The eight things you should have in your soccer tournament marketing plan.
- Always market your event like it is your first year. This keeps you fresh! With the exception of the NATD (which held a lot of promise but was apparently a front for a popular travel agency…) visit the links at the bottom.
- Social. Instagram search is a top hit right now. Mine Instagram accounts for leads and conversions. Posts quick hot stories of behind the scenes; folks love that.
- You have a tough nut because you are early in the season which means your tryouts to team application window is really short. You have a tough nut because you are late in the spring season and there is so much competition. You have a tough nut because you are early in the spring season and weather is challenging. Every soccer tournament has challenges. Learn how to position these challenges into advantages.
- Not a fan of discounts, especially multi-team discounts. Teams either want to come because you have a fun event or they don’t. Discounts are quick hit, price-ony considerations that do not build a deep brand. They are like sugar before a game to short-cut a balanced diet.
- You have something different. Work that message to the appropriate teams teams. There is a complementary market in the spring/fall. Build partnerships with these tournaments and you both market each’s event to your teams. We encourage TourneyCentral tournaments to help each other.
- Go all in on social channels like the whole world is watching regardless of how many followers you have. You don’t need that many engagements to move to check you out and apply. (Gary Vaynerchuk just put this on Medium)
- I really wish I had a magic formula, but there is nothing magic other than
a) know who you are
b) know what you want
c) be tenacious - Get social, check out the listings linked in blog post, make sure everything is accurate and complete on your site and the links from the listing places are tight (accurate, one click) Don’t buy blast lists; your Mailchimp mailing list should only be organically-gathered contacts.
But mostly don’t give up, don’t get cynical.