We all know sports teams receive high engagement on the playing field. Fans spill into stadiums and arenas from all over the world to watch their favorite teams play. The stands that hold thousands of people fill up with supporters wearing the team's colors, and the cheering keeps the team going as they play the game. But what about when the players leave the stadiums, arenas, diamonds, or ice? Once the stadium lights turn off, it's hard to measure fan engagement. So how can sports teams cultivate fan engagement off the field? 

The answer is interactive video analytics. We all know video is a great way to keep the fans engaged in what the team does off the field or the court, but interactive video is a way to engage sports fans without a stadium. And the analytics on an interactive video help teams see what the fans want to see by comparing and measuring engagement on different video strategies. This blog will dive into how interactive video analytics could be game-changers for sports teams. It all starts with an engaging interactive video. 

 

 

Interactions that Measure Fan Engagement 

It's difficult to know exactly how many fans engaged with a video if you have no interactions to collect that data. With interactive video, you can zero in on a specific moment in the video that drove the highest engagement. How can interactive video help you accomplish this? You can insert different interactions throughout the video that prompt viewers to purchase tickets or merchandise or invite them to view the team's homepage to enhance overall brand awareness. As viewers engage with interactions, you will be able to see your video's performance in real-time. 

For example, in a case study that showed the success of interactions in a sports team video, the sports team used an interaction to sell team jerseys. That interaction received 30% of the clicks even though it was only onscreen for seven seconds. Inserting different interactions throughout a video is an excellent way to measure fan interest and understand what fans want from their favorite sports team's content. 

The options for interactions in an interactive video are limitless. They can be personalized however you like to help improve audience engagement in any video content your team produces. You can also adjust interactions so they are only on the screen for a few seconds while they're relevant to the video content. Or, you can keep them on the screen for the duration of the video to encourage more clicks. Additionally, to draw more attention to the interaction, you can make it more animated and draw the viewers' eye. However your team utilizes the interactions, they are sure to help see how your fans engage with content created off the field. 

 

Actionable Insights 

Once you've generated views, you can see which interaction received the most clicks. If more viewers engaged with the purchase tickets interactions, you know that is a strategy to repeat next time you need to drive ticket sales. If fewer viewers interact with an interaction, you can consider giving that interaction more onscreen time so viewers have more time to engage with it. 

The analytics also provide insight into what percentage of your viewers watched the video for its duration. For example, the analytics will show you that 80% of viewers watched the video all the way through. Knowing this and seeing it work across multiple videos, you can notice trends and see which point in videos your viewers typically dropped off. This can be especially helpful for longer-form videos to gauge how long your targeted audience's interest level spans. In addition, interest levels can vary by topic, which is another trend you can begin to notice in your team's analytics. 

 

Interactive Video: Engagement Fans Love 

Interactive video has been taking off throughout the sports team marketing vertical and has positively impacted fans' engagement, which we can know thanks to verbTEAMS' powerful analytics. Interactive video is a unique way to insert engaging call-to-actions throughout the video to help fans engage with content when their interest is highest. It is also a more effective way of measuring video success than other video marketing strategies.  

There are multiple use cases for sports teams to leverage interactive video in unique, creative ways (including live interactive video) to involve their fans. These include: 

  • Interactive live VIP experiences 
  • Virtual athlete meet and greets 
  • Behind-the-scenes tours 
  • Exclusive fan merchandise 
  • Post-game locker room access 
  • Exclusive interviews 

 

Interactive video allows your team to get creative in how they engage with fans. The live interactive video feature can significantly help sports teams engage in real-time and give the fans a glimpse into their favorite team's activities. In addition, they can click on interactions team members point to in real-time. The sky is the limit when it comes to interactive video for sports teams! 

verbTEAMS provides an interactive video experience that engages fans and provides actionable insights for sports teams. The verbTEAMS platform can track every interaction a fan has with the video and its interactions from start to finish. Teams can use this data to improve their marketing strategies, understand what content fans are engaging with most, and create more of the types of videos that their audience enjoys.  

verbTEAMS' interactive video analytics capabilities can be a powerful tool for any marketing team as the platform provides real-time feedback on how fans are reacting to content. If you're a sports team looking for a way to take your fan engagement to the next level, consider using verbTEAMS interactive video.  

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Sources:  https://www.sporttechie.com/phoenix-suns-add-interactive-ticket-merchandise-sales-via-verb/