- The fundamentals of social media and online communication
- Understanding why we communicate
- The power of a great club communication strategy
- Using communication to build relationships and a strong sense of belonging
- Unleashing the amazing power of your club’s website and email newsletter
- Harnessing the power of social media
- What is a communication strategy?
- Content formats
- Targeted communication
- Club stakeholders
- Creating a great club website
- The power of communicating (creating a sense of belonging)
- Email newsletters
- Email newsletter content
- When clubs should use Facebook and Twitter
Using communication to build relationships and a strong sense of belonging
A club’s communication strategy should not only seek to inform, instruct and remind people but should also seek to be engaging to the point that it creates or maintains a positive relationship that over time develops into a strong sense of belonging between the club and each individual.
Broadcast v Targeted communication
It is really important for clubs building a communication strategy that they consider the two different types of communication.
Broadcast communication – as the name implies, is information that is “broadcast” far and wide. Traditionally this would have been in the form of press releases and newspaper articles but today it can also be in the form of social media posts and email newsletters.
Broadcast communication is great for getting general club information about club activities, results, upcoming events and social activities to your general audience.
On the other hand targeted communication is communication that has a specific purpose and a specific audience and generally have defined outcomes. For example, if you are seeking primary school aged kids to join your club, then getting your message into the primary school newsletters is specifically targeting the parents with your invitation to join your club.
Traditional methods v online communication methods
In recent the focus of communication strategies has moved toward social media, email newsletters and websites, traditional communication methods remain as valuable as ever. Traditional communication methods include:
- Word of mouth
- Flyers and letterbox drops
- School newsletters
- Signage and banners
- Council communication
- Information stands in supermarkets and other places with lots of people
In fact by far the most powerful communication method is word of mouth. In the context of a sports club this is people who are participating in the club talking to others outside the club and inviting them to participate. Word of mouth is so powerful because people will only talk about your club to those they feel would be interested or relate to your club and they will tell the story of your club with credibility and passion.
Want to know how to use Social Media to meet your club's objectives?
Let Social Media do the 'heavy lifting' for you
Social Media is everywhere in the modern world and we can often feel we are being left behind if we’re not up with the latest communications app or tool.
Sports Community’s ebook, ‘Social Media & Communication Tactics for Sports Clubs’ is designed to show club volunteers step-by-step how they can use social media tools to meet club objectives like attracting new members, creating and running successful events and so much more.
The content has been developed through our extensive experience training club volunteers and a large amount of research into how sport clubs are using Social Media around the world.
This book covers topics such as:
How to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and Hootsuite to promote your club and engage the community
How to develop a social content strategy
Creating a successful communication strategy
How to create a marketing plan
If Social Media is used correctly it can do a lot of the ‘heavy lifting’ that once needed many volunteers to achieve. This book will help you use social media to create efficiencies at your club.