How to use your website to promote your sport

Sporting organisations have been facing the growing issue of an inactive society for many years now.

Along with rising obesity rates and a growing preference for technology over physical exercise in the younger generations, the global pandemic is now also playing its part.

However, if the last year and a bit have taught us anything, it is the power of digital.

This blog post looks to identify ways in which the website can help to promote your sport and encourage user participation.

Building a strong brand profile.

If you look at some of the world’s most recognised sporting organisations, they all have a strong brand identity in common.

Whilst many clubs, teams and associations benefit from belonging to a sport that is well renowned and familiar, for others building awareness is still a big challenge.

Having a brand that is easily recognisable and understood enables better recognition and increased word of mouth.

The development or refinement of a brand can also help to unify not only the organisation, but every other organisation that is involved with the sport.

By creating brand guidelines, you can write or tweak a slogan, decide on your colour palette and font, design a logo and decide on a tone of voice, all of which can help to create and showcase a personality.

These guidelines can then be applied across the organisation to help communicate your profile and help build a reputation.

Drive website engagement.

It’s more than likely that your sport or the one you belong to reaches many different audiences and stakeholders.

Therefore it is very important that there is a range of content to keep the user engaged at all touchpoints within the website experience.

Nowadays, website analytics are so advanced that you can determine which types of content are performing for particular audiences.

Visual content such as imagery and video are fantastic at creating an emotive connection with the user.

Written content such as web copy or blog posts is a great tool for increasing brand awareness and persuading someone to take action.

Graphic elements like infographics are excellent at explaining complex subjects or adding some excitement to a subject that may not be that interesting, such as the rules of the game.

If you really want to increase website engagement, ensure that there is something for everyone.

Getting the user involved.

Now for the tricky part – how do you encourage or convince the user that your sport is right for them?

One answer is sports ambassadors.

Utilising key figures from within the sport, from professionals and officials through to fans and supporters, will help to deliver a credible insight into what your sport has to offer.

By using a variety of content such as interviews, podcasts, and testimonials, you can begin to establish a voice and develop trust with the user by using real people from within the sport to tell their stories.

Make the sport accessible.

A key part of your website lies in directing those with a potential interest in the sport towards an ability to get involved.

This can be achieved in a number of ways.

A calendar of events is a great way to start as it can enable the user to find opportunities to access the sport via their local club, and it can also enable that club to advertise and list their availability.

Embedding visual content and guides that inform the user on tips and training can help remove the barrier between knowledge and an understanding of the sport, if particularly complex.

An eCommerce shop facility can provide the user with quick and easy access to any kit or apparel needed to partake in the sport too.

It can also provide you with an additional revenue stream that can then be used to further invest in the sport.

Encourage loyalty and support.

Having an area on your website where you can share any insight about the sport and your perspective on any particular related topics can help you to build a community.

This can include a news section that shares important articles about the sport, to a blog section that allows different stakeholders within and outside the organisation to share their perspective on any sporting topic.

Ongoing newsletters are a fantastic method of driving loyalty and support too as they are able to educate the user about new initiatives, highlight key people within the sport and share their successes, as well as any upcoming events or promotions.

Lasting thoughts.

As sporting organisations look to tackle the huge challenge of an inactive society, the global pandemic may have in fact provided a huge opportunity.

The power of digital has in fact shown that anything is possible and that the sporting website can in fact be used as an online hub that can attract users and encourage participation.

Whilst there are many things that need to be considered and executed effectively, having a website that can truly showcase the sport and provide access to it, maybe the edge you need to overcome this challenge.