The increase in influencer marketing budgets shows that this is becoming a rapidly increasing marketing strategy for brands trying to find a ways to attract consumers. Influencers are genuine authority figures within the lives of their fans – this includes bloggers, industry experts, lifestyle gurus, online entertainment celebrities and many more.

These influencers have a sizeable audience on social media and other digital platforms. They’re often seen by their fans as a trustworthy and authentic source of information. How does this marketing trend fit in with the sports industry? Sports is an integral part of the lives of billions around the world. Most people identify themselves as the fan of a particular sports team and a specific group of players that they support and look up to.

Traditionally most sports athletes have been offline or in-person celebrities – you meet them at games and events and that’s about it. With the advent of social media, as these sports and influencers jump online and so does their offline audience, it becomes a novel online channel for companies to promote their products and services.  

START WITH A SOCIAL SEARCH

Research is the first step to any successful marketing effort. Connecting with the right influencers means you’ll have to scour social media platforms to identify those whose message and follower base would be a good fit for your sports brand. On Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, you can see who’s talking about your brand or related terms using hashtag searches. Remember, numbers aren’t everything. Your influencers don’t need to have millions of followers—look for someone creating great, engaging content.

FOCUS ON TRANSPARENCY AND RELEVANCE

With the goal of influencer marketing being to have real users of your product or brand showcase its benefits, transparency is key when finding the right sports influencer. You’ll want to confirm each influencer’s content is aligned with what your brand represents, ensuring your message will be relevant to their audiences—something they’d naturally expect to see on that influencer’s feed.

LOOK BEYOND YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

Real-time analytics on social media means you can stay on top of trends from the moment they emerge. This could be an opportunity to expand your audience and reach new demographics with your messaging. Taking a risk on influencers outside your target audience already engaged with your brand could open the doors to an entirely new fan base.

Influencer marketing has become a powerful marketing strategy for brands to attract customers. When approached deliberately and carefully, it has huge potential to deliver lasting results.

Source:
https://upfluence.com/influencer-marketing/influencer-marketing-sports-industry
https://www.ispo.com/en/markets/how-influencer-marketing-works-sports-and-fitness-brands