Results Delivered to a Soccer Club Client by a graduate of Hay There Social Media’s Core Training

How does a business spread the word enough online to drive noteworthy results offline?   With a multi-layered social media strategy conceptualized, planned and executed by an expertly trained, social media marketing professional of course.   Learn about a soccer club that worked with Nicole Kucab, founder of Perfectly Appropriate Social Media Management & graduate of Hay There Social Media Core Training, to better attack their business goals.

Prior to the busy season, the soccer club needed help with two main objectives:

• To increase the amount of premier player tryouts for the travel season
• To spread awareness and positive sentiment about the soccer club’s quality and competitiveness

 

We are happy to report: the goals were achieved.  After following her social media strategy, the club had its LARGEST number of tryout attendees ever, and they also had the HIGHEST number of premier teams they had ever fielded for the club.

The Strategy

Nicole took a strategic approach by following these 5 elements to reach her client’s objectives:

1. Aligning with Business Goals

Nicole’s first step was to understand the soccer club’s goals. The club aspired to grow its membership base and establish a strong presence in the community. Nicole’s job was to communicate that this club had just as much to offer their players and they were indeed just as valuable as other clubs, and worthy of playing for.

Nicole identified the core pillars that defined the club’s identity: prioritizing players, fostering a sense of community, engaging and entertaining the audience, ensuring coaching credibility, and promoting the club’s values. With these pillars in mind, she crafted a social media strategy that encompassed the essence of the club’s vision and objectives.

“Your whole social media strategy should tie back to your business goals,” Nicole said. “It should relate to achieving that goal. To just randomly post without strategy or thought – that does not work anymore.”

 

2. Creating Compelling Content

To capture the attention of both existing and potential members, Nicole recognized the need for captivating organic content. Three months before tryouts, Nicole began her social media approach. She took over managing their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages — then created a TikTok account for the soccer club.

“I’m always a big fan of the underdog,” Nicole said. “It was really rewarding to tell the club’s story and I became really invested in their community and mission.”

Nicole used all types of posts to tell the club’s story: Static images, carousels, videos, reels, and custom-created memes of graphics.

She curated reels from tournaments and matches, showcasing the club’s talent, dedication, and sportsmanship, by whittling an entire tournament of images down to a one-minute recap reel to streamline all the games for each team, since the club maintains several teams.

These recaps not only entertained the audience but also served as a powerful marketing tool to highlight the club’s achievements and promote their upcoming events. By consistently providing engaging and informative content, Nicole effectively nurtured a sense of connection and excitement among the club’s online community.

As a result, social media interaction skyrocketed:

• There were 9,700+ interactions in one month across all platforms…a 211% increase over the previous month.
• Post interactions on Facebook increased 221%; Interactions on Instagram increased 175%; Twitter interactions increased 120%; TikTok interactions increased 94%.
• New followers increased across all platforms. On Instagram alone, account growth increased DOUBLE from the previous month…with 100% MORE profile views than the previous month.
• Engagement continued growing: On Instagram, engagement was up 33% from the previous month.

3. Enhancing Community Interaction

While social media served as a primary platform for engagement, Nicole understood the importance of fostering real-life connections. She created posts to encourage participation and responded accordingly from the soccer club to each interaction. By bridging the gap between the digital realm and the physical world, Nicole created a sense of belonging and strengthened the club’s bonds within the community.

These efforts not only enhanced the club’s reputation but also attracted new members who were drawn to the inclusive and vibrant atmosphere.

“I really feel like it helped pull their community together,” Nicole said. “Not only to market the premier and rec teams, but to communicate with their existing audience and keep them up-to-date on what’s going on with the club.”

The following is real feedback shared with the soccer club that resulted from this intentional effort.

4. Keeping Members Informed

Effective communication is vital for any thriving organization, and Nicole recognized the significance of keeping existing members informed about club happenings. She established a regular cadence of updates, ensuring that the club’s activities were communicated clearly and efficiently through social media platforms.

By keeping members engaged and aware, Nicole fostered a sense of unity and active participation, leading to increased loyalty and enthusiasm within the club. Having the tournaments posted on social media prompted proud parents to view the posts – and share them with their own followers, too.

TO NOTE: This is where many professionals who limit their work to the outlined scope may fall short and have a damaging outcome for their client and for themselves.  Nicole went above and beyond to be in the communication loop with the client in order to understand what their customers needed to know.  The “extra mile effort” paid off.  

 

5. Leveraging Paid Social to Reach New Audiences

One of Nicole’s primary objectives was to expand the club’s reach and attract new talent. In addition to organic content, by leveraging social media’s wide-ranging audience, she devised targeted marketing campaigns that showcased the club’s values, accomplishments, and unique offerings.

Through innovative strategies including paid advertising campaigns within each social media platform, Nicole elevated the club’s visibility, capturing the attention of a diverse audience and attracting a significant influx of participants for tryouts.

Particularly on Instagram, the soccer club enjoyed consistent connection with non-followers, reaching more than 6,000 new accounts in one month alone.

 

The Takeaway

This project shows how an effective social media manager and a business with an open mind and willingness to communicate, test and try new tactics can really pay off.  By aligning her efforts with the club’s goals, curating compelling content, nurturing community interaction, keeping members informed, and expanding the club’s audience, Nicole successfully transformed the soccer club’s online presence into a thriving hub of excitement and connection.

By combining what she learned during Hay There Social Media Core Training with her strategic thinking, organized work methods and excellent client management skills, Nicole delivered on the club’s objectives and cemented its position as a beacon of excellence within the local soccer community.  It’s also noteworthy that Nicole set this client up for success from her very first presentation to them.

Actual feedback from a stakeholder of the soccer club:

“The Board was very happy with the proposal and presentation.”

Looking for Nicole’s help with your social media strategy?  Contact her today!  And if you’d like to deliver similar results to other businesses, learn more about our Core Training and schedule a call with us today!