DIGITAL STRATEGY:

ESPN MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

Sydney Frazer

A45346763

frazersy@msu.edu

BACKGROUND INFO

ESPN is broadcasting more Major League Soccer games for the upcoming season

Huge up and coming market Not many soccer fans in the U.S. Major League Soccer is the United States soccer league,

many soccer fans focus their attention on Premier League soccer (overseas)

TARGET AUDIENCE

Adults age 18-55 Broad range: people of all ages are sports fans Important to reach a broad spectrum of people who

could potentially gain interest & watch more frequently

SOCIAL MEDIA

Dedicate 1 or 2 journalists who solely report MLS coverage Generate more content via social media so followers can see on

timeline Journalists can change name: @JohnSmith_MLS

Easier to find info for other followers if MLS is in their Twitter handle

Use a hashtag People who have a favorite team are more likely to engage and

watch Example: #TeamDC or #TeamChicago

Easy to track success: we can see exactly how many people are using the hash tag

Builds hype for matchups

ESPN’S HOMEPAGE ESPN already has incredibly popular homepage (built in audience

that has a lot of traffic) Establish a stronger MLS presence on the homepage MLS blog is the main feature on the homepage:

Talks about top plays, top weekly matchups, standout players, and big rivalries Better informs potential fans and more likely they will stay on the channel if a

game Is on

INBOUND MARKETING TECHNIQUES Inbound off of the ESPN

homepage: anyone who clicks on the MLS tab on the dashboard will be prompted to fill out personal info to join an e-blast Other features: include MLS

newsletter, notifications for game times, where games are being broadcasted, who’s playing who, etc

Quick and easy way to track subscribers

PAID ADVERTISING: FACEBOOK

Facebook Boost posts: ESPN Major League Soccer makes a Facebook post featuring a

matchup with the game time, each team’s franchise player, and that it is being broadcasted on an ESPN channel

Decently priced Post will appear on other people’s timelines even though they do

not follow the ESPN Facebook page Reaches out to friend’s of those who do follow ESPN on Facebook

PAID ADVERTISING: GOOGLE ADWORDS

8 major keywords: Major, League, Soccer,

Score, Game, Time, ESPN, MLS

Chosen because most people that search the web will be searching for the score of the game or the time of the game

PAID ADVERTISING: SEO

Same 8 keywords as Google AdWords Website will be better optimized to ensure that ESPN’s

MLS web page will appear at the top of the list for any user on Google

BUDGET (PER MONTH BASIS)

Google AdWords: $1-$5 per word: $2,000

SEO Firm: $750

Facebook Boost posts: $5 per day = $155

Inbound Marketing firm: $1,667

TOTAL: $4,572 per month