Make Use Of All Assets Teams with fan bases on social media numbering in the hundreds of thousands to even millions in some cases are to starting to realize the latent revenue windfall upon which they are sitting. Fans have taken the time identify themselves and have not only opted to see your content, but to consume and talk about it and share it. Through even free metrics and link tracking and just the most basic of impression analytics, there is tons of space to activate a sponsor or place a well-timed promotional message and/or valuable call-to-action. Fans consuming your content or entering a contest have identified certain things they value to begin with, namely game tickets/signed merch/etc., so giving a sponsor the opportunity to work themselves into the conversation of those things that carry positive weight for the fan is not only just a good opportunity to be seen, but to be seen through the lens of the team with which a sponsor has chosen to partner. This can be video pre-roll, a logo on a photo, isolating a play/photo/show of fan devotion/notable stat or insight, or any number of the tons of content that is being fed to, and provided by, fans (and shared by them) on a daily basis. Hundreds of thousands of fans will watch that pre game interview, even more the highlights or photos after a team victory, and just as many will engage in a contest to win something with tangential or direct relation to the team/players. The most efficient organizations are using every last impression and asset they have to activate more sponsors and more revenue. It’s a slow process as sponsors understand the value in the assets and salesmen understand how to pitch it and present its ROI (a long discussion here, but link tracking, CTR, conversion rate, and cost per lead are places to start; similar to a Google Ad campaign), but this gap does not need to last so long or remain so wide. 
To showcase how easy and potentially effective it can be to activate the thousands of impressions consistently given an existing asset, sponsor it..in-house! Where a video pre-roll for a sponsor product may go, put one for a ticket or merch deal for the team; enumerate a ‘fan of the game’ or ‘innovation of the game’ or ‘frozen moment’ or any number of pieces of content you’re already sharing with fans and brand it internally and show sponsors how that in-house branding/promotion can be theirs, for the right price. While 15-20,000 at your arena may see a Jumbotron or billboard ad, hundreds of thousands (at least 10-20,000 of which are in your sweet spot of geo-demo- segments; if not more) are seeing your web content, your tweets, your Facebook posts and, even better, are taking immediate action upon them and/or sharing them to amplify their reach (in a targeted manner, oftentimes) even more! Are you extracting value from all of your earned impressions? Start today. If the sponsors don’t understand it, show/teach them. The same must be done with the pitchmen. As social media continues to penetrate all facets of a team and organization, it makes communication and collaboration within the organization more important than ever. In the end, we’re all looking to sell to the greater community of fans, to grow that community, and to better understand what it values and wants. We’re all playing for the same team. Social media is about listening to the online chatter, but don’t ignore the several touch points and interactions happening at all levels of the organization on a constant basis every day! Make your organization social, too, and you’ll optimize throughout.
Clich here to see more of the No Biz Like Sports Biz series of posts
Posted by Neil Horowitz Follow me on Twitter @njh287 Connect on LinkedIn
