digital engagement

Look beyond “Social Channels” to create long term relationship with fans

To be able to keep the revenue flowing through these channels, it is important to keep the fans engaged even outside the stadium and also during the off season period.

Sports teams have always had highly dedicated fans rooting for them. Time and again we have even seen fans passionately rooting for their favorite teams and players. Sports over the years, has become more than just an activity that we indulge in for entertainment. Today an increasingly large number of people view their favorite sport as second only to religion and idolize the stars in the team. Every basketball playing kid aspires to be a LeBron and every 40 year old Patriots fan feels connected with Tom Brady.

Why is engagement with fans so important?
This growing craze among the population for their favorite sport is the perfect leverage for sports teams to use to keep fans engaged even outside of the stadium. Today many teams earn a big chunk of their revenue through sales of their merchandise and from sponsorship deals. To be able to keep the revenue flowing through these channels, it is important to keep the fans engaged even outside the stadium and also during the off season period.

A few decades ago, teams would employ simpler means of communicating with their fans to engage with them. Some of these traditional methods included using radio, having mascots interact and take pictures with audiences while distributing freebies.

Now, in these changing times, these traditional methods aren’t enough to help teams achieve their objectives. It is due to these reasons that teams need to change their approach toward fan engagement.

What are the modern ways teams need to look at for creating sustained engagement?
In times when people are becoming increasingly tech savvy, sports teams shouldn’t fall behind for any reason either. The Operations Heads or Marketing Heads or for that matter anyone tasked with ensuring steady engagement with fans needs to understand this and take the necessary steps. From using social media to connect with fans to using technology to stay connected with them throughout, teams need to do whatever seems necessary.

Our platform, Fanisko, is a technology driven application that fans could install on their smartphones and stay in touch with their favorite team. One of the ways in which our app creates fan engagement is through fantasy games that are based on the Augmented Reality/Mixed Reality technologies. In simpler words, our games offer a mix of fantasy and reality to the fans letting them build their own teams with their choice of players from the pool and face off against other fans using the app.The fans can even be quizzed for their knowledge of the teams and the sport itself by attempting trivia questions. Fans could also predict outcomes of games beforehand and stand a chance to win exciting rewards that teams post for winners.

Sports teams stand to benefit using Fanisko as a one stop fan engagement platform. Fanisko can create increased fan engagement apart from game time engagement. This directly creates higher attendance at games and even increased viewership as far as fans sitting at home and watching are concerned. This has a direct impact on the quality of the sponsorship deals for the team. The analytics section in Fanisko lets the teams analyze various data points & figure out areas of impact and areas of improvement needed for fan engagement. The teams could also make sure that all the important information concerning any new developments are shared with the fans. After all, fans they do have the right to know! Fanisko is the platform much needed by a team looking to engage beyond the “Social” channels and wanting to create long term, engaging and profitable relationship with fans.

To know in detail and get a demo of the way Fanisko works and why we call it the best fan engagement platform out there, click here.

Celebrities… Give Your Fans What They Want – A Direct Line To You!

What if there was a way for the celebrity to gain that genuine transparency and at the same time actively manage their fans on their own platform?

Before the rise of social media, the few ways in which fans could interact with celebrities was by sending fan mail by post, reading magazines or buying concert tickets and attempting to get backstage for a glimpse. Today, all it takes for a fan to engage with their favourite actor, singer, athlete, etc is press a button to make celebrities appear alongside updates from their real friends on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

But as a celebrity or an athlete reaching out to their fans to give each and every one of them that personal connection, ask yourself…

Is it you that’s actually engaging with the fan and forming that connection or is it your assistant?

Celebrities have monetized their fame and social media accounts into micro-media companies. Their handles are self-contained streams of self-promotion and brand management. And like most media companies, they’re designed to court advertisers and business partners. Unlike other companies that use social media for self-promotion, celebrities’ promotional power stems from the illusion that they’re doing the endorsing, not some skilled social media team. Celebrities must maintain the appearance that they’re not merely brands. Some do so better than others.

Fans subscribing to the celebrity on social networks are hoping for a direct line to the humans behind the glitz and glam. But in reality, we are subscribing to the same thing we get from their interviews, television commercials and paid appearances: what their team of publicists, managers, agents, assistants and brand partners have to sell us.

Of course, the actual celebrities day to day schedules are too busy for running a media company, so the task is often farmed out to management companies, personal assistants, and interns. In this highly connected era that we live in, where fans can easily and directly interact with famous people online, the celebrity-fan relationship has intensified and become increasingly complex to navigate.

But what if there was a way for the celebrity to gain that genuine transparency and at the same time actively manage their fans on their own platform?

While social media applications like Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat have given celebrities and athletes an opportunity to interact with fans on a mass scale, the conversation has been almost exclusively one directional. Fan management app Fanisko aims to change that by helping celebrities connect with fans directly without having to deal with their assistants or marketing teams.

As a platform that supports images, videos, live streaming, podcasts, polls etc, Fanisko’s transparent and real time interaction with the biggest names in sports, entertainment and lifestyle enables fans to form a real connection. The celebrity and the fans can now sit in the comfort of their own homes and have a real conversation that goes far deeper than sending out a tweet or posting something on their Facebook page. Multiple product features within the Fanisko App can let the celebrity create specific kinds of engagement that none of the social platforms can create. A feature like a trivia quiz can let the fans learn more about the celebrities’ lifestyle & their personal preferences.. Celebrities using Fanisko to connect with their fans could also have in place a rewarding system such as a face to face meeting for the first fan to get all the answers right on the quiz.

Another feature that gives the Celebrities using Fanisko greater control over what sponsors are shown on their profiles. Unlike other social media platforms, Fanisko lets the celebrity monetise the sponsorships by letting them choose exactly what adverts are shown. Sponsors would then be in a position to bid for the advertising space on the celebrities’ Fanisko profile.

The bottom line is that the Fanisko platform can ensure that the Celebrity – Fan interaction be more personalized, more controlled and more effective. It is a super win win situation for the celebrity and for the fans.

Click here to learn more about how Fanisko can help you connect better with your fans.

How Data Is Changing the Nature of Fan Engagement

Today’s mobile and social technologies have completely transformed the way fans consume their sports content and how they interact with their favorite clubs on a daily basis. It’s safe to say that it’s no longer enough for organizations to think they know what their fans want, and instead, they have to know what they want.

Today’s mobile and social technologies have completely transformed the way fans consume their sports content and how they interact with their favorite clubs on a daily basis. It’s safe to say that it’s no longer enough for organizations to think they know what their fans want, and instead, they have to know what they want.

As a direct consequence of this trend, sports teams and their stakeholders are on a constant lookout for new methods on getting their supporters connected by adding more value to their fan experience. But to do that, however, they need to understand better what drives their fans and what makes them look for more.

As GlobalSportsJobs CEO Will Lloyd states: “The answer, as so often these days, is data.”

From any given club’s perspective, fan data is a precious asset to have. And it’s only those teams that have figured out ways on how to gather, analyze, and utilize this data to their advantage, who have a chance to increase the value of their fan engagement in a consistent manner. In other words, the information allows sports teams to get inside their fans’ heads, and in a sense, anticipate their actions, their desires, and their dislikes. It is to provide them with everything that they will ever want or need from their team.

“It is more important than ever to understand who our fans are and how they want to engage with us,” said Ian Treseder, Marketing and Commercial Manager at the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR).

Fan Data Analytics Application

Analytics can be applied in a wide range of areas such as ticket pricing, customer relationship management; sales inventory, and, of course, fan engagement. But when it comes to the latter, in particular, it can be used to enhance the live game experience, as well as to increase both fan and sponsor participation.

With abundant data at their disposal, sports teams can find new and innovative ways to engage specific fan groups. Live engagement can, for instance, be used to enhance the in-game experience, like requesting a particular song or earning a reward for frequent concession purchases.

With past attendance data, teams can increase ticket purchases with targeted promotions and offer personalized discounts for similar games like those previously attended. Similarly, this sort of data can be used to target those who don’t attend games as much and could be motivated through some custom-tailored promotions. Sponsor ads can also be personalized based on the fans’ past behavior, both on and off the stadium, for increased effectiveness.

Fans Using Data

Sports fans are also keen on getting their hands on some data, and some teams are more than willing to provide it. The data offers a fan what they want to know. It can be about how fast a player is running, or the distance a player covered on the court, or other in-depth information about what’s going on. Many fans are also into fantasy sports, and by having this sort of data, it can influence their picks for their fantasy teams. In short, there is a multitude of ways that data can be used to enhance fan engagement.

Conclusion

As an SDK integration platform, Fanisko Engage can provide both you and your fans with the necessary data for a more engaging and pleasurable fan experience overall. From front-end interaction like Mixed Reality for fan experiences, Augmented Reality for gamification, and Artificial Intelligence for personalization, to back-end analytics, Fanisko brings teams into the modern era of data-driven fan engagement. For more information, please feel free to check out our website.

The Importance of an Integrated Fan Engagement Platform

Enhancing the fan experience at the stadium has always been on the mind of sports clubs, ever since sports became an industry. But as technology is progressing and we are finding ourselves in the midst of yet another technological revolution, the focus has been slowly shifting away from the ‘match day’ and more into the ‘every other day.’

Some, more forward-thinking sports teams have realized that fan engagement plays a crucial role in their growth strategy and that there is much more to it than what’s happening during match day. There are four other fan engagement strategies, all tied together by a fully integrated fan engagement platform.

Hosting Fans

Non-match days provide an excellent opportunity to entertain fans at your venue to make them feel more like part of the team. A tremendous and intimate experience is stadium tours. The Minnesota Vikings, on the other hand, use virtual reality to bring the club’s history to life for their fans. The club’s stadium has a 10,000 sq. foot interactive experience, known as the “Vikings Voyage.”

Connecting Fans

Sports fans are tribal, and they want to communicate with their fellow fans almost as much as they do with the team, itself. Facilitating those connections is a sound fan engagement strategy. Behind-the-scenes experiences with the help of virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR,) as well as 360-degree video are a great example of fan-team connectivity. It is how the New England Patriots do it with their “Travel Inside the Game” initiative. Fantasy football and other such eSports are a great way to connect fans.

Bringing Fans Closer to the Live Action

As sports clubs grow, so does the fan base. But as it so happens, not everyone can attend the matches, mostly because of geographical distances. But as VR technologies continue to develop, it is possible to make these fans feel like they’re on the pitch, from the comfort of their own homes.

Enhancing the Live Experience

Empty stands can and will result in a flat atmosphere, even for those watching at home. Improving the live experience and drawing in the crowds, is and will continue to remain an essential factor. AR/VR technologies like MLB At Bat app is one example of bringing people back to the stadium. On-location free Wi-Fi is a given.

The Integrated Fan Engagement Platform

More sports teams recognize the importance of having a fully-integrated digital platform where they can stay connected with their fans and have fun and interactive activities happening 24/7, 365 days per year. The best such platforms, like Fanisko Engage, will integrate operations from all the four fan engagement strategies mentioned above.

Conclusion

With the staggering amount of sports content available, as well as the overwhelming number of channels where fans can interact with their teams, it’s next to impossible to keep track of and provide any cohesive fan experience. But with an SDK integrated platform like Fanisko Engage, every sports team can. If your team doesn’t have its mobile app, Fanisko creates it. You can check out our website for more information about what it means to have an integrated fan engagement platform.

Fan Engagement as a Culture

Sports, unlike most other industries, has the luxury of starting out from the point of loyalty with their customers/stakeholders/fans. Not even the entertainment industry has this advantage, let alone other, more mundane businesses, like manufacturing, banking, fashion, or whatever.

It is the same reason why sports fans aren’t called customers, in the first place, since they are not buying a commodity or a service. They are, instead, investing their time, energy, mindset, and sometimes, even their entire personality in their favorite team. What’s more, they’ll continue to do so even when the team’s ‘product’ is not rising to their expectations. Again, not many businesses have the luxury of continued customer loyalty when they are underperforming on the market.

The particularity in the business world should not be taken for granted, however, even if the emotional ties between fans and their respective sports teams can be generations old. Instead, it should be respected and nurtured for what it is – a culture.

This attitude and perspective towards fan engagement are where clubs can set themselves apart from the competition. Most successful sports teams understand this relationship for what it indeed is and make sure to maximize the opportunities that it provides.

The Golden State Warriors

There’s probably a no better example of a team that has understood fan engagement for what it is, than the Golden State Warriors. Not that it’s the only one, mind you, but it’s a team that managed to ‘rise from its own ashes’ because of it.

It all started back in 2010 when the team sold for a whopping $450 million. Given that they hadn’t won a championship since 1975 and it had a severe lack of facilities, that was a lot of money. But Joe Lacob was able to look beyond all that and began building the team’s culture both on and off the field.

With their campaigns like “We Believe” and “Strength in Numbers,” the Warriors have taken fan engagement to a whole new level, seeing a constant increase in attendance and a strong developing bond between the team and its fans. These are only set to increase with the team’s move to their new, state-of-the-art, and self-financed arena in 2019.

None of this would have been possible if it weren’t for the Warriors’ ability to recognize and then build their fan engagement culture around the supporters, themselves. It’s the fans that represent the foundation for any successful sports team, and the Warriors know it.

The Solution

Taking a leaf out of the Warriors’ playbook, we come to realize that a club has to build itself around its fans and the community. It can only be achieved if it is through every touch-point and direct communication.

Fanisko Engage is an online platform which creates unforgettable moments for the 21st-century fan. As supporters clamor for more connection, Fanisko’s tech platform brings them to the center of attention by offering the first ever Mixed Reality fan experience. It is combined with Augmented Reality for gamification, as well as Artificial Intelligence for personalization, thus, bringing the team and its fans together, wherever they may be.

Conclusion

In the end, it’s the fans that are the real experts of your club, and it’s only through them that a sports team can succeed. By giving them the means to stay connected and interact with your squad 24/7, you will be sure to develop a bond that can withstand anything. Fanisko Engage can get you there!

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