Building Brand Loyalty with Sports Fans

Without brand loyalty, commercially successful sports teams just wouldn’t exist. “Brand loyalty” and building brand loyalty might sound like some advertising jargon but loyalty to your favorite team’s brand is just called being a passionate fan. The most successful teams from this perspective are the ones that have fiercely loyal customers, whether or not they’re successful on the field or court.

Building brand loyalty for your sports team takes time, persistence and a lot of brightly colored foam fingers, but when it’s built, the payoff can be great.

Team Loyalty Starts Early

For many sports fans, their first love lasts a lifetime. The team they rooted for as a kid is often the one they root for as an adult. This lifelong brand loyalty not only results in lifelong ticket and merchandise sales, but less tangibly and more importantly for the fan, lifelong memories and a love for the game.

Promotions that bring kids into your stadium or arena can spark the beginning of a beautiful relationship between your sports team and those young fans. Free or discounted youth tickets, kids concessions deals and team kids clubs are just a few ways that your team can begin to reach out and inspire local families with young children to attend a game.

Make It Easy to Be a Fan

No, we don’t mean that your team should win every single game (though it wouldn’t hurt). Brand loyalty and fan loyalty mean that the team is more important than the score at the game. We’re talking about what the people behind the team can do to make it easy to be a fan.

Developing an active and transparent social media presence is a huge fan bonus. Post content on online channels that bring fans closer to the game, making them feel like they’re almost a part of the team. When the Atlanta Hawks gave viewers a look into their practice on Facebook, the livestream garnered over 1 million views—over 60% of their Facebook like count. Loyal fans love to be as close to the action as possible, so foster brand loyalty by producing social content that gets them there. Broadcasting team content on social media quite literally brings the fan experience into the palms of their hands.

Taking the steps to build brand loyalty for your sports team now is an investment that can have massive returns over the lifetime of your organization. Loyal fans make a strong fanbase that will support your team through thick and thin, so foster the growth and development of that loyal fanbase in any way you can.