It’s hard to believe social media is almost two decades old. Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004 and even Instagram is close to celebrating its 10th birthday. Social media is no longer just an entertainment platform for millennials – more than 72 percent of all internet users ages 50-64 use Facebook, and even our world leaders are using it regularly. Today it is a necessary marketing tool in promoting golf facilities and vital for engaging the next generation of golfers. But where to start if you haven’t jumped on board or you started too many accounts to even keep track? Here are a few quick tips on improving your golf shop’s social media presence:
- Pick one or two channels and do them well. In the ever-evolving world of social media, it’s easy to spread yourself thin and feel like you need to be on every platform. That’s not the case! It’s better to pick one or two and do them well, than feel like you’re struggling to keep up with 10 different posts. You can also connect multiple social media accounts and share the same content automatically on another platform.
- Post consistently. If you have a small shop, your team more than likely wears many hats – tending to customers, managing payroll, regripping clubs…who has time to worry about Twitter? Even if you only have time to post every other day, that’s okay! The key is consistency. Carve out 10-15 minutes a day to post content – like right after you check morning emails. Better yet, assign someone from your team who has a knack for using social media (you know they already secretly check their phone behind the counter, might as well get them to promote the shop).
- Plan ahead for new content. Planning your posts will make it easier to stick to a schedule. Snap photos or quick videos of your facility throughout the month to build up a database of content. Did you set up a new window display? Take a picture! The new M4 driver just arrived? Price drop on golf gloves? Snap photos of it and have fun. For example, if you offer $5 burgers every Thursday – now you have great (not to mention delicious) reoccurring content to pull from.
- Be authentic – tell your unique story. This may sound cheesy, but speak from the heart and share your story. People respond when they know there’s a group of passionate people behind a business. Platforms like Instagram were made for storytelling. Whether you pride yourself on being a Mom and Pop shop, technology gurus, golf purists or fitness experts – play to your passions and your audience will listen
- Speak to your customers. Remember it’s about creating a community of followers. More than likely many of your initial followers are already your customers. They are your fans! Respond when they ask you questions, encourage them to use your unique hashtags, include them in your posts and reward them with incentives.
- Use Specific Hashtags. Hashtags can be a great way to categorize your content and help you build a community of followers who share similar interests. Sometimes using the broadest hashtags, like #golf, which yields over 15M results, won’t help you stand out from a crowd. If you’re a driving range that specializes in clubfitting, try using #drivingrange instead, which has 352K results and #clubfitting (8.3K search results), then be sure to tag your location. Now you are defining your brand. Learn more about hashtags.
- Promote your best posts! Boost your top-performing posts with a call-to-action to reach a wider audience for a minimal advertising cost. You can set a budget for as low as $1/day and run it for any length of time. For a step-bystep guide, check out this Hootsuite article on boosting Facebook posts.
