The madness of this year’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball has been great so far! Have you found a way to utilize one of the biggest events in our nation into your digital media campaign? If not- you’re in luck! I’ve compiled a list of 4 ways you can utilize March Madness to help boost engagement with your brand on social media.
Why March Madness?
Contrary to what you might think, online searches for March Madness start as early as January and last all throughout April. This is because before the tournament starts, fans are constantly checking online to see which teams will make it into the Big Dance and those searches will increase with Selection Sunday. Obviously throughout the tournament people will be searching for scores, live action and where they can find the game. Once the final game is over, the interest dwindles down as people switch to searching about freshman recruiting and the NBA draft. Fans will also be flocking to their social media feeds and search engines every time a big upset or game changer happens; all the way from the time of tip-off to the final buzzer. With this large of a captive audience it’s almost a no brainer to integrate some type of March Madness content into your digital media campaigns. The NCAA Tournament will be dominating social media feeds, televisions and everyday conversations.
What Can You Do?
Not sure how to include March Madness in your brand’s editorial calendar? Here are a few ideas:
1. Contest
Contests are the #1 way to increase engagement and collect information from your audience. Lucky enough to score a pair of tickets to the big game? Create a ticket giveaway where you ask people to follow your brand and give their email addresses. Don’t have tickets to give away? One of the most common contests during March Madness are bracket challenges. Ask customers to fill out their best tournament predictions and pick a winner who has the most correct bracket!
Crown Liquors is giving away 2 tickets to the final game through a Facebook contest.
2. Hometown Hero
Give the local teams who made it to the Big Dance a shoutout on all your digital media platforms. Be sure to tag the team and student section in all posts to increase engagement. Follow the team throughout the tournament and post live updates on your social media platforms. This will give you major brownie points in community management.
Hopcat restaurant and bar in Broad Ripple shows love to the Butler basketball team.
3. #MarchMadness
One of the simplest ways to engage with those talking about the NCAA Tournament is to use the appropriate hashtag on all social media platforms including but not limited to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Here are a few of the most popular ones:
#MarchMadness
#NCAA
#bracketology
#BigDance
#FinalFour
#Sweet16
Current trending topics and hashtags.
These are just some of the most popular hashtags, but if you are looking to be a little more creative, check these out or even try to come up with your own hashtag that relates to your brand.
4. Special Offers & Deals
During the tournament get more people in the door with special offers and deals that you announce on social media. How about free appetizers when your team wins? People love to go out and watch the game with friends, so if your brand is one of those places people can watch the game at be sure you are attracting them on social media. You can also offer social media specific deals throughout the tournament to increase sales and engagement.
Scotty’s Brewhouse sent out an email offering $5 growler fills when a #1-#4 loses.
Incorporating March Madness can help increase engagement for almost any brand or business. The best part is figuring out all the creative ways you can make the event coincide with your brand. I’m lucky enough to live where the Final 4 takes place, so I am certainly excited to see how brands engage on social media during the Big Dance!
Need help advertising your brand during March Madness? Contact us today!
