On Instagram alone 80 percent of people follow at least one business.

(Hootsuite, 2018)

Social media is a tool all small businesses should leverage, especially in youth sports.

Before diving into the ways your youth sports organization can use social media, let’s go over why it’s important.

We touched on this in our previous marketing tips blog, but according to Post Planner, here are the advantages to successfully using social media for your small business:

  • Build a credible reputation – what do people think of your organization?
  • Brand Awareness –  are you relevant in your area?
  • Stay Relevant – do you post regularly?
  • Increase Reach – how will potential customers find out about your organization?
  • Effective Communication – how will current customers stay informed?

Social media is an engaging and inexpensive way (most of the time free) to successfully achieve all of the above points. However, most youth leagues are made up of volunteers dedicating their personal time, which is limited. But, using social media doesn’t have to be time consuming.

Next step: implementing practical, successful social media strategies.

Here are some questions to consider before dedicating too much of your time to different social media channels:

  • What do most of your customers use for social media? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram?
  • What are other youth sports organizations in your area doing on social media?
  • How much time a week do you have to dedicate to using social media?
  • Are you trying to communicate with customers? Are you trying to grow your league?
  • What type of content will you post?
  • How is your current online presence?

A lot of these points might be answered with “nothing” at the moment, especially if your youth sports organization hasn’t started using any social media. However, it’s extremely easy to get caught up in all of the different channels of social media, or the type of posts your organization wants to use, without spending time and resources wisely.

Just don’t give up and do nothing. Here’s why:

“It’s no longer a question of ‘if’ you should get on social media, but instead ‘what’ social media you should focus on.”

(Capterra, 2018)

Being limited in resources, youth sports organizations should be as targeted as possible.

So to get you started, check out these tips:

  • Choose one platform to start – Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, get a feel for what your customers will likely use the most and start there. Master that one and if you feel it’s needed, and have the time, move onto the next social media platform! *Your safest bet is start with Facebook*
  • Set content goals – Once you’ve chosen your designated social media page, choose what type of content you want to post. Informational, fun topics, or just updates on your league, you’re totally in control. Just make sure the content fits your audience – parents and players.
  • Get behind the algorithms – This is especially important if you’re leveraging your social media pages to grow your league. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter reward users who get more interactions by showcasing their posts more than others. So, find out what works best with your audience and what posts get the most interactions and responses.
  • Interact with Customers – Players and parents want to interact with your organization. Whether it’s giving them a shoutout on your page, or asking them to give your organization a follow on Facebook, your customers will appreciate the connection.
  • Be unique – As generic as this is, small businesses need to be unique in the way they frame themselves online, even at the local level. Check out what other youth sports organizations are doing and find your brand.

Ready for more marketing tips for your youth sports organization? Check out our upcoming in-depth blog post around social media platforms and intuitive tools. Subscribe to our blog here.