One of the best businesses in the world is the National Football League, and they continually find innovative ways to market their product on various levels. One of those is through Facebook since it was founded in 2004 and has expanded its user base across generations.
The opportunities are limitless, and sports gambling becoming more widely accepted and legal in the United States allows companies to advertise their NFL picks against the spread. That market is a boom in and of itself because of the growth and things being above the table.
But there are far more ways to use Facebook to drum up interest in the league. They do a great job targeting different demographics through the metrics and analytics the social media platform offers its businesses.
League Promotions
The NFL is one of the best at promoting its content. There are so many various channels to do that from. That includes the main NFL page and the individual team pages, and most players have their own private and professional pages.
One of the best ways the league promotes itself is through giveaways and charity. For a league riddled with crime and negative headlines from its players, front-office workers, and owners, one of the best things it has going for is its robust charity work in each community.
There are several multimedia storytelling ways that they share these works, but the most effective is through video packages. Another great way is through a dump of photo galleries that people will engage with.
Facebook and other social media platforms will elevate pages based on engagement time to keep people on their platforms. Then other pages based on locations and themes will auto-populate a user’s timeline, which is why other NFL items can quickly arise.
During The Season
Facebook is a great way for teams to reach their fans, whether by dispersing important game-day information for their fans going to the stadium or updates during the game. Most teams will draw from the NFL’s video feed and post the big highlights from the game.
Teams will also engage their fans through photos and scoring graphics to update the scores at the end of quarters. Then they will shift their focus after the game to the news conferences.
Giving access behind the scenes is a great way to engage fans who want to go deeper than the games themselves. Teams will also do that with practices, whether stitching answers to a general question as players walk in or out of practices.
Getting to know players is another key to good engagement. Connecting the players with fans is a bonus to help merchandise sales by showcasing a player’s personality. It also shows that whether they make a mistake or have a great game, they are human, like the armchair quarterbacks watching at home.
Merchandising
Another great element of the sports business is selling merchandise. There are dedicated team pages for certain shops targeted based on location or similar interests shared through cookies.
So a Pittsburgh Steelers fan will get an ad for Steelers merchandise, whether an autographed photo, a new shirt, or a new travel mug. Team pages will also offer exclusive merchandise from games through their charitable auctions. That is another way for fans to feel connected to the players and the game.
Personal Connection
Players do a great job marketing themselves, but Facebook and other social media platforms have ensured greater exposure. Sharing photos and videos across different platforms, particularly the connection between Instagram and Facebook, give those mediums longer shelf life.
Those players will also go live on different platforms and engage fans in the comments section or bring them in for a one-on-one conversation. It is a great way to connect, though there is always the risk of people being vulgar or hostile towards a player.
Most players also do charity work. It is another way to align their vision with their communities.