In today’s world, we are blessed with access to lots of information from a range of sources, which has both its ups and downs. We have a greater choice but sometimes that can be overwhelming and the information we circulate can be lost in the noise.
My first role in football was as a media or marketing officer for my club, something I did voluntary to try and spread the word about the club and how great it was to play football. In those days (yes, I am that old) it meant match reports in the local papers, posters in the local shops and emails to potential sponsors. Now we have social media and apps as a way to promote our clubs and communicate messages, meaning potentially we can reach many more people in a shorter time. However, I often find for Sports Clubs that promotion and communications are last on their priority list and there are many reasons for this. It can be due to the fact they are too busy with sports delivery; they don’t have enough volunteers, or they do not have the confidence in the systems or types of social media.
A lack of external promotion or communication makes it difficult to reach new members, volunteers, and sponsors, and poorly worded or inaccurate communications can be damaging to your reputation, but this is no reason to avoid it. You just need to be transparent and true to your values, and whilst word of mouth still has a place to bring in new members, it is unlikely to help you target new community groups, reach new sponsors, or satisfy your key stakeholders. Internally if your current members don’t know what is going on within the club or have clarity on some of the decisions they make, members will soon get frustrated and be lured elsewhere.
Ask yourself these questions. How does your club communicate? does it work for your members, and do you communicate in different ways to support different people’s preferences?
How many times have you communicated information about your club and then later heard the phrase I didn’t know that, or no one told me? It’s easy to think that just because we write the information or post it online it means everyone has read it, but often it does not, so things need to be followed up and if people aren’t engaging with your content you need to find out why?
When did you last review your website or social media presence? how easy is it to find details of your activities and where you are or what you are about as a club? A simple start could be asking someone neutral to have a look and provide feedback.
If after reading this you think your club communication needs some work and you could do with some guidance on the support and resources available, then why not book a 60 minute club support session with me.
Caroline x
Comments