According to the study that the National Golf Foundation has conducted in recent years to try to determine the extent to which golfers participate in the online world. One of the key areas they analyzed has been social media and to say the least, the results were surprising.
Golf and social networks. They define “native golfers” as the group that plays 85% of all rounds, and are responsible for over 85% of all revenue in the golf industry. As you can imagine, this group is quite conservative and nowhere near the type of people you would expect to be very active in the world of social media. Well, it turns out that the opposite is true, that they are very committed to social networks and are a very active group. In fact, they are more engaged with social media and user-generated content than the general population.
The statistics are illuminating:
60% of native golfers maintain a profile on at least one social network.
3.7 million native golfers regularly read blogs about brands, courses, travel and professional golf.
6.9 million native gamers visit their primary social network at least once a week.
3.9 million native gamers visit their primary social network every day.
These numbers are increasing year after year, with no real signs of slowing down. Hundreds of millions of Euros of purchasing decisions in this industry are influenced every day in the world of social networks. Whether through branded social networking sites, blogs offering opinions or golfers sharing their experiences. It is clear that the golf community is interested in communicating through social media, making one wonder how so many brands and professionals can be missing out on this great opportunity. The core of the audience is asking for more social media, brands and players who step up and step forward will soon see the results materialize.
This all sounds great, because it is a world of opportunities existing on social networks. But there is a negative side, and that is the possibility of doing things wrong. Nowadays it doesn’t take long for a bug to travel the world and become a trending topic on Twitter. Yes, you can draw attention to your brand, but is it really the attention you want? Obviously the answer is no. The best option is to hire a company or professional to help you with your social media to make sure you are doing everything right. This is not to say that you need to maintain a consultancy forever, but nevertheless, laying a solid foundation is a critical component to a successful social media presence.
You need to understand the rules and expectations of your social media audience, and you need to remember that social media is a two-way conversation. You must have the time, desire and ability to create quality content on a regular basis, and then be prepared to respond to questions and comments. Your social media company could help you in the beginning and then teach you how to handle the situation in the long term.
Remember that there is a great opportunity to do things right. The fact that you can participate in the networks for free does not mean that it is easy. After all, most players have taken golf lessons from a professional or coach to build their training.
Don’t you think it’s possible to do the same when it comes to your social media actions?
