Fan engagement

Fans are the lifeblood of any sports organisation. And fan engagement builds better monetisation opportunities and long-term bonds between sporting organisations and their fans.

Endava pattern on swirling red white and blue dots

What is fan engagement?

Fan engagement creates immersive, interactive experiences that build lasting emotional connections with fans before, during and after a sporting event. The goal is to provide a two-way, end-to-end experience between the sports organisation and the fan base that makes fans feel valued members of the brand community.  

 

Engaging fans leads to higher retention, brand loyalty and revenue growth for sporting organisations over the long term. 

 

Engaged fans:  

  • Regularly interact on social media 
  • Participate in online communities 
  • Attend live games and events 
  • Purchase merchandise and branded products 
  • Feel a sense of belonging and value 

To offer successful fan engagement, a sporting organisation must understand their fans and their interests, cultivate a space to engage with their audience, recognise and reward dedicated fans, allow fans to provide feedback and involve fans in big moments.

Why is fan engagement important?

Fan engagement is crucial for the success of any sporting organisation. Engaged fans have the potential to drive revenue and loyalty, increase the size of the fandom and improve their interactions with the team.  

Drive revenue and loyalty

Consumers who have an emotional connection with a brand (in this case, a team or sports organisation) have significantly higher lifetime values than those who are only satisfied. Engaged fans are more committed supporters of the brand and are more likely to purchase merchandise and attend events, which affects their customers’ lifetime value to the organisation. Additionally, true ‘fanatics’ spend more annually than casual fans.  

 

Engaged fans bring more fans

Fandom is strongly linked to social circles. If one's friends and family are fans of a sport or a team, they will be, too. Engaged fans spread the word and share experiences together – like attending games – with their social connections. These events can lead to someone becoming a fan of the same sport or team, sharing the same passion as their peers.

Understand fans and collect feedback

Engaging with fans is an excellent opportunity to learn about their preferences and opinions and use those insights to improve business. A sports organisation can empower its fans by letting them vote and make decisions regarding the club or team. Additionally, organisations can survey fans to learn how happy they are with how the organisation is run and what can be improved.  

Examples of fan engagement

There are several ways to engage fans. Here are some examples:  

  • Community building: Community building and social media platforms are essential for ongoing fan interaction. These channels allow sports organisations to share behind-the-scenes content, crowdsource user-generated content (UGC) and respond to real-time comments. 
  • Interactive experiences: Get fans off their phones and engage with in-person experiences. Booths outside of stadiums on game days, fun in-game promotions or community events can help get fans involved and excited. 
  • Influencer collaborations: Work with social media influencers to promote content, hold ticket giveaways or sponsor experiences. Niche sports podcasters and bloggers can amplify a brand's message to targeted audiences. 
  • Fan feedback: Solicit regular fan feedback through social listening, surveys, emails and more. Data collected through these channels can offer valuable insight for experience improvements or new products fans want. Fan feedback can also guide future fan engagement initiatives and strategies. 
  • Emerging technology: Embracing emerging technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and predictive data analytics offer new and immersive opportunities like virtually bringing fans worldwide into the stadium or tailoring promotions to each fan's preferences. 
  • Mobile apps: Mobile apps serve as a connection point with sports teams and brands. Apps can help drive fan loyalty and customer engagement, build community, sell tickets and merchandise, offer exclusive content, collect fan data and increase the fan base. 
  • Sports betting: Allowing fans to bet not only on the outcome of a game but also on specific moments throughout the game (‘microbetting’) can keep fans engaged, excited and encouraged to participate in live events. 

How Can Computer Vision Transform the Way We Engage in Sport?

Read the e-book
image

How to increase fan engagement

Sports organisations can use several best practices to maximise the impact of their digital strategies, increase their fan base and improve fan engagement.

Research

The first step to fan engagement is figuring out what the fans want. Once the organisation clearly understands its goals, motivations and behaviours, it becomes easier to provide the right experiences. By collecting fan data and leveraging technologies such as AI and ML, sports organisations can map audience journeys, understand behaviours and deliver insights that support fan engagement. After identifying the audience, it's time to start providing them with content and experiences to engage them and grow their fandom.  

Create personalised experiences

Personalised experiences are a great way to engage fans because it makes them feel special. The more fans feel like an organisation has designed experiences just for them, and the more relevant the content or experience, the more they will want to engage with the team.  

 

Personalised experiences can be as simple as asking for a fan's name when signing up for a newsletter or as complicated as creating VR experiences based on their interests. 

Improve the live experience

Teams can create a more engaging live experience for their fans using data analytics and video-based AI technologies. Some examples include superimposing data on the screen as fans watch an event, receiving live updates and seeing a live chat of other fans' reactions to key moments. These experiences engage fans and allow them to experience the game more personally. It ensures fans are always connected to the brand and offers unique and engaging perspectives.  

Connect fans off-site on non-match days

Off-sites are a great way to keep fans engaged and excited when an organisation can't offer them live content. Even during the off-season, fans want some content or information at least monthly. Off-sites allow them to create unique experiences and special offers that will keep them returning for more. Some ideas for keeping fans engaged are to offer limited-time promotions and deals, exclusive content, giveaways and contests and immersive gaming opportunities.  

 

Fan engagement is an ongoing process that doesn’t end after the game ends; it must always happen to continue building brand loyalty between a team and its fans. To do so, sports organisations must create interactive sports solutions to facilitate these connections and engagements. 

Further reading

Check out these resources to learn more about fan engagement and its role in people-centric innovation.

summer-olympics-driving-fan-engagement-blog-featured-image

Summer Olympics 2024: Driving Fan Engagement Through Technological Innovation

Learn how emerging technologies impacted fan engagement during the Summer 2024 Olympic Games.

Read the article
Microbetting-Fan-Experience-Hero-Image

How Microbetting Is Creating a More Engaging Fan Experience

Learn how microbetting provides a more rewarding fan experience by keeping them engaged, excited, and encouraged to participate in live sporting events.

Read the article
Tech-In-Sports-Article-Hero-Image

Using Technology To Maximise the Impact of Major Sporting Events

Learn how digital strategies are pivotal in maximising live sporting events’ benefits by enhancing community and fan engagement and amplifying the impact on host cities.

Read the article
Discover more insights