SMS does a great job in reaching out to sports fans, but modern supporters are starting to demand more engaging and rich ways to communicate with their favourite clubs. Here’s how forward-thinking teams can deploy SMS Landing Pages, as a visually attractive and interactive way to have conversations with fans.
Sports teams at every level are increasingly commercially savvy. Much more attention is being paid to match day revenue generation, getting more fans through the turnstiles, and how to persuade fans to part with their hard-earned cash in the club shop, with 14% of club financial directors reporting that revenue from merchandising improved by more than 5% in 2018 (source).
However, few sports teams are trying to connect with fans in the place where they spend most of their time communicating – on their mobile devices. 79% of sports fans use their mobile devices to keep up to date on their team (source), and a proactive sports team can leverage this.
While SMS has seen a degree of success in alerting fans to the latest news and promotions, it lacks the visual appeal that many teams need to get their message across. And while email can accommodate these visual aspects, they’re often lost in inboxes and spam filters which in turn results in low engagement rates. So what’s the answer?
SMS Landing Pages – your new favourite player
SMS Landing Pages are specially designed mobile web pages, sent to fans via SMS. They can include images and video content, have no limits on text, remove distractions inherent with conventional web pages (which in turn increases conversions), and feature interactive call-to-action buttons.
Crucially they also combine the best parts of SMS and Email. Being delivered through SMS capitalises on an exceptionally high open rate of 95%, while providing all of the visual, branded elements provided by email.
Another benefit of SMS Landing Pages is that they can be personalised for every recipient. No two landing pages have to be the same. Dynamic fields like names, buying preferences, and any other content can be tailored for that unique fan.
Here are just some of the ways SMS Landing Pages can help improve your team’s interactions with fans:
Before kick-off
Buying tickets
Calling the ticket office can often be a bit of a pain for fans, and labour intensive for clubs to manage. SMS Landing Pages provides a friction-free environment where links to secure ticket purchasing platforms can be provided. With tickets bought, matches can also be added to the fans’ in-device calendar.
Merchandise/Kit sales
When promoting merchandise like new shirts, fans are going to want to see the goods before making a purchase. While a conventional web page can display images of the merchandise, an SMS Landing Page can be personalised for each recipient, so it feels like a personal invitation to show their support. This is much more sophisticated than simply showing their name; you can also reference their match attendance, previous purchases etc.
Provide travel links
Fans can have a lot of fun on away days, but they can often be ruined by travel delays. SMS Landing Pages can help with this by using call to action buttons which link to the latest travel updates, maps, stadium plans and public transport routes.
During the game
Food and drink promotions
SMS Landing Pages are a terrific way to supply promotions and discounts before the game and at half time. Supply a landing page which includes a barcode or QR code which the fan can then scan at the refreshment counter.
Full-time
Match reports
Provide links to interviews, video replays of key moments in the match, and of course -some post-match analysis.
Next fixture promotion
If your fans are walking away from the stadium after a big win, what better time is there to promote your next fixture? Make fans aware of ticket availability while the iron is still hot and ensure there are no empty seats by linking to ticket purchasing portals.
Analysing the result
With audience appetite at an all-time high for richer, more engaging and visually rich communications, SMS Landing Pages offer a great way to tick all of these boxes, while at the same time capitalising on the benefits of SMS and Email.
By embracing the next-generation in fan communications sports clubs stand a much better chance of having fuller stadia, more revenue from ticket and merchandise sales, and most importantly – more engaged fans.
If you’re interested to know more about how SMS Landing Pages can be used to improve your fan interactions please get in contact with our team today on 0345 356 5758 or email us at [email protected].
