Why Your Sports Team Needs a Social Media Manager

This post talks about the importance of having a social media manager for your team. It's part of our series on sports engagement.

You’ve set up a great live stream and are ready to broadcast the success of your athletic teams for everyone to see. You’ve even set up ticketing to monetize your stream. But how do you market it?

When it comes to getting the word out about your live video streams, many experts will point you to social media platforms.

This article discusses why sports organizations at any level should have a dedicated social media manager who gives life to the team’s social media presence - someone who can create and post content, engage with viewers, and best represent your organization to a massive audience. 

Context: The Power of Social Media

Americans check their Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts an astounding 17 times a day, according to a recent Informate Mobile Intelligence report. That means that most people are checking their accounts at least once every waking hour, if not more.

This is exactly why social media is so powerful. It lets you connect with your audience on the platforms where they already spend their time. Still, it’s not enough to simply set up the accounts; you’ll need to actively update them by posting relevant content and responding to your followers.

Research shows that to make the most of social media, you should post three or more times a day on Twitter, twice a day on Facebook, and between one or two times a day on Instagram. Consistent live updates on twitter, posts and videos on Facebook, and cool team pictures on Instagram have proven themselves to attract and captivate an online audience.

The Importance of a Social Media Manager

We understand that those numbers can feel overwhelming. Producing that level of content is not something you can easily do on top of your other responsibilities. Enter: the social media manager.

Appointing someone whose responsibility is to oversee these accounts guarantees that frequent monitoring will never fall through the cracks. And with the way social media works, consistent content production leads to growth. If you're aiming to get your message out to a wide audience of loyal followers, you'll need to regularly be on the platform to listen and contribute to the conversations that are already happening in those spaces. 

Executing a Social Media Strategy

When your manager is first getting started, it’s important to remember that a consistent cadence is more important than a frequent one. 

If it’s helpful, suggest that your social media manager post just three times a week to Facebook, a few times on Twitter, and once on Instagram. Your school will slowly build your follower-base and start to develop a knack for the type of content that your followers engage with. Then, you can increase the frequency with which you post.

If you’d like to find a manager but are unsure where to look, we suggest starting here:

• Student intern: If you’re short on resources and aren’t sure that you can afford to hire someone to maintain your social media accounts, consider offering a student an unpaid internship. The student will gain valuable marketing skills and can use the experience to build his/her resume.

• Injured player: It’s an unfortunate reality of sports that players get hurt and can’t play. These benched players can still be an excellent resource for the team. Ask if they’d like to manage the team’s social media presence. This way, they’re still given a tangible way to contribute to the team’s success. Plus, since they’re a part of the team, they might be able to provide fans with insights they couldn’t get from anyone else. It’s a win-win! 

Final Thoughts + Further Reading

Social media is an amazing way to connect with fans of all ages. Still, it’s not the only player in the game. To see how you can maximize exposure from outside sources, read these 6 Ways To Get Your Sports Team in the News.