A large amount of clubs I speak with tell me about their inability to grow and maintain their clubs. This is a catch 22 because they want to grow, but don’t know how. The ultimate goal of any organization is to try and increase the amount of people who know who you are and what you have to offer. Take Apple for example; there isn’t a whole lot of people who haven’t heard of the iPhone or iPad, because Apple has a done a great job of informing people of who they are and what they offer. Some people might argue that brand awareness is more important to a for-profit company more so than a non-profit, but I don’t think that’s true. Take Habitat for Humanity or The United Way; two of the largest non-profit organizations in the country and people know who they are and what they do.
So what does this mean for a youth soccer club, and why is it important? I’m glad you asked! Most of the clubs I speak with in California would love to grow their club and increase the amount of returning players each season. Increasing registrations means brings in more money which can go back to the club and open up more opportunities for its members. There are two easy ways to start building your clubs brand:
- Social Media: It has never been easier to keep up with friends and find information about a business or service. Social media has taken over the Internet and has been a free tool for people to use to market themselves. Whether it be facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube, it’s very easy to get your name out there. I encourage clubs all the time to increase their social media presence. Nothing beats free marketing and advertising. The more social media presence a club has the more effect they will have when people go looking for them online.
- New Website: This is probably the easiest and best way for a club to market themselves better. Having a fresh website with up-to-date content can give outsiders great insight on how the club is doing. Blue Sombrero recently re-designed our own corporate website and launched our new Silver website package! The great thing about this new Silver package is it allows the club to switch between different themes as as often as they’d like which offers a new look and feel with the click of a button. Another great reason to have a new website is it can increase club sponsors. Sponsors are more likely to help out if they can see the club has a nice, up-to-date, website.
For more information on the Silver Themes, please feel free to register for our very first LIVE webinar on Friday, Feb. 24th at 12:15 PM EST. The first 50 people to register will get into the live webinar and be able to ask the presenter questions first hand. For those who do not register in time, the webinar, will later be posted on our corporate website and social media channels at a later date.
Feel free to check out Blue Sombrero’s facebook page (We just added the pictures of our Chili cook-off) and our Twitter. Feel free to contact me if you would like any more ideas or tips on how to increase the brand awareness of your club.
Best Regards,
Shane Westerhold : Regional Sales Manager for Blue Sombrero
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