How to promote your sports club

26/02/2024

Want to promote your sports club? Then you’ve come to the right place.

These days, raising awareness of your sports team or club isn’t just a case of contacting your local newspaper. Social media is still on the rise and, with new platforms launching, it can often feel tricky to keep up.

What are the benefits of promoting your sports club?

Raising awareness of your club can:

attract more members, from all backgrounds
encourage more volunteers to help out
help secure more funding and sponsorship
boost morale among members and volunteers
attract more customers and spectators
garner support from your local MS or councillor

Tips for promoting your sports club

Consider your target audience

With a quick bit of homework, you can make some great plans for your sports club. Grab a pen and paper and write down what you’re trying to achieve: do you want to attract new members? new volunteers? Or are you looking for sponsorship?

Now think about your target audience and make a list of all the local places and community groups that impact on that audience. Remember to include online groups – most areas have a Facebook group that posts about local events and issues.

So, if you’re looking for new junior members, your target audience is likely to be parents, teachers and children. And the type of places or groups that will be helpful to you are schools, after-school settings, cafes, libraries, GP practices, the local community Facebook page and so on.

Taking the time to do some research and planning can really pay off! This is the starting point of your communications plan.

Top Tip: Take some time to think through what you’re trying to achieve

Advertise your club in the local community

Once you have made a list of places and community groups, think about how they can help you. Could you run a free taster session at your local school or maybe team up with the local Girlguiding unit or Scouts group?

Could you drop some advertising leaflets at the library? Can you put posters on local noticeboards? Can you keep your local Facebook page updated with your news and events?

Top Tip: Think about your local area and how people find out about clubs and community events.

Encourage word of mouth

Yes, social media is huge but traditional methods are still important. And nothing really beats word of mouth. We all love a good recommendation from someone we know!

Make sure you remind your members to spread the word. Looking for sponsorship? Ask them to speak to local businesses. Need new members? Ask them to invite their friends.

Top Tip: Make your members your loudspeaker.

Use social media to raise awareness of your club

Social media can feel a little overwhelming. There’s Facebook, there’s Instagram and X (previously known as Twitter). And, yes, we haven’t forgotten about you over there, Tik Tok and Threads. But don’t feel you have to be on every social media platform.

Our advice is to do something and do it well. Feel comfortable doing Facebook? Fantastic, don’t worry about Tik Tok.

There is a danger of trying to do everything – and achieving very little.

Top Tip: Don’t overstretch yourself. If you’re starting out, focus on one or maybe two platforms and consistently update.

Take advantage of free online tools and apps

Let’s face it, not many clubs have generous budgets or marketing departments. Fortunately, there are lots of free tools such as Canva which can help you design social media graphics, posters and presentations.

Capcut is a free video editing platform which allows you to turn videos filmed on your smartphone into social media content.

Mailchimp is a great free tool if you want to send a newsletter.

Top Tip: Head to Youtube and find tutorials for each app to help you get started

Be inspired by other clubs

We’ve loved following the progress of Walton & Hersham FC, a non-league side based in Surrey. They have attracted more than one million followers on Tik Tok. That’s more than some Premier League clubs.

Through live streaming games and updating their socials regularly with one minute highlight reels, they have developed a following from all corners of the globe.

Top Tip: Find out what other clubs (or small businesses) are doing to promote themselves and have a think about how you could do something similar?

Get funding for a sports camera

Bet you didn’t know you could get an automatic sports camera for your club with support from Sport Wales?

Automatic video cameras are becoming really popular because it means you can film matches and training sessions and then share your clips and highlights on social media.

So have a think about setting up a Crowdfunder campaign and Sport Wales may be able to provide match-funding through our ‘A Place for Sport’ scheme.

Top Tip: Find out how Hendy RFC raised enough funds to buy a Veo camera

An automatic camera - just like the one Hendy RFC raised money for.

Look into internship schemes

Futsal Club Cardiff is an amateur club run by volunteers. Keen to expand the club, it knew that communications would be central to growth. But without any sort of budget, the club couldn’t hire a consultant.

However, the volunteers there have demonstrated a stroke of genius in working with Cardiff Met University which has teamed up with Santander to offer funded internships to students.

The club have now been able to appoint a Communications Officer. We can’t wait to see what’s next for the club. You can follow them on Instagram and Twitter.

Top Tip: Find out about funded internships at universities and colleges near you.

Create private social media groups

Sometimes, a closed social media group that isn’t open to the public can develop more of a community feel and parents and members feel more comfortable in asking questions.

Valleys Gymnastics Academy is a thriving club in south Wales. It has a closed Facebook group for members so coaches can upload images and certificates.

Head Coach Melissa Anderson says, “Parents often ask a question and other parents will respond and be able to help so it has quite a family-feel.”

Meanwhile, the club also run an open Facebook page which promotes activities as well as their ethos.

If you’re a bit confused about Facebook profiles, pages and groups, here’s some extra info.

Top Tip: Find out from parents and members if they would appreciate a closed group

Have some fun with it!

Now, we don’t all have the Hollywood connections to rope in Anthony Hopkins for our latest promo. But we can take inspiration from Ryan and Rob’s marketing genius at Wrexham.

Why not involve a few familiar faces for some fun video clips – perhaps Carol at the local butchers is your biggest fan and she can talk about the club’s new season? Maybe Dai who mows the grass can show everyone how smart the pitch is looking ahead of Saturday’s game?

Think about all the different characters who make your club a brilliant place to be and get them involved. Not only will you come across as fun, sociable and community focussed – your posts are likely to be shared a lot more. It’s a win-win.

Top Tip: Get different characters involved and film fun, short video clips

Get in the local media

It’s worth checking which local media outlets cover your area – this could be a local newspaper, a community radio station or an online news website.

And if you follow our guide to press and media, it is really not as difficult as it may seem. If you can, ask them if they would like regular updates and photos and if they have deadlines. You can increase your chances of coverage by providing exactly what they need, when they need it.

Top Tip: Make a media list for your area and note down contact details, deadlines and any other details

Create a free or low-cost website

Some clubs feel that they don’t need a website and instead they just make sure that their Facebook page is updated regularly. And that’s absolutely fine.

But if your club still feels in need of a website, don’t worry – you don’t need to be a graphic designer. There are plenty of free or low-cost platforms like Wordpress.

My Sports Club and Pitchero also offer template pages ready for you to edit.

Top Tip: Follow our website pointers to help you get started.

Google my business

Turn people who find you on Google Search and Maps into new customers with a free business profile for your club.

Make sure you add information like a contact number, opening hours and your logo. Connect your website and social media channels and add friendly photos to help you stand out and give people a feel of your club.

Top Tip: Encourage reviews and respond quickly to build engagement.

Delegate!

You may well have some budding content creators or sports journalists in the club already.

Why not set up a few social media takeovers? This is when a brand or organisation lets someone post on the social media feeds for a day. It allows people to get insight into someone else’s experiences of the club and can be a good way to get some fresh content.

Or how about enlisting a Youth Reporter to write a match report or a story for your website?

Giving members or volunteers the chance to get involved in promoting your club can be great experience for someone who is trying to build their CV.

Top Tip: Advertise for contributors on social media or in your clubhouse

And just remember that, while it’s fun and worthwhile to promote your sports club, it’s really important to stay safe online, especially when you’re working with children and vulnerable adults.