SOCIAL
The NFL hopes Gen Z influencers will convince people to sign up for the NFL Sunday Ticket
YouTube and the NFL are working together to build younger consumer interest in the Sunday Ticket, a package for out-of-market games, by appealing to them through the league’s YouTube channel.
Social media influencers were paid to travel to create content around the NFL Draft in Kansas City, MO to encourage football fans to sign up ahead of the upcoming season to promote Sunday Ticket, which launched on April 11th, weeks ahead of the NFL Draft.
The NFL is expanding its influencer marketing efforts to appeal to younger audiences as they transition from paying attention to football on television to streaming services and social media to keep track of the game. NFL’s revamped youth-focused strategy, launched months ago, seeks to position content creators as an important part of the NFL viewing experience.
The NFL paid food influencer Lisa Ngyuen, who has over four million subscribers on YouTube and Katie Feeney, who is a content creator and lifestyle influencer with over 3.2 million YouTube subscribers and 7 million TikTok followers, to go to the Draft in-person to capture footage and promote NFL Sunday Ticket on their social media platforms. Editor’s note: the NFL covered travel and housing for this Digiday reporter to attend the Draft.
Angela Courtin, vp of YouTube’s marketing division said that the brand will allocate ad spend to YouTube, Twitter, the Reddit app, Instagram, and TikTok. In addition, YouTube will bump up its marketing spend in the weeks ahead of the 2023-2024 NFL season, though Courtin did not say by how much.
“Our goal in our partnership with the NFL is to leverage all that we have in our arsenal to ensure that people understand where and how to get the subscription, as well as to then build a community of fans on YouTube or increase the number of fans on YouTube,” said Courtin.
YouTube can be seen as a way to get viewers to ultimately subscribe to Sunday Ticket, which costs $249 per month.
“It’s not, in our minds, really kind of near-term transactional and subscribers are important, but it’s really about that deeper relationship we’ll continue to build with these fans, especially younger ones,” said Jon Cruz, director and global head of sports partnerships at YouTube.
According to Statista, a platform for analytical analysis, the influencer and content creator market is expected to grow to an estimated $16.4 billion by the end of 2022. In addition, the Samba TV’s State of Viewership Report showed that 65 percent of Gen Z consumers do not have a cable or satellite TV subscription or watch television through those means, and that Gen Z is the least likely to have a cable or satellite TV subscription.
The NFL has been focused on increasing the digital distribution of its games, said Blake Stuchin, the NFL’s vice president of digital media business development. The YouTube-NFL agreement “was a strategic one with the main goal of providing our fans greater access to this premium product,” he said.
Using influencer marketing can help a brand reach a particular creator’s “voice and vibe,” said Danny Pomerantz, a media and entertainment practice leader at Prophet, a growth strategy consulting firm. He noted these creators could help NFL “refresh its aging fanbase.”
Ngyuen and Feeny‘s Instagram stories, TikTok and Instagram posts and YouTube descriptions included links to sign up for the Sunday Ticket as part of the partnership along with a $100 discount of NFL Sunday Ticket. It wasn’t clear how many sign ups their posts generated.
Feeny has always loved sports and NFL and at one point, was NFL’s first ever social media correspondent for the Washington Commanders. In her post, she interviewed Draft prospects and also gave a behind the scenes tour of the NFL Draft.
Ngyuen highlighted local businesses to showcase local restaurants to try while also getting the word out about NFL Sunday Ticket. “They’re [NFL] very vocal about letting me shoot content that is authentic to my brand and my audience and now that YouTube is the new home of the NFL Sunday ticket, it’s my job to announce that and let people know,” said Ngyuen.
SOCIAL
Snapchat Explores New Messaging Retention Feature: A Game-Changer or Risky Move?
In a recent announcement, Snapchat revealed a groundbreaking update that challenges its traditional design ethos. The platform is experimenting with an option that allows users to defy the 24-hour auto-delete rule, a feature synonymous with Snapchat’s ephemeral messaging model.
The proposed change aims to introduce a “Never delete” option in messaging retention settings, aligning Snapchat more closely with conventional messaging apps. While this move may blur Snapchat’s distinctive selling point, Snap appears convinced of its necessity.
According to Snap, the decision stems from user feedback and a commitment to innovation based on user needs. The company aims to provide greater flexibility and control over conversations, catering to the preferences of its community.
Currently undergoing trials in select markets, the new feature empowers users to adjust retention settings on a conversation-by-conversation basis. Flexibility remains paramount, with participants able to modify settings within chats and receive in-chat notifications to ensure transparency.
Snapchat underscores that the default auto-delete feature will persist, reinforcing its design philosophy centered on ephemerality. However, with the app gaining traction as a primary messaging platform, the option offers users a means to preserve longer chat histories.
The update marks a pivotal moment for Snapchat, renowned for its disappearing message premise, especially popular among younger demographics. Retaining this focus has been pivotal to Snapchat’s identity, but the shift suggests a broader strategy aimed at diversifying its user base.
This strategy may appeal particularly to older demographics, potentially extending Snapchat’s relevance as users age. By emulating features of conventional messaging platforms, Snapchat seeks to enhance its appeal and broaden its reach.
Yet, the introduction of message retention poses questions about Snapchat’s uniqueness. While addressing user demands, the risk of diluting Snapchat’s distinctiveness looms large.
As Snapchat ventures into uncharted territory, the outcome of this experiment remains uncertain. Will message retention propel Snapchat to new heights, or will it compromise the platform’s uniqueness?
Only time will tell.
SOCIAL
Catering to specific audience boosts your business, says accountant turned coach
While it is tempting to try to appeal to a broad audience, the founder of alcohol-free coaching service Just the Tonic, Sandra Parker, believes the best thing you can do for your business is focus on your niche. Here’s how she did just that.
When running a business, reaching out to as many clients as possible can be tempting. But it also risks making your marketing “too generic,” warns Sandra Parker, the founder of Just The Tonic Coaching.
“From the very start of my business, I knew exactly who I could help and who I couldn’t,” Parker told My Biggest Lessons.
Parker struggled with alcohol dependence as a young professional. Today, her business targets high-achieving individuals who face challenges similar to those she had early in her career.
“I understand their frustrations, I understand their fears, and I understand their coping mechanisms and the stories they’re telling themselves,” Parker said. “Because of that, I’m able to market very effectively, to speak in a language that they understand, and am able to reach them.”Â
“I believe that it’s really important that you know exactly who your customer or your client is, and you target them, and you resist the temptation to make your marketing too generic to try and reach everyone,” she explained.
“If you speak specifically to your target clients, you will reach them, and I believe that’s the way that you’re going to be more successful.
Watch the video for more of Sandra Parker’s biggest lessons.
SOCIAL
Instagram Tests Live-Stream Games to Enhance Engagement
Instagram’s testing out some new options to help spice up your live-streams in the app, with some live broadcasters now able to select a game that they can play with viewers in-stream.
As you can see in these example screens, posted by Ahmed Ghanem, some creators now have the option to play either “This or That”, a question and answer prompt that you can share with your viewers, or “Trivia”, to generate more engagement within your IG live-streams.
That could be a simple way to spark more conversation and interaction, which could then lead into further engagement opportunities from your live audience.
Meta’s been exploring more ways to make live-streaming a bigger consideration for IG creators, with a view to live-streams potentially catching on with more users.
That includes the gradual expansion of its “Stars” live-stream donation program, giving more creators in more regions a means to accept donations from live-stream viewers, while back in December, Instagram also added some new options to make it easier to go live using third-party tools via desktop PCs.
Live streaming has been a major shift in China, where shopping live-streams, in particular, have led to massive opportunities for streaming platforms. They haven’t caught on in the same way in Western regions, but as TikTok and YouTube look to push live-stream adoption, there is still a chance that they will become a much bigger element in future.
Which is why IG is also trying to stay in touch, and add more ways for its creators to engage via streams. Live-stream games is another element within this, which could make this a better community-building, and potentially sales-driving option.
We’ve asked Instagram for more information on this test, and we’ll update this post if/when we hear back.
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