be successful.
Digital marketing isn’t only important for professional sports, but for youth and high school sports teams too. However, it can be hard to manage each aspect of team functions without proper organization. So what can you do to combat the stress?
You can use sports team management software. With it, you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches and build a successful link between the team, coaches, parents, and other fans. Let’s look at some essential factors you’ll need for your team website and how sports team management software can help.
Seamlessly Update Schedules on the Team Website
Scheduling is one of the most frustrating parts of youth sports. Too often, coaches rely on word of mouth to communicate team practices or events. Unfortunately, it results in a lack of communication and constant questions from parents about when games and practices will take place.
By having the team schedule on your website, you can eliminate this hassle. Instead of texting or emailing you, parents can quickly check the website to determine when the next practice or game is.
Other supporters of your team will also be able to check the schedule online and see which events they can come to, what age groups play on which day/time, and more!
Sports scheduling tools allow you to list games and practices in different categories like teams, divisions, and board meetings.
Showcase Your Team Through Online Branding
The word “branding” can be intimidating. Organizers get tasked with creating different strategies to increase their outreach in the community, which can be challenging. But by taking certain steps, you can slowly increase the profile of your league or teams.
The first thing you’ll need to do is create a logo. Logos help supporters identify with your organization and differentiate you from others. However, make sure that it’s strategically placed around the website, so visitors don’t feel bombarded.
A strong logo can help promote your organization online and increase credibility in your community!
Also by having a website, you’ll be able to post announcements and updates. It helps with branding because you can keep supporters updated with what’s going with your organization.
If you want to get more personal with your team, it will help if you create an “About Us" page. People will most likely visit this page after the home page, providing the perfect opportunity for you to strengthen your relationship with the audience. On average, people spend about 10 - 20 seconds on a webpage, so make sure your about page:
- Talks about the organization's history, goals, values, so fans and sponsors know more about the team and how they can get involved
- Documents recent team achievements
- Has group photos of the team, coaches, and other important staff members
- Provide a call to action that leads to another aspect of your team’s support (becoming a sponsor, connect to social media pages, make a donation, etc.)
Promote Team Members with Online Profiles
The only thing fans love more than their favorite team is their favorite player. So although you may have a plethora of team information on your site, build some individual profiles for team members.
You can start building an athlete profile by including:
- Their Number
- Their Position
- Height
- Weight
- A short excerpt about the player
If you have competitive teams and want to get more in-depth with the player profile, you can always include:
- Highlights from past games
- Awards the player has won
- Stats of players for the current and past seasons
- Multiple action shots
The more information you include, the more fans will feel personally connected. As a result, fan engagement could increase in different areas of your organization.
Connect With Sponsors and Volunteers
To have a successful sports team, you’ll need to have two things: sponsors and volunteers. Sponsors help provide funding for the team, and volunteers help manage the behind-the-scenes activities of your organization. But without them, it may be challenging to handle all of the duties yourself.
Sponsors
Each season, organizers face plenty of hurdles regarding team funding and managing a budget, so they seek sponsors' help. Although they may have some recurring sponsors, it’s important to continue searching for new ones.
Ensure that you have a separate page on your website that lists how potential sponsors can get involved with your organization. With more sponsors, you’ll have increased funding to help out with various organizational costs.
Sponsors are critical to helping your sports organization succeed. Make sure you're promoting sponsors on your website every year during your season.
Volunteers
Volunteers are equally as important as sponsors because they take care of the mundane tasks that can be difficult to manage on a daily basis. So it’s vital that you have enough to help you get through the season.
To gain more volunteers, list basic requirements on your website such as:
- Experience Level - What experience do they have playing your sport? How many years have they coached youth sports?
- Any age requirements to become a volunteer
- How they can register or apply for new opportunities
- Instructions to complete an annual background check
By having exemplary volunteers, you reduce stress and increase the sense of community within your organization.
Use Sports Team Management Software to Grow Your Organization Next Season
As you can see, having a website for your organization offers various ways to increase your team’s profile. But it can be challenging to build one from scratch. Hiring a web developer can break the bank, and making the website yourself can be equally taxing. So that’s where Jersey Watch steps in.
With our all-in-one sports team management software, you can:
- Build a website with multiple pages in minutes without any tech experience
- Post and manage team games, practices, or events
- Eliminate paperwork with online registration and payments
- Send emails or texts to parents if there are any last-minute changes
- Customization assistance with your branding and logo
- Your own domain name so the website is search friendly and easy to visit
Looking to roll out a website, registration, and messaging tool for next season? Learn more or create an account on www.jerseywatch.com!
