Accrington Stanley and Social Media Marketing Essay

Background/overview

The football club is located in Accrington, Lancashire; playing in League(fourth tier in league system of English football) since its promotion this year. The club is also known as Stanley, Accy Stanley. The club was founded in 1968 sitting at 5007 capacity stadium in Accrington named as Wham stadium. The club belongs to Peter Marsden and managed by John Coleman. Accrington Stanley F.C. has had its stake in the Northen Premier League where it took the first position in 2002/2003 that made it promoted. First game in the league was on August 10, 2003, where it lost 2-1 tying at position five in round three with Colchester United but did not win again. It emerged place 10 in the following season of 2004/2005 gaining a professional momentum. In 2005/2006 season, the team played 19 matches unbeaten where it scored ninety-one points at the end of the season in October leading to its entry in league two. It is the club's stars like Paul Mullin, Gary Roberts and Rob Eliot that proved Accrington F.C. could go back to the League Two after unsuccessful 46 seasons (Peterson & Robinson 2012 P. 17).

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In the League, the team's first encounter was with Chester city where it started at a low note of 0-2. There, it battled out of relegation in the first season as the fourth tier. It managed out of relegation by finishing at position 20 for the first time. Since that time, the club has shown exponential improvement where on April 17, 2018, gots promotion in the League One after beating Yeovil Town 2-0. The club has received many honors like EFL League Two winners in 2017/2017, Conference National winners 2005/2006, Northern Premier League winners 2002/2003, Northern Premier League Division One winner 1999/2000, Northern Premier League Cup winners 2001/2002 among many other achievements (Wikipedia, 2018).

Overall Communication Strategy

According to Cohen 2008, The overall communication strategy in this context is the social media strategy wheel. It leads to the creation of distinct, essential and highly valuable point utilizing a variety of approaches. There are various articulations in need of considerations. These include;

Tracking and monitoring strategy. The social media platform allow the interphase between the management of the club, the players, as well the fans to interact. For example, in a platform like Facebook, the club can create a page and a group where various parties in the club' affairs can interact. The interactions are trackable checking the number of likes and reactions in the page. Group requests on joining are another indicator of the engagement level

Distribution strategy The club need to know the social media that is likely to be more engaging. As a football club, the fans and stakeholders need an interface that allows videos, score alerts, match venues and purchasing of tickets and other material related to interaction. Another critical point is knowing the member's method to access the social media. Mobile phones have shown to be of significant consideration because everybody owns them.

Communication strategy is trying to understand the kind of material needed by fans, management, sponsors, and other interested parties. Constant updates on player profiles and achievements is a suitable material. Short videos that are likely to get more reactions should be posted on everyday events of the club affairs concentrating with the players as the main subject.

The engagement strategy is what expected from anyone who interacts with the social media platform. It can merely be clicks or views and sharing. The social media users should be allowed to air their opinions on any subject in a comment section.

Measurement strategy is a quantifying application in the social media to know the number of people who have interacted with the social media.

Objectives of the online media include (Marcathy 2018 p. 19).

• To attract a large fan base in Accrington as well as across the globe who can create an active community for our team
• To enable an enjoyable interface for our players, management, and fans from the exciting posts delivered across the network
• To offer a platform for the constant reminder of our objectives as a team and prompt strive in their achievement for timely achievement
• To elevate the self-esteem of our team players through meaningful interactions in the social media that will improve the performance
• To improve the physical fitness of our team members by continually posting of information on proper exercises and personal commitment to achieving them

Level of engagement with the online media

To enhance a massive involvement in the online media, there are some ardent techniques and strategies to be employed as Marcarthy puts it (2018) these include;

Posting a compelling video ensures trending threads that last for days. Such method can help communicate other messages trapped in the video.

Persistent activities ensure the fans are always looking up into the social media platforms to get the latest information. These should keep as interesting as possible.

Incorporating the celebrity effect is essential where the users get to contact their favorite players on the platforms. They can see their necessary information and other material.

Sharing some moments behind the scene is essential where the fans can know their celebrities and relate to the lives of their idols.

References

Peterson, R., & Robinson, D. (2012). Excavations and the afterlife of a professional football stadium, Peel Park, Accrington, Lancashire: towards an archaeology of football. World Archaeology, 44(2), 263-279.

Accrington Stanley-The Club That Wouldn't Die. April 25, 2018. http://accringtonstanley.co.uk/Macarthy, A. (2018). 500 Social Media Marketing Tips: Essential Advice, Hints, and Strategy for Business Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and More!. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Cohen, I. K. (2018). Social Media and Marketing: The Evolution of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. In Sports Media, Marketing, and Management: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice (pp. 171-187). IGI Global.