Is your athletics program one of your school’s strong points? Families often look at an athletics program when searching for a new school to send their children to, and you can make it easier for them to see the benefits through effective marketing. Some families might look for schools with a competitive athletics program, while others may only want their children to enjoy a healthy physical regimen. No matter the reason, marketing your athletics program will make your school look more attractive and exciting for prospective parents.
Let’s jump in and see how you can attract the right athletic talent, and amplify marketing around your school’s athletics program.
It sounds pretty obvious, but if your target audience is from area codes around your school (or nearby), local media can be an effective way to showcase your athletics programs to families in specific geographic areas. High school athletics leagues can receive a surprising amount of enthusiasm. Local media channels devoted to covering the different leagues are common. Standout players, exceptional matches, and community events can all be sources of interest to the wider community. Students and families are usually invested in school athletics programs, and they’re sure to appreciate more details around them in local reports. By using local media, you can establish yourself in the local community, and involve more people in your sphere of influence.
A social media presence is an excellent way to promote and celebrate your athletics programs. Facebook and Instagram lend themselves well to video content, and sports videos make some of the most engaging content available. These social channels also have live streaming features, which are great for families who couldn’t make the event or who live far away. These live streams can be downloaded and watched at a later date too, and can be scheduled so that you can share it pre-event on your socials and build up hype. Prospective families will be checking out your school’s social media as part of their search for a new school, and your sports videos will help to give them a clearer picture of what life's like for a student athlete at your school. Social media is especially relevant for the younger generation of parents, who are much more active in these spaces. Gen Z parents are sure to appreciate an active social media presence from their children’s school, and students themselves can become more engaged with the school’s culture in a place where they feel more comfortable and connected.
Athletics events are often high profile, and can generate a lot of attention from the local community. This makes them great for promoting causes you're passionate about, and raising money or interest. Not only can you help out those in need, but you can also show your community that you care. Supporting a worthy cause will bring everyone in the community together, and create a culture of support. Those in your community can feel comfortable supporting each other, and the great thing is, you can enjoy that support too. Who knows, you might even have a few more locals come out to support, if they know it’s for a good cause!
Schools give scholarships to students who show exceptional athletic ability and talent. Scholarships help schools to recruit this top talent, who can bring a lot on board with them. For instance, these athletes help to build and develop the school’s reputation. If your athletics program is competitive, a star player can generate interest among fans and other top players, who can in turn become interested in your school. Your community spirit also profits when a great player joins you (winning matches is always a good way to improve morale, after all!).
Newsletters are another effective option for promoting your athletics programs and building community spirit. There's plenty of opportunity for creativity here. Your newsletter can feature an athlete of the month, or report on the latest matches and events. You could interview past athletes, or cover the athletic history of your school. The main idea here is to think beyond just publishing last week’s scores - try to publish stories and angles that engage your readers, and see what works best for your school.
YouTube is a great digital channel for marketing your athletics programs. As one of the first places students and parents will look, YouTube is the perfect place to post highlights. Did someone in the community record a game winning catch? Were your students filmed winning a championship? Post it on YouTube! As one of the largest video based platforms, the potential for engagement is high, and you can get creative with your content to best connect with your audience.
Your website and app both act as central hubs for your school. It only makes sense that you'd want to display your important information here. Website and app alerts allow you to push out important athletics-related information. For example, you can display times and locations for upcoming matches. A Digistorm Website will allow you to display a banner on your homepage with important information. Families can just click on your site and see exactly where and when the next match is, if a match is delayed or cancelled, or there’s any more pressing information that needs to be communicated.
School merchandise offers you a great way to improve your community spirit and build your brand reputation, and much of your merchandise will be around your athletics programs. Think team jerseys, caps, balls, and more! And the better your school athletics program, the more in demand your merchandise will be. School athletics merchandise is also likely to be one of the most visible to those outside the community, when people see your students at events on weekends in locations other than your school campus.
Your athletics program is an important part of your school, and one of the core reasons a family might choose your school in the first place. From fostering community spirit to building your reputation, by marketing your athletics program effectively you’ll better your chances of attracting the right families and improving the lives of your community.