Launching an Instagram page for your club, or ramping up your existing page, may be the last thing on your mind as a volunteer.
You’ve got other things to do; organising registrations, painting the lines or maybe deciding who washes the kits this weekend.
But, if you want your club to attract new and younger players, social media is crucial.
Everything is becoming digital and that includes your club’s reputation.
However, worry not. Here are some easy tips to get your local club’s Instagram firing.
Be prepared
Planning out your strategy beforehand will help to build consistency for your page and allow you to have a grasp on upcoming posts, helping you to manage the workload.
A great place to start is working out how many times on average you want to post a week.
If you’re a grassroots club you probably don’t want to make a volunteer role feel like a full-time position.
A way to keep on top of things is to limit yourself to 2-3 posts a week. One on gameday, one on a weekday and the extra post as a flexible option for when ad hoc events or news arise.
Obviously, things come up and can change your schedule, but having a set plan to follow will help in those weeks when things are running a bit hectic.
Keep your copy simple
You’re probably noticing a theme here. Simplicity is the key and your copy is no different.
When writing copy, try and keep your message short and right to the point. There’s no point in repeating your point. Repeating your point is pointless. See…annoying, isn’t it?
You’d don’t have to repeat information that’s in the graphic either. Use the copy to bring something else into the mix or add a bit of character to the post.
You don’t need complicated graphics
You may see a really cool graphic on a professional club page that you want to replicate. More often than not, however, without the proper design skills it can end up looking messy and unusable.
Adding lots of unnecessary animations, information and images to your graphic will often lead it to be cluttered and look like something Frankenstein cooked up in his lab.
Keeping it simple and displaying what needs to be on there will convey the message you want and allow you to add some level of branding to it.
If you have access to Adobe Photoshop, great! There are plenty of tutorials out there that can give you a basic crash course and allow you to mock something up that is clear and presentable.
There is also Canva, which has become a viable free option for many without Photoshop. Canva is an easy-to-use application and you can create some cool stuff.
Images are still effective
Graphics aren’t always a must either. Images of faces or places from around the club will always get more engagement.
People love to see familiar faces online and will most likely engage with those posts over a graphic.
Graphics are definitely necessary if you’re trying to convey information, but images are a great way to tell a story.
Have fun
Don’t forget that you’re a grassroots club and community-run. You can definitely take pride in your work, but don’t forget to have fun along the way.
Take risks, make jokes. It’s not life or death.
