Fore!mula For Success - Utilizing Social Media - March 2010
Courses Find New Ways To Promote Their Facilities Through Social Media
A new way to use Internet technology to reach more customers has emerged, and the golf industry stands to benefit. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are being incorporated into marketing strategies at more and more golf courses, and with millions of people on Facebook and Twitter, it may be something for your facility to consider."All marketing is relative to our competition. If there are two guys running from an alligator, you don't have to be faster than the alligator, you just have to be faster than the other guy," says Todd Butts, Owner and PGA Professional at Drake Creek Golf Course, a semi-private facility in Paducah, KY. "At Drake Creek we've managed to be the faster guy by being ahead of the marketing curve in western Kentucky."
One way Drake Creek has gotten ahead is by being one of the few courses in its area on Facebook. The course's Facebook page launched last August in conjunction with its Customer Appreciation Day. Customers that were members, e-friends, or Facebook fans were invited to a special day of free green fees, range balls, and lunch. 175 players participated and it began the growth of the course's Facebook fan base which now nears 500.
"Facebook seemed to be taking off in popularity so we decided to try it out," Todd says. "It's another method of marketing that expands our presence online. We use it to promote events and golf shop deals, post course updates, and offer special giveaways."
One of Drake Creek's most effective Facebook promotions was a $50 gift card drawing for any new Facebook fan that changed their personal status to say "I hope I win the $50 Drake Creek Gift Card!" Through word of mouth online in just one week Drake Creek had 150 new fans. "The trick to maximizing Facebook is to give our fans a reason to post something attention grabbing about Drake Creek. Their friends see it, and then their friends see it, and before you know it they've helped promote a course they enjoy playing and brought us potential new business," explains Todd.
New business from online consumers is particularly valuable since that type of customer is likely to book tee time reservations online which helps build a course's customer database. "I believe that the golf course with the largest and highest quality database wins," Todd states. "We're consistently focusing on growing our customer demographic that books online and provides us their e-mail for our e-mail marketing database." Todd utilizes Facebook and e-mail marketing together to maximize results, but points out that e-mail marketing through Fore! Reservations to Drake Creek's 3,000 customers remains his number one marketing tool.
Like e-mail marketing, another advantage of using social media is the free cost. St. Andrews Golf & Country Club, a 36-hole public facility in West Chicago, IL, saw the free cost as the main reason why the course decided to join Facebook. "In this economy, we have to seek out free or low cost marketing. Anything to promote the facility and stay in front of people is important for survival," says Golf Shop Manager Michelle Bockrath.
St. Andrews has taken a slightly different approach in its use of Facebook, primarily utilizing it to celebrate customers and better connect with them. "We use e-mail marketing for more formal announcements and use Facebook for fun things like posting pictures of golfers that get hole-in-ones, sharing photos from outings and events, and last season we posted when the course record was broken," Michelle says. She also notes that Facebook, which is very popular among teenagers, will become an integral part of their promotion of junior golf which is a large piece of the course's business.
Not only are courses using Facebook, they're also using Twitter to market special promotions and keep in constant contact with their customers. 18-hole public sister courses in California - Hunter Ranch Golf Course (Paso Robles, CA) and La Purisima Golf Course (Lompoc, CA) - are both using Twitter to communicate to their customers. Hunter Ranch has experienced particularly great success since joining Twitter last summer with nearly 1,000 followers.
"Any form of communication you can use to keep your customers in the loop and stay in front of prospective customers should be utilized," Hunter Ranch and La Purisima Golf Course Vice President and General Manager John Carson says. "We saw other businesses using Twitter and Facebook, so we felt we would be missing an opportunity if we didn't get on the bandwagon. Even though it's not logical to think all 1,000 Hunter Ranch followers will become customers, the possibility exists."
Hunter Ranch utilizes Twitter to post messages like a tee time special or restaurant deal. The staff makes it part of their daily routine to come up with something interesting to say and they've definitely seen an impact. "Most customers that see something they like on Twitter immediately go to our website and book a tee time through our Fore! Reservations Specials Calendar which is exactly what we're trying to achieve," says John. "We've even had people immediately pick up the phone and order food to go once a picture of the daily special is posted."
Both Drake Creek and Hunter Ranch's rapid growth on Facebook and Twitter can be explained by the viral marketing effect social media provides. "When I started the Twitter account, I looked for other local businesses and followed some of their followers. Once you start following people, they normally become one of your followers. Now that most of our competitors have set up Twitter accounts, I see who follows them and follow their followers. It sort of builds like network marketing; get three people, they get nine, who get 27, and so on," John explains.
The effortless growth of the fan or follower base is a major advantage of social media. Courses using Facebook and Twitter can also benefit from reaching a new customer audience, creating more Internet consumers, and by helping bring in added business.
"One of the main reasons our courses started participating in social media was to drive website visits and remind customers where they can receive our best guaranteed rates," adds John. Fore! Reservations provides courses like Hunter Ranch and La Purisima with the website technology to ensure their customers can book an online tee time easily and efficiently, and find the best rate at the course's website.
If using social media helps direct golfers to a course's website, builds customer loyalty, increases online reservations and the size of a customer database, while generating more overall interest in the golf course, it just may be another powerful marketing tool to consider.
"I would recommend that golf courses try out Facebook and Twitter," Todd concludes. "The key tie-in with Fore! Reservations is that I can implement an idea like Facebook and see it come to fruition through my software, which makes it easy and makes me a happy and profitable customer."
If your course implemented an idea at your facility because you read about it in Fore!mula For Success, we would like to feature your course in an upcoming issue. Please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we'll include your success story.
