The promised land of the Premier League is gradually becoming an even more exclusive place, reserved for the wealthiest clubs with billionaire owners. It’s getting harder to break into every year, and promoted teams often find it hard to stay in the division.
For clubs in the lower echelons like Lincoln City, it’s crucial to develop other strategies to market the club and build a bigger fanbase for the future. Through multimedia marketing, there’s a possibility that one day Lincoln can gain enough recognition to attract the investment needed to take them to the top.
Time for a Greater Focus on Social Media Marketing
Just like some businesses faded away in the internet era because they didn’t adapt, the same could eventually happen to football clubs. After all, there’s a huge business in football that happens away from the action on the pitch, and clubs need to embrace this side of the sport. The board at Lincoln should always be exploring new ways to get in front of people and ensure that there’s a steady fanbase long into the future.
Social media is one of the most important frontiers for connecting with fans now, and most football clubs are using it to their advantage. Lincoln City has cleverly adapted to this trend, and has accounts on TikTok, Instagram, and X. The short-form content produced by the club is good, but the media department could also implement strategies to try to vary the clips more and try to create viral content.
There’s a Lincoln City YouTube channel as well, though currently, the channel mainly features press conferences and match highlights. To compete with the detailed documentaries that some top clubs have on streaming services, Lincoln should go for some documentary-style content on its YouTube channel. Fans love to get behind the scenes and see how the club works on a day-to-day basis. This strategy worked well for Wrexham, who offer an excellent model for others like Lincoln to follow.
Brand Extensions Across Different Media
There are channels that Lincoln could explore that haven’t been used as much, and could set them out from the crowd in doing so, such as a TV documentary or a Netflix feature film. In gaming and iGaming, films and television series often branch out into branded games to get more exposure, with official titles for consoles and in the iGaming industry. For example, The Walking Dead has a related slot game, which is so popular that it’s used as part of a bingo free spins bonus. Football is already making a strong appearance in these markets too, with various football-themed titles already available, showing the appetite for this content.
The beauty of this is that you don’t have to be a lover of the show to enjoy the slot game. Lincoln could do something similar and commission a branded game in the booming bingo market. It would draw more attention to the club and could even inspire some people to start watching the matches.
The time has come for Lincoln to branch out beyond their current marketing efforts and try some fresh tactics. Soon, clubs that don’t use different channels like this for reaching fans will get left behind by those that do.