How to Promote Your Community Soccer Tournament
It may get drowned out by other sports, but soccer remains immensely popular across the United States. In 2023, Statista figures say 14 million Americans had played the beautiful game at least once.
As the organizer of a soccer tournament, you’re probably wondering how to get some of these enthusiasts to come to your event. Well, the answer isn’t as easy as sending out a few messages. Instead, you need a well-rounded marketing strategy that helps you ensure spectators fill the stands. Here are some best practices:
Offline Marketing
Everyone knows that social media and the internet is the easiest way to reach out to a large and diverse audience. But what they fail to consider is that offline marketing is still one the most popular ways to attract local spectators.
Word-of-mouth referrals, for example, are a popular marketing tool — as they cost effectively nothing and have an almost perfect conversion rate.
Moreover, don’t underestimate the importance of a catchy poster.
The problem with American soccer fans isn’t that they don’t exist — it’s that they don’t know where to go for local games. So put up flyers across local sports centers, bars and restaurants, schools, garages — almost anywhere you think a fan may be lurking.
You’ll be amazed at how effective a piece of paper can be.
Designing these posters can be a bit tricky, if you don’t have sufficient experience. But remember these three tips and you should be golden:
- Always mention information like time and dates clearly, to avoid confusion
- Grab attention in as little time as possible, to prevent it going into the trash
- Focus on making it visually appealing, to give your event credibility
Browse through some of these customizable sports poster templates to create more professional designs and achieve all three of these goals.
Another popular avenue for offline marketing could be to bring on a sponsor — such as a local business or institution. This sponsor can leverage its own team to build hype, while also easing out some of your budgetary constraints.
Online Marketing
If you don’t see much success online, don’t worry. The internet is still your best friend. Here are some actionable steps you can take to improve your online presence.
Create a Landing Page/Website
Depending on the tournament’s scale, or the popularity of the teams, you may already have access to one or more websites from which to promote your event.
But we highly recommend creating a unique landing page specifically for the upcoming tournament. There’s really no reason not to — creating a basic website takes only a few hours, costs very little, and can increase your online reach significantly.
Apart from being a great place for attendees to seek out essential information — and buy tickets — a landing page is also an excellent platform to promote your brand and build excitement. It could, for instance, host the event’s main promotional video.
When this website is optimized for local SEO, it will be even more effective. For an in-depth guide to making this happen, check out Google’s guide here.
Run a Social Media Campaign
Social media is the undisputed king of digital marketing. Not only are these platforms frequented by users of all ages and across all countries — users are neatly divided into several niche interest groups.
Before you begin your campaign, you’ll likely have an idea of the type of person who’s likely to attend — and who’s more likely to tune into the local baseball game instead.
On social media, it’s easy to find these fans by looking up relevant communities, groups, and soccer fan pages. Once you’ve found your target audience, focus on creating content that builds anticipation — such as teasers, or countdown posts — as well as posts that users will find valuable — such as prices, timings, and prizes on offer.
It’s always tricky to strike the right balance on social media and there is no single guide to success. But provided you post consistently, put out high quality content, and target relevant audiences at appropriate times, you will see success.
While you’re at it, don’t forget to create an event page on Facebook, as well as a special profile on Instagram, X, and any other social media platform your target audience uses.
Collaborate with Influencers
Soccer may not be as popular as the NFL, but it has a very dedicated fan base. If you’re struggling to break into this club, consider tying up with an influencer.
This could be a former national level player with a YouTube account, or an Instagram influencer known for their love of the sport. Getting known faces to talk about your event can boost visibility significantly.
But that’s not all. Influencers also add credibility. They confirm to fans that this isn’t just a gimmick, but an exciting few games of soccer to look forward to.
At the end of the day, any of these tactics can be effective on their own — but combined they can ensure that the stands fill up, and the sound of chants fill the air all through the tournament. So go ahead, start handing out flyers and creating social media posts today.
In case you’re struggling with any design elements, consider using a tool like PosterMyWall. On its website, you’ll find hundreds and thousands of templates for posters, newsletters, YouTube thumbnails, and more.
