You can have the most interesting, exciting, and high-quality products, or provide an excellent, unbeatable service. But if you aren’t marketing yourself to the right people, on the right channels, and in the right way… Then you aren’t going to have huge success.
Golf season is approaching, and if you’re in the sporting business then it’s time to start putting yourself out there to gain traction before the season officially begins.
Here are our best tips on how to market your brand this coming golf season. The idea of marketing can be intimidating, but following the advice below is a good way to start building engagement and getting yourself and your products or services out there!
Pick Your Social Media Platforms Wisely
You don’t need to be on every platform to get results. In fact, trying to keep up posting across multiple channels can be difficult and confusing for many of us, leading to overwhelming.
Instead, focus on a few key platforms. The trick to choosing which ones is to know where your target audience spends their time. You’ll need to do a bit of research here, but it all comes down to what kind of person you’re selling to.
If your brand is aimed at business people, LinkedIn is a great choice. If e-commerce is what you’re after, Facebook is a great spot for that. Instagram is fantastic for visual content, and TikTok is a good choice for teens and young adults. Reddit advertising is less common but this is a great platform with huge potential.
Find out where your people are spending their time and place most of your emphasis there! There’s no point in spending hours posting and responding on Twitter every month when your audience is on another platform.
Provide Free Value
You don’t need to give your products or services away for free. But it is highly recommended to provide valuable information, content, tips, tricks, and hacks for your followers, which will help them out in some way.
Your social media profiles are a great place to do this. Post regularly and post valuable content.
While there’s nothing wrong with reposting things like news, memes, and inspirational content here and there, you want most of your feed to be packed with actionable, valuable information that your fans and followers can use.
Not only does this build you a reputation of being an authority in your field, but it helps others to really begin to trust your brand. This is the start of a loyal following!
Start an Email List
As well as maintaining a helpful and consistent social media presence on your chosen platforms, creating an email list is a great idea. Did you know that the average ROI on email is 42x?
The bonus is that people who sign up to your email list are actively choosing to receive communication from you. They’re the perfect audience to share new products with, ask for feedback, and update on what’s new in your business.
The beauty of email is that there are no rules. While social media still has its rules and regs, you can say what you want, how you want to in your emails.
That being said, keep it professional and on-brand, and make sure to weave stories through your emails rather than simply pushing product sales.
Embrace Video Content
Video content is in! Visual content is a step up from text (because who has the attention span to read an essay these days?), but video trumps photographs because it’s more engaging.
You don’t have to show your face if you’re not comfortable. Video apps like Dodly make it possible for you to create engaging stuff without ever showing yourself! Do a bit of research on writing video scripts so you can create relevant content that flows seamlessly.
You also don’t need to shift everything over to video and stop producing other forms of content. Mix it up between blog posts/text content, pictures, and video, but don’t neglect video because you’re shy or because it takes time. You’ll be missing out on a valuable marketing tool!
Partner With Influencers
These days, being an influencer is an actual job description. There are influencers in every industry, and most of them are very open to partnering with companies they like and whose products or services can be of use to them.
If you can find a sports influencer who’s willing to work with you and promote your brand, you can reach huge numbers of people.
Keep in mind that this should be a win-win situation. You can’t expect them to promote your brand with little or no knowledge of it, so you’ll need to be prepared to send out some products for them to test and review, or offer discounted rates.
Do a Giveaway
Everyone loves free stuff! A sure way to grab some attention and get people talking about your brand is to give away something of value. Sometimes, you have to spend a bit of money in order to make more!
If you’re an apparel or equipment brand, choose a few special pieces that would be enviable and promote your giveaway on social media and to your email list. This is also a great opportunity to grow your email list – get them to sign up as part of their entry.
Conclusion
Following these tips on how to market your brand, this coming golf season will give you a heads-up on many brands out there who are still struggling with their marketing.
Ultimately, you can have fantastic products, excellent merch, and top-notch service, but if you aren’t visible, driving engagement, and interacting with your target market, then you’re going to be fighting all the way to the end.
The good news is that marketing isn’t nearly as difficult as it may seem. Simply put these steps into action and be consistent, but remember, patience is also key. Put a marketing plan into place, be consistent, and you’ll start to see results!
About the Author
Jordan Fuller is a golfer and writer who runs his own website, Golf Influence. When he’s not on the course, he’s researching and writing info-packed articles aimed at amateur golfers.
