Strategies for Sports Influencers

Influencers are everywhere. No matter the segment or the type of content you like, you will end up seeing several social media users with an elevated number of followers and engagement. These users are powerful and can bring their audience together. They listen, follow, and can consume whatever that person is sharing. Influencer Marketing has become a reality, and it’s now part of most digital campaigns. It’s no different in sports, where passionate followers get together to discuss and even follow someone’s opinion. If you plan to bet on influencers to run and grow your campaign, see some strategies for sports influencers below.

Social Media is the place to go

Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, are only a few examples of places to go when searching for influencers. A positive component of social media is that you can leverage different users and types of content depending on the platform. For example, Instagram is focused on visuals, especially photos and videos, while Facebook and Twitter can be used for discussions. Each channel brings its own set of influencers, and some might be successful in more than one place. A complete research can provide more ideas and options for your campaign.

Big names, big budget

One of the quick and effective strategies for sports influencers is approaching big names to advertise for your brand. Professional players, star icons, often make themselves available to help you with a sponsored post on their social media channels. Those can be highly effective and have a high reach, as famous people always carry a high number of followers. However, the challenge is accommodating the budget without compromising the rest of the campaign. Make sure to build your plan accordingly and evaluate all the options first.

Bet on micro-influencers

Micro-influencers usually have a follower base between 10,000 and 100,000 followers. In essence, micro-influencers are like any other influencers, but the smaller numbers can be translated as a more niche universe. It is a good strategy for sports influencers if you are planning to stick with a specific part of the modality or have a super-targeted audience to reach. Another positive perk of micro-influencers is authenticity.

Usually, big names are involved in several sponsorships, which leads to less credible messages, while smaller names receive fewer opportunities. When this happens, these influencers put a special effort into their messages, generating more interest and engagement from their users. Lastly, micro-influencers carry different costs than big influencers, benefitting the campaign budget and opening opportunities for other tactics.

How to make the best selection

Before looking into names and platforms, start by learning about goals and target audience. What the campaign plans to achieve? What are the main objectives? At the same time, who is the target, and what do they like? Throw all the details on the table, and you can determine the best path to start looking for influencers.

The answers provided in the step above will provide you with the channels that you best use for the campaign. With the media channels in mind, you can start searching for influencers that will fit that universe, have the right target audience, and will be able to help you achieve the main goals. As we mentioned previously, sports influencers are everywhere, but only with your specific details listed, you will be able to apply the suitable filters.

Negotiate and have a set of content ready

After selecting the number of influencers you want for the campaign, it is time to approach and negotiate. Set the expectations, hear their offer, and negotiate what is best for your brand and goals. Influencers can be flexible, and you might be able to create a solid plan around them.

Before kicking things off, have a set of content ready for them. In order to achieve success in the strategies for sports influencers, prepare different types of content like photos, videos, GIFs, articles, and what else you think will be effective during the contract.

Test and measurement are essential

Last but not least, it’s mandatory to test different influencers and types of content to ensure that your strategies for sports influencers are working as expected. Sometimes, one style engages better with a specific user, while the other will be more efficient with a different profile. Everything must be tracked and measured accordingly.

Data is vital nowadays since it will provide not only straight results but also can point to a different direction, show if the campaign is on the right track, what optimizations are needed, and so on. Sports influencers can be a strong ally, so make sure to follow our tips and strategies presented in this article. During your experience with influencers, you will also be able to identify what is working and what it is not, making the necessary changes to keep moving towards your main goals!