If your sports team is looking for new and innovative ways to engage with your fans, interactive video may be the solution. Interactive video is quickly becoming a popular medium for sports teams to connect and share information. When most people think of interactive video, they typically think of how it’s used for online gaming or marketing campaigns. But sports teams can also utilize this dynamic interactive tool to sell tickets, market special events, and more. To help you understand how interactive videos can benefit your sports team, we'll discuss how interactive videos can change the game and enhance the fan experiences. We will also look at some examples of how other teams have utilized interactive video. Finally, we'll provide tips to help sports teams get started with this ground-breaking medium.
A Game-Changer
Interactive video allows viewers to click directly on in-video links, making them feel part of the game. Presenters in the video can point to the onscreen interactions to prompt their audience to purchase tickets, check out the new merch, or sign up for upcoming events. You can also use interactive videos to promote upcoming games or events or give fans a behind-the-scenes look at your team. Interactive videos are a great way to get fans involved and engaged with your team.
Fans and sponsors like to feel connected to their favorite teams. So, almost as important as the team’s performance, sports teams should have a strong online presence to keep their fans interested. Here are just a few ways that interactive video can improve your team’s social presence:
- Eliminate friction on the path to conversion: Many sports teams have video content to advertise ticket sales and other merchandise, but there are too many steps for viewers to make before putting items in their cart. Interactive video removes buying friction by embedding links right in the video. Viewers can click an item to add to their cart without leaving the video and click ‘purchase now’ while their interest is still piqued.
- Inspire action while your customer’s interest is at its highest: You can create videos with top players talking about an upcoming event. Once they get the fans’ attention, they can point to a link on the screen for fans to click on and immediately purchase tickets to the event. Interactive video is a great way to give fans easy access to what you want them to see.
- Improve ROI on existing video content: Simply converting existing videos to interactive videos can improve customer engagement and generate a greater return on investment.
- Viewers can make a purchase, connect via social channels, and more without leaving the video: Onscreen interactions allow viewers to follow links while still engaging with the video content. It’s a win for everyone!
- Connect, engage, and sell from anywhere: You can easily create interactive videos from your mobile device. This way, you can keep your fans updated while on the go! For example, you can make a quick update on where your team is traveling with embedded interactions inviting viewers to purchase tickets to the event you’re going to.
How Teams Utilize Interactive Video
Recently, the Phoenix Suns launched a new interactive video campaign for their sports team. On their new strategy for implementing interactive video, the VP of brand and marketing said, “The implementation of [interactive video] should help us continue to grow and future-proof our marketing technology stack, supporting the elevation of our content strategies for ticket sales, merchandise sales, and overall brand awareness.” The Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins are also taking similar approaches by using interactive video to support their teams. These new strategies are already seeing positive reactions among fans and sponsors.
While many teams have started using interactive video to promote ticket sales, there are several more potential use cases for interactive video. These include:
- Marketing special events
- Interactive live VIP experiences
- Promoting luxury suites, foundations, or donations
- Exclusive interviews
- Fan merchandise
While this certainly isn’t a comprehensive list, it can help you generate ideas that will benefit your team. Interactive video is a tool that can be used in several different settings and can cater to many different audiences. It’s up to you to use it creatively and wow your audience.
Let’s Get Started
Creating interactive videos is a user-friendly process that anyone can do. Whether you’re on the go, shooting from your mobile device or in a professional studio setting, it’s easy to set up customizable interactions that will grab your customers’ attention. We recommend using a video that’s already been recorded and adding interactions to it to increase customer engagement and ROI. Once you’re comfortable navigating the interactions to the video, you can start creating videos that incorporate the onscreen interactions. You can also go live with your livestreams and watch your viewers interact with your content in real-time.
Here are some other tips that may help you get started with your new interactive video campaign strategy:
- Brainstorm what kinds of interactions would work best for your team and fanbase.
- Consider what story you want to tell through your video.
- Make sure your video is high quality and visually appealing.
- Test out several interactions to find out which ones work best.
- Promote your interactive video!
With verbTEAMS, you can easily create interactive videos that you can share with your audience. With our powerful analytics, you can measure how users engaged with each interaction and how long they viewed your video. With several sports teams successfully using verbTEAMS proprietary interactive video technology, we are confident that your team will see higher engagement.
If you’re interested in seeing how verbTEAMS interactive video, live video, and other features can help you increase your team’s fan engagement, check out this website for more information.
