How Do You Engage Fans in the Age of Short Attention Spans?

We live in the age of short attention spans – the fact that scientific research has confirmed. Digitalization of all aspects of our lives has brought us some good things, but also plenty of distractions. According to Microsoft Corp. study, we now have an average attention span of about 8 seconds. Whether it stagnates or continues to deteriorate, one thing for sure: the current downward trend is being felt in all industries.

We live in the age of short attention spans – the fact that scientific research has confirmed. Digitalization of all aspects of our lives has brought us some good things, but also plenty of distractions. According to Microsoft Corp. study, we now have an average attention span of about 8 seconds. Whether it stagnates or continues to deteriorate, one thing for sure: the current downward trend is being felt in all industries

When it comes to sport, the decline in ratings and general TV viewership is undoubtedly becoming more worrisome for sports executives. Since fans are overwhelmed by options across a multitude of devices, they can’t keep up. So how do you engage fans in the age of short attention spans?

Millennials as Part of the Equation

While millennials are hardly to blame for the overall drop in ratings, it is interesting to take a look at how they approach sports. For example, Nielsen data for the NFL shows that even though it may seem that ratings have decreased among millennials, the number of millennials who watch NFL has in fact seen an increase. So what caused the drop? It was that millennials watched fewer games, and there was also a decline in the minutes observed per game. As it turns out, fans are starting to watch sports less often, and for shorter periods of time.

The Importance of Keeping Fans Engaged

A decrease in fan engagement is the last thing any sports executive or club desires. In more ways than one, sport thrives precisely off of fan engagement, being the only industry where you get fans and loyalty even if you lack results. For this reason, it’s critical for the sports industry to find ways to battle short attention spans. TV is losing relevance, but merely to alter the platform from TV video to PC and mobile might not be enough. But what if the digital sports experience could innovate in ways that drive more fan engagement?

Battling Short Attention Spans

The fear of missing out drives Today’s generation and that fear should be exploited in productive ways. There are plenty of suggestions for improving fan engagement by feeding them information and making sports even more accessible to follow. Designing products that can make the best out of the digital age is the way to go. Make content more interactive and relevant to the fans, to keep them engaged even on days when no matches are being played.

Digital Platforms for Fan Engagement

Fortunately, some platforms can help clubs and teams engage fans so that they don’t leave to do other things. Fanisko Engage is one such product, as it offers plenty of features that have helped our clients see increased session times and higher engagement. It’s an SDK integration platform that utilizes Mixed and Augmented Reality as well as AI to improve the fan experience, gamification, and personalization.

Conclusion

Industries need to move fast and evolve in the digital era, and sports is no exception. Our product Fanisko Engage provides teams with just the kind of solution they need to stay relevant and attractive to fans. Visit our website for more information on it.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Fan Engagement

Even the most successful sports clubs make some errors in how they engage, depriving them of the possibility of forming deeper and longer-lasting relationships. With that said, here are several common mistakes to avoid when trying to engage with your fans. 

Fan engagement is the lifeblood of the sports industry. Nevertheless, this doesn’t exempt many sports teams or leagues from making mistakes in how they engage with their fans. Even the most successful sports clubs make some errors in how they engage, depriving them of the possibility of forming deeper and longer-lasting relationships. With that said, here are several common mistakes to avoid when trying to engage with your fans.

Generalization

The first mistake many sports clubs make is to generalize their content regardless of the often fragmented fanbase. Depending on the notoriety of the club, its fanbase can be spread out over numerous areas or even countries. Some of these sports teams present their content as if these fans were all centered in the same location and with the same interests. But while the team itself is what ties all of them together, other content may not be as relevant to everybody involved.

Arsenal FC, for instance, has a Hindi Facebook page that talks to its entire Indian fanbase in their native language and presents some other relevant content that only Indians may find engaging. Fanisko Engage is a highly-customizable fan engagement platform that can address this issue, ‘talking’ to each fan, based on their preferences.

Diluting the Fan Experience

Somewhat similar to the point above, some teams and leagues focus too much time and energy with separate products and promotions that ‘dilute’ the overall fan experience. While in and of itself, this activity isn’t a bad thing, doing it too much, however, will take away from the overall fan engagement. Known as the Pareto principle, or more commonly known as the 80-20 rule, it implies that just 20% of causes drives 80% of results. This principle is found everywhere in nature, finance, and even in personal relationships.

When applied in fan engagement, the Pareto principle implies that only about 20% of a team’s followers are diehard fans, but they are the ones that drive 80% of the revenue. And while these fans spend up to six times more money than their casual counterparts, bombarding them with too many promotions may have the adverse effect. Fanisko Engage can separate raving fans from the rest and target each of them with the relevant content for higher engagement and revenue generation.

Connecting but Not Interacting with Fans

Plenty of clubs spend much of their resources and energy connecting with their fanbase. Video content, for instance, is gaining a lot of ground in the marketing world and it’s shown to generate a high ROI. Nevertheless, when it comes to engagement, fan interaction is a definite must. In fact, 81% of marketing specialists agree that interactive content such as polls, quizzes, or all sorts of interactive games can better grab and retain attention than video content. Likewise, interactive content is better able at converting visitors.

Conclusion

All in all, proper fan engagement revolves around one’s ability to understand the fans, their wants, and needs, as well as the place they reside. It is to provide them with the most relevant and engaging content possible. Luckily, however, Fanisko Engage is a platform that can quickly achieve this.

By making use of its back-end analytics, every team can connect and interact with their fan base like never before, providing them with all sorts of interactive content like Mixed and Augmented Reality for gamification, and Artificial Intelligence for personalization. All of these are sure to allow your fans to stay connected 24/7, and helps you avoid the many mistakes other clubs are making when trying to engage with their fans.