Summer has arrived in the UK and with it so has the first Cricket World Cup on these shores for two decades. With England embarking on the tournament as hot favourites on home soil, now is the perfect time for cricket clubs to take advantage of this guaranteed boom in engagement.
An increasing trend among clubs and organisations is the exploration of how to increase touch points with fans, to make the fan experience more personal and to collect valuable customer data in the process. The sheer length of many cricket matches can make this a difficult task, but with the boom in engagement experienced because of a home World Cup, England’s county clubs are in the perfect position to access a whole new group of cricket fans who will be eager to get involved with the sport.
In this digital age it is easier for teams to connect with fans than it has ever been before, not only those who attend games or watch on TV but throughout the course of their daily lives, and this can be done in a number of ways:
Create eye-catching content – We now know that 77% of people are consuming their content on mobiles and tablets, this provides the opportunity for clubs (using assets such as players) to utilise the popularity of the World Cup to keep fans interested for longer.
Relevant social media engagement – Not enough has been done in the past to find out where cricket fans want to consume their media. Do cricket fans prefer Snapchat or Instagram? Do they want short snappy videos or longer pieces of content? These are some of the questions that English cricket clubs need to answer for deeper fan engagement.
Use their World Cup stars more effectively – This is something that is done expertly in the IPL but English counties are yet to catch up. In order to keep fans engaged after the World cup clubs need to realise why they watch in the first place. By making more interesting content around players (much like in football) clubs can keep the cricket conversation going long past the World Cup.
Snack Media are experts in these fields and have a track record of making the most fearless content out there, as well as utilising our social media audience to its full potential – something that is crucial to clubs looking to take advantage of the World Cup.
The biggest mistake that clubs have been making to date is that their content hasn’t resonated with their fans beyond the traditional values of the sport. Whilst this is changing, the World Cup presents a massive opportunity for clubs to invest in digital output in the way that other sports have done to great success.
British county clubs can take heart from the legacy left by the London Olympics in 2012 as well as the way the country backed our football team at the last men’s football World Cup, however without a change in mindset and an advance in their digital capabilities clubs will find it difficult to have a similar result to those events.
If you want to know more about how Snack Media can help your organisation make the most of its passionate audience, contact SamC@Snack-Media.com.
