Advertisement Ideas: How To Build A Fan Base!!!

 

While I was a senior at Hofstra University in 1987 I had the opportunity to be a public relations and marketing intern with The Long Island Knights of The United States Basketball League.  From day 1 I stressed how important it was to build a fan base and create a following for the team.  Our arena was located about 100 from a train station across from SUNY Old Westbury. I would take stacks of tickets and simply go to the train station and ask people if they liked basketball if they said yes I would give them two free tickets. I would take this a step further and go business to business asking if people liked basketball and if they said yes I would give them tickets to an upcoming game. I would walk the SUNY Old Westbury campus and give out tickets. I would then begin to call media outlets and share The Long Island Knights with them. As the season progressed the team went from averaging 300 fans a game to over 1000 fans a game.  The key was doing promotion to build a fan base.

 As I reflected back on my experience with The Long Island Knights I realized that not only in sports is  it important to build a fan base but is any business it is imperative to create raving fans. It is important to engage and listen and then prioritize what your fans want so that they will continue to buy your products and services and recommend you to others. We are told all the time have a unique selling proposition (USP) that differentiates you from everyone else in your industry. When I worked with The Long island Knight we had the most unique selling proposition as we had Nancy Lieberman on our team, she was known as Lady Magic and as a result we were able to showcase her in our marketing program. Nancy had many fans who came to see her play and as a result our fan base increased.  We also had a great USP in the fact that our games were considered affordable at $10 a ticket. We also flooded the market with free tickets and sold the fans on the idea that they would see competitive basketball. The idea is to make the experience with you memorable and pleasurable so that people will continue to support your business and recommend you to others. Remember it is important to bring the fans in and to make them raving fans. When you can get people talking positively about you this increases your following and thus translates into more fans spending more money resulting in the strengthening of your brand. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Build A Fan Base!!!