2.3 Social Media in the Club Environment

Technology is a Vehicle for Growth

Technology is integrated into every aspect of our society. In particular, social media dominates how people connect and develop personal or professional relationships. It’s becoming increasingly rare to meet someone new through a casual conversation over coffee or a walk through the local park. From Facebook to X (formerly Twitter) or Tikok, youth engage each other through social media. In an always-connected world, golf allows our kids to develop genuine human relationships through physical encounters and unforgettable memories (Day, 2019).

Before diving into specific strategies and tactics of social media, let’s review why social media is important to digital marketing. There are many advantages to using social media for professional purposes and to promote your organization, products, and services. Here are several areas where social media shines:

Connecting with New Audiences

Billions of people worldwide use social networks daily. Therefore, organizations need to be present for these online conversations and discussions. For example, 60% of Instagram users said they find new products on the platform, making it worthwhile to be there.

Building Relationships

Now, more than ever, it’s critical for organizations to have a unique voice and engage with customers on a human level. Social media provides an easy way to do this, allowing marketers to create a brand personality as well as a voice that communicates brand values and engages the community.

Increasing Website Traffic

Suppose your community likes your social media content. In that case, they may seek out more information about your products and services on your website, which will result in more website traffic and potentially more sales.

Distributing Targeted Messaging

It’s very easy to distribute ads on social platforms. Moreover, marketers can narrowly target their ads and messaging to match the specific needs and interests of their target audiences. Studies have shown that customers react better when advertisements are customized to their specific needs, and this strategy can result in increased interactions and interest.

Conducting Market Research

Social media isn’t just great for interacting with your community; marketers can also use it to stay on top of what their competitors are doing. By listening to social media conversations, marketers can glean what is working well (or not) for their competitors. They can then build these insights into their social media marketing strategies and tactics.

Sharing Expertise

Social media sites provide many opportunities for organizations to both hear about and differentiate themselves from their competitors. Organizations can do this by showcasing themselves as industry leaders via engaging, insightful, and relevant content, e.g., by sharing creative visual content on Instagram, composing thoughtful blog posts on LinkedIn, or revealing a fresh viewpoint on Twitter.

Managing Reputation

Reputation is everything; social media sites provide a direct way to interact with customers and resolve problems swiftly. For example, marketers can develop unique hashtags that highlight concerns or interests and ensure that the right people see and address these issues quickly. Social media sites can also be leveraged to share positive reviews, testimonials, and customer feedback.

Evaluating Analytics and Insights

Most social media platforms have their own analytics tools, which allow you to keep track of what your community is interested in, who is engaged, and what activities and content are best performing. This data can help determine which content to promote and how to appropriately modify any advertising or marketing activities.

Now that we understand why social media is a key component of a digital marketing strategy, let’s look at how marketers can successfully implement a social media plan.

“13. Social Media Marketing” from Foundations in Digital Marketing by Rochelle Grayson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Modifications: split out the content into two sections.