1) The Rise of User-Generated Content

UGC allows fans to express their appreciation in a more genuine and direct way. Aside from being a valuable tool in increasing engagement, it can help nurture loyalty among fans. Moreover, UGC has the power to build trust and credibility for your brand.

2) Athletes as Influencers

Celebrity endorsements aren’t a new thing. Many global brands are working with celebrities and influencers to engage their audience. Nowadays, we’re seeing more and more athletes becoming influencers themselves. This is because they align more closely with the brand’s message, values, and target audience.

For example, Adidas is known to partner with top players and sports organizations, such as Lionel Messi, James Harden, and the Black Women’s Player Collective (BWPC), to promote new products, tell the athlete’s story of how they became who they are today, or promote an advocacy that aims to make soccer more accessible for youths in under-resourced communities.

In the context of short-form marketing, brands can create short videos or clips to promote these stories on social media channels. Aside from being easily accessible to fans, this also makes it easier for them to share short-form content with others. Plus, this type of content is usually easily digestible without compromising the brand’s message.

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3) The Need to Develop Deeper Experiences for Sports Fans

Sports fans are increasingly looking to have deeper experiences. Professional sports teams and organizations can leverage short-form marketing to meet fans’ new demands. For example, you can create materials with scannable codes. When fans scan these codes, they can unlock unique content and offers, like ticket discounts or an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how teams prepare for a match. Sports leagues can also use this method to create digital collectibles, such as NFT images or clips from a defining match, that fans can access so that they own a piece of the action.

4) Over-the-Top (OTT) Content

Over-the-top (OTT) content widens the scope of sports rights. This allows sports teams to broadcast their digital assets not just on traditional media like TV and radio, but also on social media channels, like Facebook and Twitter. Aside from giving fans access to real-time content, this also allows them to access said content anytime, anywhere, regardless of the device they’re using.

5) Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is increasingly coming to the forefront of sports marketing. For example, teams like Arsenal F.C. are using chatbots to facilitate communication with fans. This helps complement efforts to expand the teams’ reach and enable them to engage new audience groups. Lastly, the use of AI can help teams collect important data, allowing them to offer and create more personalized experiences for their target audience.

6) eSports

eSports has witnessed incredible growth over the past few years. In fact, it’s projected to become a $5.74-billion market by 2030 and is expected to have more than 500 million fans by 2024. Brands and sports teams can take advantage of this growth by leveraging short-form content, such as real-time event coverage, behind-the-scenes clips, and improving audience interaction using social media channels.

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7) Diversity and Inclusion

We’re now seeing more diversity and inclusion in sports marketing, not just in short-form marketing. Marketing campaigns are targeting previously overlooked sectors, such as women, children, and older adults. These campaigns are aimed at empowering women and encouraging more children and older adults to engage in sports for better health.

1) Sports Marketing on Instagram

Instagram is one of the platforms that lends itself well to short-form marketing. Aside from being a primarily visual medium, the introduction of Instagram Reels has enabled many professional sports teams to connect with fans, share their own digital content, and encourage fans to share user-generated content (UGC). Here are two examples of professional sports teams that have leveraged the power of social media to promote short-form content:

• (NHL) Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks currently has 1.63 million followers on Instagram. The team has made use of various digital content, from stories to compelling photos. It has also leveraged Instagram Reel to share clips of players interacting with fans and family members and promoting brand partnerships. Some clips from the Reels have generated a significant number of views, ranging from tens of thousands to over a million, helping drum up engagement.

• (NFL) Arizona Cardinals

With 1.1 million followers on Instagram, the Arizona Cardinals’ account gives fans access to a range of diverse content. It’s known to feature players on its Highlights and share short clips of team victories (the Hail Murray moment, which has three million views), how players give back to the community, and the players goofing off behind the scenes, all of which help garner engagement and allow fans to learn more about the Cardinals.

2) Twitter Partnerships with Sports Organizations

Major sports leagues, such as the NFL, MLB, UEFA, and LaLiga, have partnered with Twitter to utilize the Twitter Amplify service. This allows these organizations to publish short-form content with advertising in real time. Aside from boosting ad revenue, this setup allows these sports leagues to promote their own content while enjoying greater exposure and reach.

3) Real Madrid Snapchat Account

Real Madrid has partnered with Greenfly, an advocacy marketing platform that helps sports teams and leagues distribute short-form digital content in real time. Through this partnership, the professional sports team can have real-time access to digital media captured during matches, events, and even trainings, which can be shared with its athletes to promote them as media partners. The athletes can then share the digital media on their own channels. This not only helps expand the teams’ reach and engagement but also allows them to create more authentic connections with their fans.

The team created a Snapchat account to continue engaging fans on digital platforms. As a result, one of the team’s stories on the platform gained more than 180 million impressions.

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4) Seattle Seahawks and Snapchat

What happens when a Seattle institute shows its support for the local sports team? A winning marketing strategy that also leverages local connection. Starbucks, a Seattle-based coffee chain giant, has teamed up with Seattle Seahawks, a local professional football team, for several seasons now. In 2015, they collaborated and released a limited-edition gift card and co-branded cup sleeves, complete with details on how fans can access exclusive content via the Seattle Seahawks’ Snapchat account.

In 2017, they partnered up again to offer a special treat for the so-called “Legion of Brew”, who are Seahawks fans who also happen to be Starbucks customers. They released limited-edition gift cards and new co-branded cup sleeves in eight different designs. These cup sleeves also featured a Snapcode, so fans can access exclusive Seahawks content on Snapchat.

What makes this work is that it’s a social campaign involving two very iconic institutions: Starbucks coffee and the Seattle Seahawks. Plus, it was a clever way of introducing a sponsor. Lastly, it effectively combines lifestyle and technology, making it easier for fans to enjoy coffee while also accessing Seattle Seahawks content via a popular social media platform.

5) Women’s Tennis Association

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has partnered with DAZN, a global sports media company, to create WTA Media. While it already has a sizable global hub for digital assets, WTA Media has considered scaling its operations to meet the growing demand from fans. Thus, it has partnered with Imagen to create a cloud-accessible platform that allows its broadcast partners to easily look for the assets they need, which helps empower high-quality programming that can be used to support live feeds and short-form content.

6) ATP Media

Another example of a professional sports channel leveraging short-form marketing is the ATP Media, the ATP Tour’s global sales, production, and distribution arm. ATP Media was able to greatly expand the volume of the assets distributed to partners, going from 100 to 300 for each tournament. To scale up operations and meet the growing request for its assets, as well as prevent missed opportunities, ATP Media used Imagen’s branded portal, which provides users with a self-service system. Furthermore, its use of the Imagen platform has given it access to clipping tools, which help create in-match clips that can be used for marketing or social media.

1) Be authentic

Be transparent and consistent in your branding and messaging. If your audience doesn’t trust your brand, it’s highly likely they’re going to find other brands to support. Authenticity is one of the major driving factors as to why audiences support and like a particular brand, so it’s vital to create content (not just short-form content) that’s genuine and resonates with your target audience.

2) Leverage user-generated content

Leveraging UGC means you’re giving fans the power to speak and share their ideas, which can help build not just engagement but also loyalty. Plus, it shows that you care about your audience by giving them a voice.

3) Creativity is key

Social media platforms have a lot of tools you can use to make your content stand out, such as filters and various editing options. For example, you can use these editing tools to create easily digestible clips that highlight the main points of a match to drive instant engagement.