A Digital Marketing Strategy for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Written by Ben Prantl
In 2024, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (soccer club) will embark on their 25th season as a club. 2023 was the club’s most successful season, winning the Players’ Shield - awarded to the club with the most points in the regular season in the USL Championship - and seeing head coach Bob Lilley win Coach of the Year, forward Albert Dikwa win Player of the Year, and seeing Arturo Ordóñez win Defender of the Year.
The Riverhounds saw record-breaking attendance numbers, and are aiming to increase capacity at Highmark Stadium, in Pittsburgh’s south side, from 5,000 seats to 15,000. The club is on the up-and-up and is looking to grow as a brand in a non-traditional soccer market, but to do best reach its potential, the club will have to capitalize on fans within 50 miles of the Steel City.
The Challenge
The problem the Riverhounds face is that Pittsburgh is not a traditional soccer market. The Riverhounds compete from the spring until the fall and have games on the weekends. This means that they will be competing for ticket sales with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who always have good ratings in town and have the best ballpark in America per USA Today. As the season enters its climax and the playoffs begin, the Riverhounds will be competing with the Pittsburgh Steelers - Pittsburgh’s first love - who averaged 67,000 fans per home game in 2023.
While it’s not impossible, the Riverhounds will need to be precise in their actions to compete with such prominent staples of the city’s entertainment.
The easiest way to increase ticket sales is to have a good team, but that’s not always a guarantee or sustainable.
Social Media as a Tool
Social media is a great way to market a team, per Socialtables. The Riverhounds have 27.6 thousand followers on Instagram, and the club does a great job pushing for ticket sales. They have a link in their bio where people can go to buy tickets, and they even use emoji arrows to direct the user’s eyes toward the link.
It’s not just their bio. On gameday posts, they include information about the game and say that tickets can be purchased via the link in the bio. What the Riverhounds could do is have single posts dedicated to selling tickets. Since the Riverhounds want to increase fan sales, they have to do a little extra marketing, and something like that is a great way to go about it.
According to Social Media Today, 71% of consumers who have a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend that brand to friends and family. By continuing to use social media properly, the Riverhounds can continue to draw local fans to their games, as well as use their fans as marketers.
A More Personal Approach
While social media is an excellent way to reach vast numbers of people, it’s not very personal. Sometimes the best marketing is just that: personal. Email marketing strikes a great balance between the two things. It can be used to cast a wide net, but it’s also personal - you’re reaching out to the individual. Per Campaign Monitor, the average return on investment for email marketing is $38. Emails are relatively cheap to send, and they provide a great way to directly market to consumers.
Per Khaled Saleh, writing for Invesp, 70% of marketers agree retraining customers costs less than getting new ones does. While the Riverhounds will be looking to draw in new viewers and fans, it will behoove them to continue to maintain good relations with their existing ones, especially when the allure of sports on Pittsburgh’s north shore looms large.
Another way to keep it personal is via local partnerships. The Riverhounds do a good job partnering with Mike’s Beer Bar, which serves as the official home for Riverhounds watch parties. Using approaches like this will help expand the Riverhounds brand. Maybe the Riverhounds go and partner with a grocery store, or a business that’s prevalent around the city. These kinds of steps will increase brand awareness and brand loyalty for both the Riverhounds and whatever business they choose to partner with.
Conclusion
The position of the Riverhounds is an enviable one. They’re coming off a great season and are expanding their stadium. The team is really starting to create a niche for itself in the Pittsburgh market.
If the Riverhounds are to take full advantage of this opportunity, they will need to hit on their next moves of social media and personal marketing. These steps will continue to promote their brand as a cheaper alternative to the Steelers and a cheaper, better on-field product than the Pirates. The Riverhounds won’t likely be able to beat them, and I doubt Pittsburgh will be a soccer town anytime soon, but if the Riverhounds make the right moves, they will be much more than an afterthought in the city.
References:
“15 Tactics to Sell More Event Tickets Today” - Socialtables
“How Social Media Marketing Helps Brands Reach Their Goals” - Social Media Today
“The New Rules of Email Marketing” - Campaign Monitor
“Customer Acquisition Vs.Retention Costs – Statistics And Trends” - Invesp
Check out my previous work at the links below!
https://pursue-persuade.squarespace.com/students/2024/ben-prantl
https://pursue-persuade.squarespace.com/social-media-audit/2024/2/29/editing-the-nhls-social-media
https://pursue-persuade.squarespace.com/group-5/2024/3/19/email-marketing