10 Sports Fan Engagement Ideas That Will Boost Team Spirit (2024)

Published on January 17, 2023

Thanks to social media, there are countless fan engagement ideas to help boost team spirit.

The sports industry wouldn’t be what it is today without its loyal fans. From local teams to national leagues, people love to support their favorite athletes. But the days of simply collecting trading cards and jerseys are in the distant past. Today’s fans expect more. As they turn to social media to engage with their favorite teams and stars, sports teams have the opportunity to become more inventive with their fan engagement ideas.

10 sports fan engagement ideas to build relationships with your social media following

1. Display Social Media Walls

Social media walls make it easy to organize, filter, and display posts from fans. They can be shared continuously online or shared on screens at live events to help create a more interactive experience for fans whether they’re at the game, or not.

2. Share real-time updates

Help engage fans that might not be able to watch a live game, by posting current statistics and game highlights on the team website and by sharing them on social sites like Twitter and Facebook.

3. Create polls

Social polls help teams engage followers because they provide free, targeted insights into what makes fans happy. Ask followers what types of posts they want to see, which player they like most, and even ask for feedback on concession menu changes or stadium upgrades before any final decisions are made.

Keep fans informed and watch your branding efforts come to life with Everwall. For folks at home, you can even embed the feed on your team’s website. Start building your social wall today!

4. Encourage hashtags and retweets

Hashtags and retweets are used for many things, and fan engagement is one of them. The New England Patriots Twitter account @patriots has over 4.3 million followers. Every Wednesday they participate in #WallpaperWednesdays and share phone wallpapers that fans can download for free. Fans are also encouraged to retweet while tagging their favorite player to cast their #probowlvote helping their page reach even more followers

5. Give fans a look behind the scenes

Most sports fans don’t just enjoy games; they also love to watch recaps, interviews, and exclusive content that take them behind the scenes. Retweet news clips, share interviews on YouTube and use Instagram to post team selfies for fans to enjoy between games – or AT the games with a social wall like Everwall!

6. Offer team gear promotions

Show fans your appreciation by giving them special offers on team gear using exclusive discount codes found only on social sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Don’t forget to encourage fans to share selfies in their new apparel.

7. Create a contest

The only thing fans love more than watching their team win is to score free tickets to see them play live. Create monthly contests that give fans a chance at winning complimentary tickets. Kick it up a notch by displaying a contest leaderboard online and at games to keep contest participants invested in the outcome

8. Stay social during the off-season

Just because the team’s regular season is over doesn’t mean social efforts should be too. Keep your social sites active during the off-season to keep fans engaged year-round. Share athlete training photos, clips from past games, charitable efforts, and insights to get them excited about the upcoming season

9. Tag popular pages to increase followers.

A great way to attract more followers is to tag other businesses on Twitter. The NBA ran a poll asking fans what their favorite player’s shoe was at the NBA All-Stars game. By tagging Foot Locker, the NBA’s survey was not only accessible to @NBA fans but also @FootLocker’s 1.54 million Twitter followers. Likewise, Foot Locker was promoted to the NBA’s 27.5 million followers.

10. Embrace team rivalry

Sports fans are passionate about their team and are happy to defend their honor against their greatest rival. Just look at the famous rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. In October 2018, at a Yankees ALS game fans chanted ‘We want Boston” and the Red Sox took to Twitter to respond ‘We want New York.”

Shortly after, Yankees manager Brian Cashman boasted that the Bronx Bombers “always seemed to Do Damage against the Red Sox.” The Red Sox fired back with a #DoDamage hashtag campaign that was so popular that it was even made into fan merchandise. While the Red Sox won the series, both teams were successful in keeping their fans engaged by playing off their famous rivalry.

With at least 30% of sports fans using their smartphones as a second screen when watching games, it’s more important than ever to choose fan engagement ideas that embrace the power of social media.