The foundation to a great sports app is engaging content. While this is easy to say, it’s hard to know how to activate this strategy. A content plan is a good first step.
Start by considering how many pieces of content you plan to send next month and identifying which key dates need special attention. Planning your work allows you to staff accordingly and maintain a level of quality that will engage your fans while growing your audience, generate brand awareness, increase mobile traffic and drive sales.
The more content you give your fans, the more they will engage with your app. Reward them with great content each time they open the app.
Here’s our seven steps to knock it out of the park with your mobile app content.
1. Do some scouting
Start by scouting your social media and website for concepts that are already being executed. Look for existing content that can be updated, removed entirely or enhanced into an interactive activation. Start to envision what content would stick in the app and appeal to your fans making sure it’s unique, clickable and interactive! If you don’t currently have content on social media or wish to scrap old ideas completely, check out competitors or organizations you aspire to be like.
By the end of the scouting, you should come away with answers to the following:
1. What types of content are generating the most shares?
2. Do your fans prefer content directly related to your team, team merchandise or other products and services? Do they prefer other types of content?
3. How frequently are your fans interacting, engaging and sharing your content?
2. Set goals and responsibilities
Determine your goals, how you want to reach them, and how you will measure your content’s performance. Allocate responsibilities and resources. We recommend dedicating specific people to take sole ownership and responsibility of your mobile presence, content creation, and communication language. Not only will this ensure every piece of content has a consistent voice and tone, it will also hold members of the team accountable for their role in executing your content plan.
3. Get to know your fans
Streamlined, segmented tactics are key in resonating with your fans. Knowing who your fans are will help you tailor your content and increase brand awareness. Many organizations rely on generic personas to define who their average fan is; however, when it comes to sports, the Gen-Z fan is likely to be a lot different than the Gen-X fan and both will expect different experiences.
It’s important to segment and target vastly different demographics within one fan base. On average, highly targeted groups can expect to see 80% engagement rate or higher per communication — we’ve even seen many get 100% engagement rates! If you’re looking for higher engagement rates, segmented groups are the way to go. If you simply want to draw as many users to the app as possible, a big send to all fans is sure to do the trick.
4. Find your focus
Determine what types of content best align with your brand goals and begin to strategically plan them out. Content is a crucial aspect of any digital marketing strategy, but is especially important when it comes to the success of your FanThreeSixty mobile app. Your content is ultimately what connects you to your fans and builds an open line of communication, trust and engagement. Not only does content serve to educate your audience and make your organization more visible, it increases the flow of traffic to your mobile app.
The goal of your content is to earn engagement from your fans. Engagement is a long-term relationship rather than a one-time interaction. Generating quality content requires commitment, adaptability, and on-your-toes thinking.
5. Create your game plan
If your organization doesn’t have a content calendar or a similar way to plan and manage content, now is a great time to build one. No two content calendars are exactly the same and will vary based on how you and your team organize tasks.
Your content calendar should act as a supplemental component of your mobile app and serve to store, plan and track content for your mobile app. A well-maintained calendar will help you hit your deadlines with ease, see upcoming events in one place and think strategically about fan involvement leading up to big events.
6. SEND IT
SMASH THAT BUTTON! Click send and enjoy! Your hard work is about to pay off.
p.s. - Don’t worry about every tiny detail, you can always edit the communication later 😉
7. Stats don’t lie
Once you’ve successfully sent your communications, don’t forget about them! Check up on how your content is performing regularly. Tracking performance will help you get an idea of what your fans like best and what you can do to improve, and help your organization set benchmarks for future content. These numbers don’t have to be elaborate and complex. You can gauge fan satisfaction by analyzing the number sent against the open rate and again against the click rate.
Need a nudge? We work with our clients to help them craft a content plan and content calendar. Not a client but looking for new ways to engage your fans? Contact us to enter this new era of mobile fandom.
