Increase engagement and PartIcIPatIon With An integrAted digitAl MArketing CAMpAign

inCreAse ngAgeMent And pArtiCipAtionWith An integrAted digitAl MArketing CAMpAign

Marketing campaigns tend to be more effective when delivered through a number

of parallel channels. indeed the recent survey, social Media report for sport

organisers, published by ACtiVe network, indicates that many sports events

organisers are already using a mix of different media to help boost participation in

their events.

running an integrated marketing campaign also offers the opportunity to

communicate with a larger number of people, increasing awareness around the

event and increasing the number of participants.

this integrated marketing approach works especially well when using digital media.

in this briefing document, we’ve listed the main channels that you should consider

when promoting your events.

event website and blog

Your event website is typically the first destination for people who want to find

out more about your event. As the hub of your campaign, it should offer clear,

unambiguous navigation for potential and registered participants.

Broadly speaking the page should direct visitors clearly to the following information:

• entrant information including: registration, course map, travel to the start point.

• training: Advice on how to prepare for the event including tips from the experts

and an opportunity to share experiences with fellow participants.

• results: An easy to search database where participants can find their position,

time, and other statistics around their performance.

• share buttons: enable visitors to your site to share your page on Facebook,

twitter and other social media channels

• subscription to newsletter button: enables registered and potential participants

to keep up to date with the latest information about your event.

‘Blog’ is a catch all term for an area of your website where you post new content

on a regular basis about your event. Although it can be tied to your editorial

calendar, it offers the freedom to publish news and information spontaneously to

your audience.

in addition, it should be easy to use so that authorised contributors can post

information using a simple content management system (CMs).

What are the advantages of a blog?• it’s a flexible way of providing your audience with the latest news about

your event.

• it enables you to tell engaging stories around the event, training, location

and more.

• You can draw in a range of interesting stories from multiple contributors from

your organisation.

• You can publish user generated content. For example, the training diary of a

participant in the run up to the event.

• refreshing your blog regularly with content that contains search keywords will

push your website up a search results page.

inCreAse ngAgeMent And pArtiCipAtionWith An integrAted digitAl MArketing CAMpAign

sports and endurance races online calendar listings

online calendar listings are a very effective way of increasing event exposure

and connecting with an online community. Many competitors search for the races

using online calendars so it is essential that you list your event in more than

one web listing site to maximise the reach of your audience and increase the

number of registrations.

For each listing you should include basic background information about the race, a

link to the registration form, and pictures and videos of past events. Always include

the organiser’s contact details for visitors who want to learn more about the event.

some online directories, such as ACtiVeglobal, include social media buttons which

enable visitors to ‘like’ and share an event on their Facebook timeline or to display

all the Facebook messages related to the race creating an online ‘buzz’ around

your event. this is probably the most effective way to get new registrations as the

ratio of registrations to visitors originating from Facebook is the highest amongst all

other marketing activities.

newsletter and email campaigns

newsletters are still one of the most effective ways of maintaining communication

with registered and potential participants from the time that they first enquire about

registration to after the event when you can gather useful feedback.

remember that the newsletter should always be personalised and relevant to your

audience. if not, you risk losing the interest of your contacts who always have the

option to unsubscribe to your communications.

More targeted email campaigns, like special offer email are another effective way of

engaging with your audience. discounted entry prices for a limited period of time or

for a limited number of entries helps drive registrations well ahead of the event day.

ConneCt With our

CoMMunitY oF 500,000 comPetItors In euroPe

oVer thAn 150,000 unIque uK vIsItors per Month on

ACtiVegloBAl CAlendAr

dId you Know..... in five months, the ACtiVeglobal

newsletter drove more than 21,000 competitors to the events listed on

the ACtiVeglobal events calendar and

generated a total of 5,100 registrations! to find out how ACtiVe network’s

marketing services can help you

increase participation contact us at:

Connect.EMEA@activenetwork.com

inCreAse ngAgeMent And pArtiCipAtionWith An integrAted digitAl MArketing CAMpAign

social media promotion

promoting an event on social media is a key component of your integrated

communications strategy. the power of sharing enables participants to talk about

your race to their friends, effectively promoting the event for you.

social media sharing buttons and widgets should be included in all your

communications, from the website to the race registration confirmation page, to

encourage people to share your events on their social platforms.

using the ACtiVe social media community, sports events organisers can

communicate to a regional and international audience of thousands of passionate

competitors. twitter and Facebook are the main drivers for our clients’ events

promotion and we are seeing an increasing popularity in the number of online

registrations originating from these social websites.

ppC campaigns

put simply, pay-per-click (ppC) advertising is the advertising that typically appears at

the top of the search engine results page (serp) above the main result listings. it’s

highly popular with businesses because you only pay when, as the name implies,

somebody clicks on your advertisement.

the cost of the click is normally determined by the popularity of the search term or

search keyword. You can also set the duration of the campaign, and also cap the

amount that you pay in total. once the amount that you have budgeted is reached,

the campaign comes to an end.

the clear pricing structure used by google AdWords, the most popular ppC

platform, gives you complete control over your ppC advertising spend thanks to

google’s clear pricing structure. other popular search engines, including Bing and

Yahoo offer equivalent services, while social platforms Facebook and linkedin also

deliver ppC advertising.

in addition, you can measure every aspect of your ppC advertising campaign

from the click-through rate, to the clicks that convert to sales. this means

you can continually review and optimise your ppC spend based on real-time

campaign analysis.

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