I read with interest last week that the Sydney Roosters have become the first NRL club to get on Facebook.
Let’s just say I was astonished.
If you’re serious about connecting with your Gen Y fans, and want to add value to your sponsors, then every NRL club should be on Facebook!!
Let me break it down this way.
More and more people are relying on the web for their daily news and entertainment. But guess what? The web is an extremely cluttered medium. So you have apply the 80/20 rule.
That is, 80% of people visit 20% of the websites online. Facebook is in that top 20%. An NRL club website is not.
Let’s say I’m at a big house party with all my friends. We’re interacting and having a great time. But my footy team lives down the road. Do I leave the party to go visit them? No, I invite them to come to my party!
My footy team gets to talk to me directly at the party, I talk back, and I even introduce them to my mates. Next thing you know, my footy team wants to introduce me to someone (club sponsor), the party kicks on.
Having a Facebook fan page is permission marketing at its best. And its in real time. I get your message on my phone. You come to me, I don’t have to chase you.
Regarding club websites. These are important for attracting young fans, but even then, the website needs to be hugely interactive to compete with the Nickolodoeon’s of the world.
If you’re a football club, don’t waste all of your time, energy and money on your website. Put more emphasis on social networking. It will pay bigger dividends.
Visit this website for more information on how you can utilise social networking.
