How to Improve Your Club’s Social Media

January 6, 2022 Sports Office Resources No comments yet

Social Media: Getting Started and Creating Accounts

Before being overwhelmed with the idea of having to manage a variety of social media accounts, your first step is account creation. Just this first step alone can take some weight off of the time-consuming task that is social media. You may feel overwhelmed at the idea of getting into new social platforms, especially if it’s for the first time.

Getting started can be easier than it seems. First, you’ll need to answer the question: What is your goal with each account? The most common goal is to get club information in front of more people or to act as an information portal for your current players and their parents. Maybe its purpose is a step beyond– to attract more followers
in the community to grow your club. Whatever your goal may be, there are different ways to approach your social setup.

In order to enhance your social media and achieve your goals, you need to understand the different types of content and posting.

  1. Videos, Photos, and galleries- Using imagery is a great way to really engage with your club. By showing off your players, coaches, and parents; it shows that you as a club are thankful and proud of who you are.
  2. Information and Content- On the other side of the spectrum is the pages that operate soley to inform. From marketing programs to broadcasting information about delays and cancellations.
  3. All of the Above- While it may require more effort and more commitment, some social pages do a little bit of everything; which is great! The more content and engagement you get on social media, the better!

What Are the Next Steps?

After you have your accounts all set up you are ready to start engaging with your audience. Engagement is the key to any good social media profile. While you are connected with your immediate audience, it’s important to continue looking to grow and engaging in those outside your primary community. Start implementing some of these ideas to build a bigger presence online:

  • Get some short video clips during practices and games to share as a “Story”
  • Stay consistent with your photo posts! 1-3 per week
  • Be responsive with questions, comments, and inbox messages on your social pages
  • Set some ads to promote your upcoming programs!

Remember, having a good social media presence takes time. You need to stay consistent and engaged throughout the process. Don’t be afraid to market your club and social media either. The more people that notice your club and engage, the better!

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How To Perfect Your Registration Setup

Sticky | December 28, 2021 Sports Office Resources, Uncategorized No comments yet

Setting up a registration can be a daunting task. There needs to be a lot of information collected, waivers signed, payments, and more. Many times, there are details left out of registrations that just make your job harder in the future. To some, a simple registration that collects payment and the name of a player will be all they need. But, every registration is different. Here are a few tips on how to perfect your registration setup!

1. Take your time.

Building a good registration doesn’t need to be a one-and-done task. Stretch out the building process over a few days, give yourself time to think of new data points and information that you’ll need to collect. This can also ease the stress of rushing and trying to quickly build a half-fledged registration. Setting some time aside and using the Sports Office 365 Registration Checklist is a great way to stay on top of your job!

2. Think of past mistakes and missing information.

It’s very easy to build what seems like a perfect registration that can be used over and over again; until the time comes to order uniforms and you realized you didn’t collect sizes. Look at past forms you’ve built and learn from what you’ve done in the past. Another option is reaching out to others or consulting online help to see what some of the most simple yet important information is that you may be missing.

3. Marketing your registration

Building a good registration is more than just adding in a few forms and then letting it sit. Registration is a constantly active program. Marketing your registration is going to be more in-depth than building the actual form; and arguably, more important. Marketing, whether it be social media, email, or any other preferred method: is an easy way to boost up your exposure. The more people you market to, the more registrants you’ll get. Be sure to set a good amount of time aside and plan to market far in advance.

4. Keep it simple

A well-designed registration is simple. There is no need for elaborate steps or forms that take more than 10 minutes to complete. The more user-friendly, the better!

5. Run Tests!

Perhaps one of the most forgotten about steps in this process is testing the actual process. The last thing you want is to go into your registration platform a week after it opened only to see nothing has been working the whole time. Set time aside to run through it yourself, have friends, and others test it for you. The more testing and tweaking you do, the easier it’ll be on you in the end.

Building a good registration doesn’t need to be hard. Set some time aside market, run tests. The more time and attention you set aside to building a good form, the easier it’ll be on your parents, and your future self!

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The Growing Issue in Youth Sports: Longevity

Sticky | October 27, 2021 General No comments yet

Longevity in youth sports is a growing problem. At Sports Office 365, we eliminate that problem and save you and your staff time and frustration!

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The Benefits of Having an Active Social Media Presence

Sticky | October 19, 2021 General No comments yet

Social Media is a brilliant tool to use at your club. Most of the time it’s free, it allows you to reach new people and stay in touch with the ones you already know. Having an active social media presence is more than just writing a post every now and then. Being active on major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can help you drastically improve your club!

Grow and Develop

For organizations big or small, growth is always important. Either numerical growth of players and teams, or growing and enhancing your club’s inner and outer workings. Social media allows you to market yourselves to a grandiose audience. With the many different platforms of social media, you’re able to take a different approach to how you want to market yourself!

Connect

Social media is great for allowing many different people to connect, and it’s no different when it comes to your club or team. Having a quality and consistent social media schedule allows you to connect with those interested in the organization. Whether that be new or returning parents and players, tournaments, or even local media. It gives your organization the ability to engage with the audience. With this also comes quick access to posting news and happenings within your organization. Team success, cancellations, or field updates; social media is one of the fastest ways to update your audience!

At Sports Office 365, we have a fantastic Social Media Manager to help aid your club. She’s added some examples below on the many benefits of an active social media profile!

A Virtual Support System

It’s common to be a part of an organization that groups by age and skill level. This automatically minimizes the number of exposure members have to interact with others outside of their immediate groupings. Social media allows for additional support systems outside of physical interactions.

For example, John goes to school with his friend Emma and is in the same club, Club A. They both had weekend games but are on separate teams. After a weekend of matches and victories, Club A posts a bunch of new photos and videos on Facebook and Instagram highlighting memorable moments. John sees Emma score a goal in a video post and comments, “Way to go, Emma!! Great focus!!” Emma likes and shares the photo of John in action on the field. These moments between friends would have otherwise been missed out on if it were not for their Club A’s engaging social media practices.

Increased Website Traffic

Social media channels are supplemental to your club’s website. Social platforms can reach different audiences in a personable, useful, and entertaining way to potentially interested community members who may not have otherwise been able to reach the website organically.

A proud Aunt Susan shares a photo of her nephew scoring a goal, from Club B’s Facebook page. A friend of Aunt Susan, new to the area, sees her shared post and tells her two kids about Club B that they are now very excited to join, after viewing the photos and videos of the members of Club B having a blast!

Reduced Barriers to Participation

Club C is aware that trying something new can be difficult. Their presence on social platforms helped Mark find their club. Mark stumbled upon a highlight reel of Club C’s game while he was looking for something unrelated on Instagram. From here he is scrolling Club C’s Instagram of team photos and action shots. Feeling a level of engagement to the members in the photos, he is interested in finding a team to play within Club C. Mark is now on their website in just 3 quick clicks. Thanks to social media, Club C made it a little easier to get newcomer Mark to step through that door.

There are many positive benefits to having an active social media account for your club. We pride ourselves on being able to confidently manage your social media accounts. Reach out to us today to see how we can help boost your club’s social media presence!

Click here to contact us!
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The Benefits of our Sports Administrators

September 28, 2021 General No comments yet

Running a sports team or organization is a lot of time and work. Just like in any business, a solid administration forms the strong backbone of your team! If you’re looking to free up time and ease that workload, look no further. Below are some of the best benefits of a Sports Administrator that you can find with us!

1. A dedicated Sports Administrator frees up your time

Tired of those long nights building out schedules and rosters? Fed up with the stresses of player carding and registration? Let us handle it! At Sports Office 365, We take pride in significantly easing the workload for clubs across the country.

2. Streamlining of Clerical Duties

Everyone gets backed up from time to time on something. Get teams proper practice time, issue refunds, organize communication; you name it! We help you stay on top of everything!

3. A Solid Communication Hub

Working at a club will bring you in contact with a ton of people. Don’t get backlogged on emails and phone calls. Let us handle that. We help out with incoming parent emails and our receptionist will be more than willing to yield their calls. Sports Office 365 will serve as your communication hub for your club!

4. Offset your Weaknesses

Everyone has their weak points when it comes to running an organization. We are able to work hand in hand with your strengths to drastically improve your club while helping fill in those areas that may be lacking.

5. Social Media and Marketing

One of the more difficult aspects of running an organization is marketing and media. We pride ourselves on our media and marketing abilities and are skilled in many different systems to improve your club and reach new audiences. We are able to post to your social media accounts, run email marketing and even have our own in-house graphics team to help develop your brand!

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