The rapid increase in influencer marketing budgets displays this is developing as a marketing strategy for businesses on the lookout to find better ways for increasing customers. Influencers are credible social figures within the lives of their fans. Influencers consist of industry experts, bloggers, online entertainment celebrities, lifestyle gurus and many more.
These influencers have a huge audience on social media and other digital applications. They are more often viewed by their fans as an authentic and trustworthy informational source.
So, how does this relate to the sporting industry?
Sports are an important part of the lives of many people around the world. Most people relate to a sport or another and are fans of one or more athlete or sports personalities. They may also call themselves a fan of a sports team or a group of players they look up to.
Sports Influencer marketing utilizes these characteristics and with the advent of social media these influencers, who traditionally were offline or in-person celebrities, have become influencers with an online presence. Boston has many influential sports celebrities who command authority and were genuinely credible. These influencers would previously play on the field and connect with their audience that way. With their effective online presence now it can be utilized by brands and businesses to promote their services and products.
Here are some tips on how to use sports influencers to promote your brand.
- Reach your audience using the right channels
The key to using sports influencers for business growth is by making sure they are using the right channels. You must choose the correct channel as your audience might be more actively using one type of channel more than the others. You may not want to promote your confectionary company on LinkedIn or your sports company on TikTok.
Furthermore, you always need to work with a sports influencer who is close to your target consumers. The recent surge of sports and fitness-related mobile applications allow sports fans to connect and learn from their favourite athletes. These athletes can share their fitness and nutrition advice and through this expertise grow their fan base.
While using the right channels fans can get to know more about their favourite sports personalities and personally engage with them. At the same time, these athletes can enhance their fan’s connection with them through positive engagement. This exposure from the influencers boosts brand loyalty and recall, tremendously.
- Consider the user’s experience
Once the right channel is chosen you need to consider the customer’s experience (CE). Sports influencer marketing is not only about sales. It’s more about creating an authentic long-lasting relationship with your audience. An increase in awareness and engagement is what you will want your influencer to portray about your brand.
- Choose the right sports influencer
Most people believe that the sports influencer with a higher number of followers is always correct. However, that is not always the case. Research indicates that sports influencers with lesser followers have higher engagement rates on their posts. Another fact is celebrities posting about your content might draw the entire attention to themselves from your products, services or brand.
Also, worth mentioning that shares, likes and followers can be gained from unfair means, so numbers aren’t everything and just an indicator of the goals which can be set more to a higher purpose. Your influencer should target a specific niche by building a trusted network of followers to create an intimate relationship between the fans and your brand.
- Follow the influencer’s guidance
If the sports influencer does not like your product or does not agree with your strategy, the influencer might not want to collaborate for fear of losing credibility. At the same time, there may be many that will be ready to offer guidance that could be fruitful in the long run.
People don’t become sports influencers by posting odd messages. They have a specific area of expertise and knowledge of marketing. As you review their guidance you should consider their advice and respect them to reach your marketing goals.
- Give freedom to the influencer
Your sports influencer is the one with the followers and engagement on social media and most probably they know best. Let your sports influencers have creative control over the content. Influencers know what the audiences desire and sports are not any different.
Your influencer will have a strategy to reach out and engage with their audience in an authentic manner. Allow them the freedom to make your strategy a success.
- Transform your brand into an experience
Influencer marketing is much more than endorsing a product or a service. The campaign should craft an experience that circumferences your brand. Your goal should be able to bring life to your brand. Your influencer’s followers will associate an experience with your brand, which is positive in nature. This will boost engagement and sales.
Influencer marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach and engage your audience, especially in the world of sports where being a fan is the audience’s identity. And as stated earlier, sports influencer marketing is one of the most effective ways to undertake an athlete influencer marketing campaign, successfully and gain access to the once inaccessible audience authentically.
