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Take Online Connections Offline

This is part of a short blog series where we take a look at how social media can be utilized to grow a sports team’s fan base, regardless of whether the team already has a large following or is starting from the grassroots level. You can see the other posts here.

The first three posts of this series have covered listening, content and community. This week I’m going to focus on the importance of taking online connections offline.

Keep It Consistent

Offline conversation about brands is still what prompts us to search for more online. If you want to build awareness and grow your fan base, you need to get out into the community offline as well as online.

Your message should be consistent across all platforms and all types of media, whether it’s online or offline. Make sure that if people see your team online they’ll recognise your brand offline and vice versa. Online and offline marketing should be part of one strategy and both should be kept in mind at all times.

Jay Baer explains the concept of integrated marketing quite nicely in this post.

Taking Your Online Connections Offline

I’m a big believer in the power of social media, and whilst it may seem strange to talk about offline communication and community in a series of posts about using social media to grow your fan base, I feel social media is most powerful when combined with offline communications and promotions.

Taking online connections offline is one of the most powerful things that can be done with online marketing and social media. It’s also key in building long lasting relationships.

We’ve seen some pro teams utilize tweetups as a way to bring people together and there’s no reason this can’t work for teams and organizations of all sizes.

Social media holds a world of opportunity for sports teams to reach new people, but often it’s what happens offline that will turn them into fans – the atmosphere around your team, the experience, the community.

When planning your social media strategy it’s important to think about how you can take your new online connections offline and bring them closer to your team.

How have you or your team connected with your audience offline?

For a full guide on how you can utilize social media check out ‘The Ultimate Guide to Grass Roots Sport and Social Media’

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Image by markhillary

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2 Responses to Take Online Connections Offline

  1. Jamie Favreau October 26, 2010 at 7:28 pm #

    I totally agree. I have met many of my connections from the online world offline. Great interactions and friendships happen during these meetups.

  2. Jamie Favreau October 26, 2010 at 7:28 pm #

    I totally agree. I have met many of my connections from the online world offline. Great interactions and friendships happen during these meetups.

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