You’ve almost made it — Summer is right around the corner. Spring sports are wrapping up, exams are in session, and graduation preparation is in full swing.
Soon you’ll face the AD’s biggest seasonal challenge: Keeping in touch with your community once school is out. And if you lose touch over break, it makes your job that much more hectic come Fall.
So take these easy steps to ensure your department exceeds expectations within your community this Summer, to make for a smooth transition into Fall and a killer 2013-2014 sports year.
Stay on the radar. The biggest reason AD’s lose touch with their community during the summer is they’re not actively trying to reach them. Start the Summer off right — send an e-mail during the first week off letting parents and athletes know that you’ll be available this summer and when you can be reached. Relaying this information will get everyone on the same page right away. That means less time responding to voicemails and e-mails, and more time enjoying the break.
Host a Summer Mixer. Hosting a department mixer is an awesome way to gather your community and athletes together outside of school. Making the mixer a “Kick-Off” event for the athletic year will get your fans hyped about the approaching seasons and your athletes excited about playing them.
Bonus: Tell your attendees they can find pictures from the event on your site, by handing out cards with your URL on them. (Click here for a template!)
Post it. Your community cares about your programs. Post to your website and social media pages with news, important forms or documents, and upcoming events. Keeping your sites up to date will train your fans to go to your website for all athletic information, and not to call you for every question they have. Increased traffic to your site also means increased coverage for your sports programs, which your athletes (and gate receipts) will love.
Taking these simple steps this Summer will result in less calls to your office, more page views on your website and larger audiences at your sporting events. An engaged community within your athletic department will supercharge your programs to make next year your best year ever.
Have questions on how to engage your community this summer? Contact us, we’d love to help.
