We have all heard stories of how professional sports teams are using social media to build their fan base, promote events and create new revenue opportunities. And, you might be asking yourself “Can an amateur or semi-professional sports team benefit from social media?”. After all, these professional sports teams already have a large loyal fan base and a marketing budget to put towards their efforts, right?

The fact is, social media does not require a big budget and you don’t need millions of fans to see a positive return from your social media efforts. If you could put a few more people in the stands at your games or sell more merchandise at your team store without it costing you anything, wouldn’t that be worth your time?

Every team has fans. Some are more loyal and engaging than others, but every team has a fan base that wants to see your program succeed. What social media does is give you the tools to engage with your fan base and turn them into advocates that will help you achieve your goals. The only thing you have to do is provide value. And, yes, value can be defined in a number of ways. It doesn’t mean you have to give away something that costs a lot of money. Value can simply be providing your fan base with something that they normally wouldn’t experience such as access to behind the scenes action, exclusive offers on tickets and merchandise and creative online contests that encourage participation.

The same tools that professional sports teams are using to engage with their fans are also available to amateur and semi-pro sports teams. The challenge is knowing which ones to focus your efforts on and how to use the tools in a way that provides value for your fans. For many teams, the first step is knowing where to begin. Here’s a good place to start:

1. Own Your Name
It’s likely that most amateur and semi-professional teams have some presence online in the form of a website. If not, you need to secure your team domain name now! And, for only a few hundred dollars (hosting and domain cost), you can setup a simple Wordpress blog, display all of your social accounts on your blog and push content out to your social accounts using simple tools.

A service that I recommend is Dreamhost. With Dreamhost, you can easily register a domain, sign up for a hosting account and install your website using Wordpress with only a few clicks.

2. Create a Facebook Fan Page

There are over 400 Million people on Facebook. Now, of course, they are not all going to be fans of your amateur or semi-professional team, but I guarantee that many of your fans are already on Facebook. These fans would happily “Fan” your team on Facebook if you ask them. One of the many benefits of a Facebook Fan Page is that it provides you with a platform that encourages “sharing” and “liking” of your content, which can make your message can spread very quickly through Facebook.

3. Create a Twitter account
Although the number of people on Twitter is nowhere close to those on Facebook, it is still a tool that can’t be ignored. It is more of an instant communication tool that allows you to provide up to the minute information about your team as well as engage in direct conversations with your fans. At the very least, you should be on Twitter to follow other sports teams to see how they are using the tool to engage with their fans.

A good place to start to follow other teams on Twitter is at http://www.sportsin140.com/

4. Create a YouTube channel
Many people do not know that YouTube is the #2 search engine behind Google. By creating video content, you can give your fans a perspective that can’t be communicated through text or photos. YouTube is also a great platform to run simple contests that encourage fans to voice their loyalty to your team.

5. Create a Flickr account
Flickr is a photo sharing website that allows you to tag your photos and create albums that can be pulled into your website. Flickr is also a great way to share photos with people that blog about your team? By providing high quality photos to your fans that have the appropriate Creative Commons licensing, you will generate goodwill with the bloggers that will then hopefully link back to your website and help you promote your team.

Case Studies

Here are a couple of real life examples of how amateur and semi-professional sports teams are using social media.

Iowa State Cyclones

The Iowa State Cyclones are a college hockey team that competes in the American Collegiate Hockey Association. The program is completely funded by donations, fund-raising and revenues generated through advertising, merchandise and ticket sales. Iowa is a mid-western state that is predominantly known for it’s football, basketball and wrestling programs. So, it goes without saying that hockey is not an easy sell in this market.

The team first began using social media back in July 2009 prior to the 2009-2010 season. They wanted to figure out ways to generate more interest in the team in order to put more people in the stands, sell more merchandise and create more interest in their fund-raising efforts.

Cyclones Social Accounts

Facebook Fan Page – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cyclone-Hockey/121262733317?ref=ts

• Started August 2009
• October 16, 2009 – 710 Fans
• March 30, 2009 – 1420 Fans

Twitter – http://twitter.com/CycloneHockey
YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/user/ISUCycloneHockey
Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/CycloneHockey
Player Blog – http://cyclonehockey.wordpress.com/

For more information on how the Iowa State Cyclones use social media, check out the ongoing case study on Sport Fan Connect (http://sportfanconnect.com/category/case-studies/iowa-state-cyclone-hockey/social-accounts)

South Carolina Stingrays

The South Carolina Stingrays are a semi-professional hockey team in the East Coast Hockey League. Located in the deep southern US, hockey is a tough sell in this market. However, despite that fact, the South Carolina Stingrays continue to excel as a premier team in the ECHL and we’re crowned the Kelly Cup Champions in the 2008-2009 season.

The Stingrays dove into social media back in September 2009 when their newly hired “Media Specialist”, Joseph Zakrzewski, wanted to find ways to further engage with the Stingrays fan base.

Stingrays Social Accounts

Facebook Fan Page – http://www.facebook.com/SCStingraysHockey

• Started September 2009
• October 16, 2009 – 1368 Fans
• March 30, 2010 – 5414 Fans

Twitter – http://twitter.com/scstingrays
YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/user/SCStingraysHockey

For more information on how the South Carolina Stingrays use social media, check out a series of interviews on the Sport Fan Connect YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/sportfanconnect#p/u/21/uyPcJCnKrMk)

Sports Media Challenge Interview

Check out my interview with Kathleen Hessert (President – Sports Media Challenge) as she talks about how and why amateur and semi-professional teams should use social media. Kathleen’s company works with many professional, semi-professional and collegiate programs in helping them understand how to use social media effectively.

One of these bright minds is Jason Peck. Jason is the author of http://jasonfpeck.com (a blog focused on the sports business, sponsorship, new media, social networking, and whatever else he finds interesting).

Jason graciously asked Trevor Turnbull to contribute to his new ebook (Sports and Social Media Predictions 2010) on behalf of Sport Fan Connect. The ebook includes insights from many of the brilliant Sports & Social Media enthusiasts we have met over the past 6 months and provides many great thoughts on where we may be heading in the world of Sports & Social Media in 2010.

2009 has been an amazing year and we believe we have only just begun to see the impact that social media will have in the sports world. We hope to one day meet everyone included in this ebook. In the meantime, we’ll be sure to follow them online! Included below is a list of all the contributors to the ebook. Be sure to give them a look and feel free to drop any one of them a line. If there is one thing we’ve learned this year, it’s that the online social community is all about sharing! And these folks are certainly willing to share their time!

Sports Social Media Predictions 2010

Sports and Social Media Predictions 2010 – Contributors

Brian Gainor - http://partnershipactivation.com
Dan Beeman – http://sponsorshipinsights.com
Darren Heitner – http://sportsagentblog.com
Don, Chris & Kyle – http://blogswithballs.com
Espree Devora – http://zexsports.com
Joe Favorito – http://joefavorito.com
J.W. Cannon – http://twitter.com/khuda1
Lewis Howes – http://sportsnetworker.com
Pat Coyle – http://sportmarketing20.com
Peter Robert Casey – http://peterrobertcasey.com
Rob Katz – http://twitter.com/robkatz
Russell Scibetti – http://thebusinessofsports.com
Ryan Stephens – http://ryanstephensmarketing.com
Steve Cobb – http://activ8social.com
Trevor Turnbull – http://trevorturnbull.com
Ty Ahmad-Taylor – http://fanfeedr.com

“The Grey Cup has a long history and there have been many memorable moments over the years,” says Sheldon Lachambre – 2009 Grey Cup Festival – Director of Marketing and Media Relations “Some people have been coming to the Grey Cup Festival religiously for 20+ years, and every CFL fan has a Grey Cup game memory that is special to them!”

“These Grey Cup memories and the connection CFL fans have with each other is what makes the Grey Cup Festival such a special event. Therefore we felt it was important to implement a social media strategy and to showcase how the 2009 Grey Cup Festival connects CFL fans from East to West.”

Check out the 2009 Grey Cup Festival website to view the official press release: http://2009greycupfestival.com/news/34.html

2009 Grey Cup Festival, CFL Playoffs & CFL Fans = Excitement!!!

While at the game, I took time to chat with some CFL fans about the Grey Cup Festival.  Virtually everyone I speak with about this topic says the same things.

1. The Grey Cup Festival connects people from across Canada
2. The Grey Cup game is the pinnacle of the Festival, but all the events leading up to the game are what make the Festival special
3. Many people make the Grey Cup Festival an annual event and have made lifelong friends that are all connected by the Grey Cup Festival.

The two videos below communicate these points from two perspectives…….a Lions fan and an Eskimos fan.  Traditionally, they are football rivals, but when it comes to the Grey Cup Festival, it’s all about having fun, connecting with old friends and making new friends!

Edmonton Eskimos Fans – Grey Cup Festival Highlights (a 17 yr veteran!)

BC Lions Fan – Grey Cup Festival Highlights

I began working with Mike Petrie (Calgary Stampeders – Director of Community and Media Relations) while working with a Saskatoon based company (http://zu.com) that was contracted to work with the Calgary Stampeders on their online initiatives. This relationship led to me consulting with the Stampeders on social media (and the eventual development of StampsConnect – http://stampsconnect.com) and really fueled my interest in expanding my network in the sports world.  Through this relationship, I was able to get in touch with the BC Lions media relations department to line up an experience that, I’m sure, my Dad will never forget!

A BC Lions Fan from Saskatchewan?

To truly understand the unusual circumstances of this story, I have to take you back a number of years to when I was just a little kid.  Growing up in Saskatchewan, it is pretty much assumed that you will be a Saskatchewan Roughrider fan for life.  After all, they are our only professional sports team and for nearly 100 years, they have been the face of a vast province that has always been deemed an underdog competing against the “big cities” of Canada.

For as long as I can remember, my Dad has always been a BC Lions fan.  As you can imagine, he has taken years of grief from family and friends for having loyalties that differ from everyone else in the province. And for a guy that has spent his whole life in Saskatchewan, and who had never been to Vancouver prior to this weekend, it is somewhat odd that he chose the Lions as his favorite team.    But, regardless, the Lions are “his team” and when I saw that the Stampeders were going to be playing the Lions while I was in Vancouver, I made a point to see if I could make his experience one that he’d never forget.

Meeting the BC Lions

The day before the game, we ventured over to the BC Lions practice facility in Surrey, BC. I lined it up for my Dad to watch the practice and meet with some of his favorite players (Geroy Simon, Casey Printers, Paris Jackson).

Big thanks goes out to the following people for making all this happen:

Mike Petrie (Calgary Stampeders – Director of Community and Media Relations)
Jacqueline Blackwell (BC Lions – Communications Coordinator)
Jeff Armstead (InTheTunnel.com – Athlete websites & online marketing)

And, I have to give a big thanks to all of the players as well.  For as long as I can remember, CFL players have always been very approachable and accommodating with their fans, and these guys were no exception. As you can see in a recent interview I did with Geroy Simon, many athletes are now starting to use social media (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and uStream) to connect directly with their fans.  So, for anyone else that wants to have a conversation with or possibly meet their favorite players, they are now only a click away online!

Stay tuned for the Part 2 video – “BC Lions Experience – Game Day”

They chatted about why the Stampeders got involved in social media, the StampsConnect social media aggregated website, concerns they had when first starting, how they manage all of their online assets, contests and promotions they have ran to encourage participation and provide value for sponsors and future plans for their social media efforts.

StampsConnect

In June 2009, the Stampeders launched a website called StampsConnect (http://stampsconnect.com) that pulls in content from popular social websites including YouTube, Twitter, Flickr based on “keywords” “tags” and “hashtags”.  The website also incorporates Facebook Connect to allow fans to comment on and share their favorite videos and photos with their Facebook friends.

Mike explained that they pursued development of the StampsConnect website to enhance the fan experience and to provide a platform which fans could contribute to its success.  At first, there were concerns that the website might not be received well, but Mike explained that the site has been a tremendous success and will continue to be a big part of their marketing efforts in years to come.

Social Media Strategy (Management)

Mike also shared some insight on how they manage their main website (http://stampeders.com), the StampsConnect website and all of their social accounts.  Again, I have to commend Mike for his foresight in crafting a “Social Media Flowchart” (see below) to assist his staff in understanding how all of their marketing efforts tie together. Of course, every team, league or organization would require their own unique “Social Media Strategy”, but the diagram attached below gives you a visual representation of how the Calgary Stampeders currently manage their online assets.

Mike (and one other person) currently oversee the management of all of their social media accounts.  However, there is a team of people that are responsible for the collection, editing and distribution of content including videos, photos and blog articles.  Even though the premise of the site is to leverage user (fan) generated content, the Stampeders have made a point to upload current, behind the scenes content so that there is always new, engaging content on the site to keep people coming back and to encourage participation.

So, to summarize how this chart works, the Calgary Stampeders main website (http://stampeders.com) is (and always will be) the main source of detailed information for Stampeders fans.  StampsConnect, is focused on providing everything else a fan would want from their team including behind the scenes videos, photos and tweets.  And, of course, since StampsConnect pulls properly tagged content from YouTube, Flickr and Twitter, it is also a great source of information from the “Fans” perspective.

As Mike mentions in the video, the StampsConnect website has not caused a whole lot more work with regards to time commitment for him and his staff.  The reason for this is that many of the features listed on this flowchart have been automated.  For example, when they update their News & Blogs section on Stampeders.com, it automatically updates on StampsConnect.  And, when they upload a new video to YouTube, the video is also posted to their Facebook Fan Page and tweeted out from their official “CalStampeders” Twitter account.

I believe many teams are unaware that this type of automation can be setup and, of course, there are new FREE tools being developed every day to make social media account management easier and more effective.

Online Contests & Sponsorship

The last thing Mike discussed in the video is the way they have incorporated contests and sponsorship activation through StampsConnect and their social accounts.  In particular, the Stampeders have ran weekly contests this season encouraging fans to submit their content to be entered to win a Sirius Radio.

Photo Contest

During home games, they have asked fans to email their photos to a unique email address (stampsconnect@stampeders.com) that is setup to automatically send the photos to their Flickr account.  This Flickr account, has been setup to automatically pull into StampsConnect, so, it is an easy way for everyone to participate in the contest (after all……just about every cellphone out there has the ability to take photos and send email).

Twitter Contest

During away games, the Stampeders have asked fans to follow and participate in their Twitter conversation on StampsConnect.  In this case, fans are asked to retweet any of their many exclusive live game updates (from their live play by play tweets from @calstampeders) as well as posting their own unique tweets.  This contest encourages fans to engage in the conversation about the Stampeders on Twitter and in turn, drives traffic to StampsConnect.

Both are great examples of ways teams can tie in their social media efforts to their live game day promotions. And, because they are engaging fans and asking them to participate, they are providing much more value to their sponsor (Sirius Radio) than they could through a static advertisement in their game program or on a sideline sign.

Conclusion

In summary, the Calgary Stampeders are continuing to lead the way when it comes to experimenting with social media.  Mike and his team are continuously coming up with new creative ways to engage their fans and provide value for their sponsors.  There are a number of great ideas planned for the offseason and next years football season involving more “real time” content delivered thru StampsConnect, Stampeders.com and their social accounts.

The biggest thing that other teams and leagues can learn from the Stampeders is that participation in social media does not have to come at a huge expense, but properly crafting a “Social Media Strategy” will provide much more value to everyone involved. As Kathleen Hessert (President – Sports Media Challenge) says “Experience does not equate to Expertise”. So, by first becoming educated on the benefits of social media, then participating in the conversations online, teams will be in a position to take advantage of the value social media can provided.  Engaging fans and leveraging the fact that key influencers online can help build their brand, teams can see the real “ROI” that they are after including more tickets being sold, more merchandise being bought and new sources of revenue generated.

Geroy has been very active lately in using his online accounts to help him communicate directly with his fans.  And, in this video, he shares some insight on why he got started, where he sees things going in the future and talks about his plans to use social media to promote the different charities he supports in the Vancouver area.

Geroy’s website was built by Jeff Armstead (http://inthetunnel.com).  Jeff also helped Geroy get started with his social media accounts and continues to consult with Geroy and a number of other players in the CFL.

You can follow Geroy online here:

Website: http://geroysimon.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/geroysimon
Twitter: http://twitter.com/geroysimon

We had the pleasure of sitting down recently with Whitney McClintock and Marc-Steve Cerniglia at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL. Whitney is a World Champion waterskier from Canada. She currently attends the University of Central Florida as she trains in Orlando, FL. Marc-Steve is an Agent Advisor with Sports Management Worldwide and is currently working with Whitney to help build her personal brand through the use of social media.

I think you’ll see in this video that Whitney is not only a great athlete, she also has an infectious personality and is a great representative as the face of waterskiing worldwide.

Whitney McClintock & Social Media

In this second video, Whitney chats with Sport-Fan Connect’s Trevor Turnbull about her experience with social networking including Facebook, Twitter and her personal website. She also gives a shout out to some of her favorite bands on Twitter – Safety Suit @SafetySuitNews and Miley Syrus (who ironically recently quit Twitter….check out the article on MTV here: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1624354/20091021/cyrus__miley.jhtml.

Athletes & Social Media

As with many athletes in lesser known sports. they have to be creative in the way they promote themselves, and social media can be a powerful way to implement creative marketing.

Ryan Stephens (Author at SportsNetworker.com and Media Analyst at Sports Media Challenge) recently wrote an article titled “2 Ways to Enhance Marketing for Unpopular Sports“. In this article he makes two recommendations:

1. Educate People About the Game/Sport
2. Provide Access to the Personalities

Ryan makes some great points here that could easily be implemented by athletes like Whitney.

First, she should try to help her fans understand her sport better so they can relate to how difficult it is for her to compete at such a high level.  Growing up in Canada, I basically grew up on the lake (well….for the 3 months of summer we normally get! ha).  So, I can totally relate to how difficult her sport is and how gifted she must be to be a World Champion!

Secondly, providing access to her life is something that Whitney has control over through the use of social media.  Uploading photos and videos of her training and competing at events would give her fan base a real behind the scenes look at what it’s like in her world and would help them relate to how hard she trains……..and how much fun she has doing it!  Both of these things are easily done through the use of popular social tools like Flickr, YouTube and TwitPics.

By implementing a proper social media strategy, athletes like Whitney McClintock can control and build their personal brand online. Social media, as with anything else, doesn’t just happen.  You have to work at it and Whitney is doing a great job of diving in and will undoubtedly see success from her efforts!

Follow Whitney and Marc-Steve here:

Whitney’s website: http://whitneymcclintock.com
Whitney on Twitter: http://twitter.com/whitmcclintock
Whitney on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=whitney+mcclintock&init=quick#/whitneymcclintock?ref=search&sid=766800363.2957897093..1 (Facebook Fan Page coming soon!)

Marc-Steve’s website: http://marcsteve.com
Marc-Steve on Twitter: http://twitter.com/marcstevec

The three of them visited all 30 MLB ballparks over 90 days this summer using social media (blog, Twitter, Facebook) along the way to connect with the league (MLB), teams and other fans.

Their story is an amazing one and, best of all, was all done to raise money for a local charity. They have some great stories to share including why they did it, how they did it, all the new friends they made along the way and the impact that social media had on making all these new connections.

Make sure to check out their blog for updates on the family after the trip of a lifetime: http://30ballparksandababy.blogspot.com/

For details on their upcoming auction starting October 29, 2009, check out: http://30ballparksandababy.com

We met them the night before the Washington Capitals home opener at the Baltimore Orioles game after finding them using the “Nearby” feature on Tweetie (Twitter iPhone application).  Their story was the perfect example of how social media can connect fans with their favorite leagues, teams and other fans.

In this video, we show how we found them at the Orioles game using Twitter which eventually led to an interview at Camden Yards.  We then chatted the following day in front of Capital Hill in Washington, DC to award them the Washington Capitals tickets.  Finally, we put together a short piece that shows the excitement around the Washington Capitals home opener and wrap things up with a conversation at the game with our winners. Needless to say, the Washington Capitals and the NHL have inherited 3 new fans thanks to the power of social media!!

Stay tuned for another video where we talk about their amazing tour in more detail and they tell us a bit about their upcoming charity auction on October 28, 2009. You can check out their website for details on the items available for auction at http://30ballparksandababy.com