Pittsburgh Riverhounds Social Media Plan

By: Brice Putnam

A message from Brice Putnam

Introduction:

Pittsburgh is a soccer city. The city is loyal and tough and most importantly never gives up. The Pittsburgh Riverhounds have shared that same pride and grit on and off the field since their founding in 1998. Their home is located at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh’s south side and features gorgeous views of the city's skyline. On the field the team has been a constant contender since joining the USL Championship. They also recently announced the addition of a professional women's soccer team. 

 The goal of this report is to propose a social media strategy that aims to sell more tickets to Riverhounds home games. Filling the stands is one of the Riverhounds biggest goals. Not only does an electric audience help players and give them a home field advantage it also gives the organization the opportunity to provide a fun and inviting atmosphere for Riverhounds fans. 

Target Audience:

For this ticket selling social media initiative the target audience will be soccer fans that don’t usually attend Riverhounds games and that are located within 50 miles of Pittsburgh (driving distance). For the sake of selling more tickets I will also reference some ideas that could get non soccer fans interested in coming to Riverhounds games. 

I. For the Ball Knowers: 

Currently the Pittsburgh Riverhounds are a part of the USL Championship League which is the second highest level of professional soccer in the United States. The league recently announced the decision to implement a promotion and relegation system within its league pyramid. In broad terms this means that teams can be promoted or relegated to higher or lower levels of professional soccer based on their season performances. This system is arguably what has made soccer so popular throughout the rest of the world. The added stakes make the game much more exciting while also increasing the importance of a strong fan base. The Riverhounds already have an energetic and crazy fanbase called the Steel Army whose mission is to be as loud and supportive as they possibly can. This includes waving giant flags and chanting all game. The Riverhounds could easily create videos of the Steel Army in action to promote their team to real soccer fans around the Pittsburgh area. They could also make informative content about the upcoming shift to promotion and relegation that could spark newfound interest in the team, which in turn would create a rise in ticket sales. 

Steel Army

II. Dedication to Community: 

The Riverhounds currently have a charity initiative called “Hounds Play for Change.” It gives each player the opportunity to pick a charity to showcase and promote through the team website. This program could easily be highlighted on social media and has the potential to be very influential in terms of building the team's branding. By making short form videos of players talking about the charities they play for it could express their real personalities by showing what they care about. Many players charities also surround the medical field so in a city like Pittsburgh that has strong medical roots it may connect well to the public. Displaying each player's humanitarian efforts in their community could certainly increase ticket sales by creating a sense of relatability to certain causes or passions.  

III. Showcase the Experience: 

One of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds biggest potential selling points is the outstanding views of the city that they have from Highmark Stadium. This is something that their neighbor the Pittsburgh Pirates do extremely well at in terms of promoting at their own PNC Park. In fact, the Pirates do so well at promoting their stadium experience that they were ranked number 2 in all of the MLB in terms of fan sentiment. By creating content around the experience of going to a Riverhounds game the team could generate interest from not only soccer fans but also families or groups looking to have a fun night out. This could mean posting photographs depicting the field with the Pittsburgh skyline in the background or making a short form video of the food options around Highmark Stadium. With how much opportunity the Riverhounds have to market their stadium and experience they could see significant increases in ticket sales if addressed correctly on social media. 

Highmark Field, Pittsburgh PA

Closing Words:

To conclude, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds are more than a soccer team. They are a staple in the Pittsburgh community. With the social media strategies discussed in this article the Riverhounds could generate new attention and discover fans in previously untapped areas. This team embodies the “City of Champions” saying on and off the field so it must be shown to as many people as possible. Countless new fans await, and with this plan the Riverhounds will be seen by far more and in a new light. 

If you would like to check out more of my social media recommendations for pro sports organizations check out this article about the NHL. Here is a similar article and another one here that were both written by my peers.