Social Media

– TARGET AUDIENCE AND CONNECTIVITY

Social media in all its current forms has advanced the abilities of all organizations both sporting, politically and economically to portray their aims and product in a positive light. Furthermore, all this needs to be relayed to the consumer with the touch of a button and be clear, concise, enjoyable and informative

The various social media outlets can help the GAA become part of a wider community.

 

Why Use Social Media to Promote Your GAA Club?

·      Promote your club and encourage prospective members to join

·      Publicize success stories and create a feel-good factor amongst club members

·      Keep members up to date with the latest news, games and features

·      Help to promote fundraising initiatives and also operate them live on social media.

·      Hold meetings online when members are unable to attend.

·      Keep your audience in contact with your organization in holiday periods, when there are no competitions, maintain their interest in the club.

 

Use social media as a marketing tool:

·      Social media allows clubs to publicise further GAA articles sent to newspapers for those not accessing print media

·      Promote coaching initiatives by linking onto online webinars, coaching courses online and practical visual demonstrations of skill

·      Relive historic moments in the club and inform newer members of the past

·      Foster links for those who are no longer living in the community but wish to stay connected.

·      Turn your club into a real community, helping others in times of need by advertising voluntary services

 

Setting up a social media account is quite simple and user friendly. Basic accounts are free to use.

The Club can attract followers or friends quickly and post information, such as changes to practice or event times, with ease. Many of the best-known services can be accessed via websites or smartphone apps, making them convenient to use.

Social Media for your GAA club. What is available?

There are many different channels that your club can use and increasing each. It may be beneficial to ensure one account is operating efficiently until deciding to set up extra social media streams or outlets.

Platform	Overview	Advantages	Disadvantages
Facebook	Enables you to set up three types of page: individual, private group or fan pages	·       You can add status updates, and include photos and videos, with ease. ·       You can create event invitations, milestones, polls and quizzes. ·       People can share, like or comment on your posts. ·       You can create longer updates than you can on Twitter	Facebook posts often take longer to create than tweets. Facebook’s news feed can mean that people won’t automatically see your posts.
Twitter	allows you to create messages, or ‘tweets’, consisting of 160 characters or less	Superb for immediate updates You can add images and links to your tweets. Your tweets can be retweeted quickly and easily. You can encourage people to engage with your organisation with ease as events unfold	It’s not the best channel for use when sharing complex information. It’s fast-moving, so your followers may not always see your tweets.
WhatsApp	allows groups to be formed to relay information at speed to many people	Extremely efficient way to contact people Creates a bond between teams and relays information of all forms well	Issues with GAA over underage use and GDPR Operated with a moderator in which no one can view responses is recommended
LinkedIn	is    primarily    a    business    networking    website.  However, you can    create an organisation page in order to improve awareness of your club,	LinkedIn is a popular professional network. Using LinkedIn can attract people to your club website. You can include images and videos on your profile page	The network is aimed primarily at professionals and corporate organisations. It’s more difficult to use than Facebook or Twitter and is not youth orientated
Instagram	enables you to share photos and videos taken on your smartphone with the world.	It makes sharing photos and videos simple. GAA club can use hashtags to increase the visibility of your content. It’s compatible with Facebook and Twitter. Instagram is now increasingly popular with Under 25s	It’s only designed for photo and video sharing. Users can only use it from your smartphone or tablet via an app.
Google ++	Google’s own   social network. You can set up a promotional page for your sports club and post updates. You can also include links to items on your website	Google+ has millions of users. Posting   regularly on Google+ can help your website to gain higher rankings on Google’s pages, making it easier for people to find. You can join relevant groups to promote your brand.	It can be time-consuming to use Google+ effectively. Your members are more likely to use other channels

 

Social Media Overkill and Oversights

·      Repeating and rehashing: sharing too much information about statistics, for example, can be boring if done too often. You have to know how to choose data that is very relevant, not everything goes.

·      Being reckless: do not write anything in networks that you would not write after thinking twice. Do not fall into provocation or using the social media outlet to respond to issues outside of sport or against those with agendas against GAA. Stay in your safe zone and think about what the impact may be before posting or tweeting.

·      Being tiresome: you have to be constant, but not tiresome. Posting every five minutes can become abusive and downplay what you are saying. It will not give you more impact, but rather it can create the opposite effect.