Although we’re still in the peak heat of summer, football season will be here in a blink of an eye. Now’s the time to get all your linemen in a row to make sure your bar’s ready for the NFL and NCAA.
To really score with football fans this season, here’s what you’ll need:
🏈 The ability to show every NFL game
🗓️ Make it easy for fans to plan
📱 A strong and consistent social media game
🏆 A pro-level game day atmosphere
The good news is that checking off each of these boxes is a lot simpler than you think.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Since the publication of this blog post, EverPass and DirecTV have announced a new deal that will allow DirectTV to continue to carry the NFL Sunday Ticket.
The number one reason football fans go visit a bar is to watch football – be it the NFL or NCAA. So it stands that bars like yours should have NFL Sunday Ticket.
Of course, the tricky bit is that starting this season, the NFL Sunday Ticket for commercial businesses is only available through streaming on EverPass.
Converting isn’t difficult but you do have to beat inertia to start the process.
There’s also a good chance that a number of sports bars will either forget or forgo to make the conversion, giving your bar a chance to become the NFL HQ of your neighborhood. To drop NFL Sunday Ticket runs the serious risk of losing fans to your competitors – and that could have a ripple effect throughout your business beyond just football.
If you can’t show every NFL game to guests, you’re just not a serious football bar. And who wants to go there during football season?
If you’re worried about making the conversion, have no fear. Making the switch isn’t the nightmare you may think it is.
This blog goes over the bare bones of converting from DirecTV to EverPass. Meanwhile, we interviewed EverPass for the Football Marketing Bootcamp II webinar to learn more about what bars need (and can expect) to make the switch.
According to a KAM Media study, 78% of guests visit you online before deciding to visit and they need to see you promoting sports.
“If they don’t take sport seriously online, I don’t believe they take it seriously in-venue.”
Meanwhile a different 78% of sports fans say they would go out more often if it were easier to plan ahead for major events. This is huge information.
You can kill two birds with one stone by embedding your weekly NFL and NCAA football schedule on your website. Not only does this show visitors that you care about football, but it also lets them know what games you plan to show on your TVs, so they can plan when to come visit.
This is even more important for the upcoming season where some bars won’t convert from NFL Sunday Ticket on DirecTV to EverPass. It’s going to leave some football fans in the cold – and your bar can score big because of it.
You could painstakingly create a game schedule by updating a page by hand every week.
Or, you could let FANZO do all of that work for you.
By simply clicking which football games you plan on showing each week, FANZO’s website integration will automatically update your game schedule onto your website. It will save you hours of work while still showing football fans that you really care about football. That time saved will you manage other important aspects of your business.
All it takes is a website, a FANZO account, and the ability to copy-paste some short code.
Social media is where fans go to cheer, jeer, and chat about their favorite football teams. So it continues to be a solid place for bars to promote themselves to attract guests.
To start, bars should post photos and videos of fans celebrating touchdowns and enjoying games at your bar. If you do any sort of contests or giveaways, promote it and show off the winners. Really lean into the FOMO – fear of missing out.
Remember: Your bar is the best place to watch football. These posts prove it.
Your social is also a great place to promote the NFL and NCAA games you’re planning on showing. It helps re-engage folks who like your business enough to follow you and get them to revisit.
Again, FANZO makes this as easy as a few simple clicks each week.
FANZO’s social media asset generator creates images and video of your football game schedule. It then automatically uploads them to your Facebook and Instagram accounts on a regularly set schedule, giving you easy social content every week.
That means when you choose your games for the upcoming week, it automatically updates your social media graphics as well as your website schedule. That’s two key pieces of marketing done at the same time with minimal effort.
You can also add captions to personalize each post. Don’t forget to use common hashtags for the teams and neighborhoods you serve to boost findability – whether you’re using FANZO’s social media generator or posting on your own.
In general, regular posting on social media helps with your bar’s overall discoverability. By posting regularly and getting interactions online, search and AI will see your business as being more reliable, thus ranking higher when fans search for a place to catch their game.
According to a Kantar study, atmosphere (50%) is the single most important factor when fans choose a venue to watch sports – outweighing both convenience (44%) and price (43%).
That means your website and social media also need to show off what watching games at your bar is like. Close ups photos or videos of fans celebrating is a good way of doing this. Packed crowds, etc.
You’ll want to make sure your FANZO profile also displays these.
Think: If you were a football fan searching for a new bar to catch the game, what sort of visuals would excite you and entice you to visit? It won’t be the same images you’d probably use for a more foodie-focused restaurant finder. For sports and bar finder apps like FANZO, it’s all about the sports atmosphere.
Good media will get them through the door. Your bar will also need to deliver on that promise.
Things that will create for a great game day experience:
🏈 The ability to show every NFL game
🔊 In-game audio
👥 Energetic room full of other football fans
🎟️ Games, giveaways, and contests
🍺 Great food and drink menu
👨🏽🍳 Quick and stellar service
Remember: the number one reason football fans come to bars during football season is to watch football. If you can deliver on that, you’re well on your way.
If you need some help marketing this fall, don’t hesitate to reach out.