5 Fantasy Football Marketing Tactics for the Startup Owner

Fantasy sports are a popular hobby. And in a day and age where everyone has access to modern technology, fantasy sports (fantasy football -- in particular), has become somewhat of a popular business too.

Combine that with the potential for increased sales and revenue, and you have yourself a resourceful business founded on what once must have been just a hobby.

Fantasy football should be on your radar. You should know though that fantasy sports is a huge industry. There are 59.3 million people engaged in fantasy sports throughout the U.S. and Canada.

And if you still aren't convinced, here are a couple of additional numbers from the Fantasy Sports Trade Association that show why this market is attractive to a small business:

• 66% of fantasy sports players have college degrees.
• 51% of players have household incomes that are above $75,000.
• The average age of fantasy sports player is 38-39 years old.
• 67% of fantasy sports players are employed full-time.
• And fantasy football is the number 1 fantasy sport.

There are at least $26 billion worth of changing hands in the fantasy sports industry, fantasy football can provide a potentially lucrative opportunity to leverage buzz and excitement. It could help market your small business, drive interest, customers, and above all, revenue.

5 Fantasy Football Marketing Tips You Should Consider

When you incorporate fantasy football into your own marketing plans, you can target a very captivated audience. And when it comes to fantasy football participants, you'll find no other people (or players) completely absorbed in the game.

It does take lots of skill, and an analytical mind. Indeed, playing fantasy football is not just for fun. It can be secondary income too.

Players immerse themselves in a game where they can create their own NFL players to compete against other players. This is followed by scoring points based on real-life stats of the NFL players on each team.

"The average fantasy football player participates in multiple leagues and spends $556 annually on fantasy football fees, information and stat-tracking subscriptions."

~ Fantasy Sports Trade Association

You can leverage on this interest to attract fantasy football participants to your business. It means driving purchases of your products and services. That's why we've got 5 ideas that you should consider testing.

#1 Build a custom league for prizes

If you want to attract the attention of participants in a fantasy football match, closely consider creating your own custom league. Your business can act as the league manager, and afterward, you can then invite players to join in. You can also open up the league to your current customer base, and it also serves as a way to attract new customers.

You can market league invitations to your current customers through your email list and your social media channels. And of course, you can also attract new customers by extending league invites through highly targeted social media ads.

#2 Publish fantasy football-themed content

Content sells like hotcakes!

Running content marketing campaigns are an effective method of building awareness and sales. By including a fantasy football theme in your blogs, you can capture more attention and attract eyes to your content that would otherwise pass over it. Any business can capitalize on this, regardless of the industry you belong to.

Through simply altering your ad copy, you can entice fantasy football participants. You give them a reason to engage with your content. Well, now you need a compelling offer to convert them into sale.

Create content that is designed to send your audience to a well-thought funnel or direct offer, and conversions can happen naturally. Content ranges from blog posts, infographics, and even videos. All of them can be created and incorporated with a fantasy football theme.

#3 Run a social media ad campaign targeting your desired audience

Social media is a highly effective means of communication, that is if you know how to run campaigns correctly. Any business can be promoted through social media, and through ads, you can also target fantasy football participants.

"You can create team-specific ads and target an audience that is likely to engage with a team-themed ad. Fantasy football participants are consumed by the game, and if you are able to establish a connection between the game and your business, you can attract a very loyal customer."

~ Deep Patel, President of Owlmetrics

You can create ads that feature specific team images, and even throw in ad copies for every NFL team. Run it against an audience on Facebook that has "liked" that team's official page on Facebook.

In addition, you can also run ads on social media that target people who engage with and follow fantasy football service companies and fantasy football stock exchange.

In your quest for creating a profitable business out of fantasy sports, you'll find tracking software and tools that are specific to the fantasy sports industry, including an industry that teaches participants how to trade.

#4 Offer deals related to a game's outcome

If you're fortunately located in a market with an NFL team, you have the ability to use the outcome of a game as a marketing tool.

A good example of this is a restaurant sending emails to its list, offering free appetizers if a home team wins. This kind of strategy works really well to attract people into your location by using an irresistible offer. Your business can also benefit from additional purchases once they're at the door.

Try running ads that offer discount codes, target fans of specific teams, or just stick to fantasy football players in general.

#5 Set up your business as a game-watching location

Do you have a physical storefront with enough extra space? If you do, you can consider hosting a game-watching event.

You either host one-off events or establish your business as a weekly host. You should be glad that it also takes very little effort to implement.

It takes investment, like large-screen TVs, strong WiFi, or a comfortable environment. Remember to weigh the cost of hosting events like this against the space it would inevitably occupy along with the possible returns.

In the End...

Fantasy sports (and fantasy football) are immensely popular. In addition, you get several ways to integrate it into your small business marketing plans. So get creative, and leverage interests where you can better connect with your customer base.