The IMG Sports Marketing Symposium concluded Thursday with a keynote presenation from theKMco Founder Kenny Miller called, "Fan Engagement: Optimizing Your Social Content Experiences." Miller opened his speech by advising marketers to be fearless experimenters. “You know what you should do -- experiment, try things out, don’t be afraid to fail, make a lot of small bets and see what works, because, truthfully, everybody is still figuring it out. It’s new.” Miller then highlighted the importance of Facebook in the growing social landscape. He said, “Some time in the next three to six months … more than 20% of time spent online will be occurring on or around Facebook. Other things matter, Twitter matters a lot, Foursquare is interesting, but Facebook matters a lot.” Miller then talked about his company’s strategy for engaging Knicks and NHL Rangers fans. “Our strategy is about connecting the fans in ways that are valuable, fun, natural and persistent," he said. "The persistent part is really, really important. Doing one-offs is no way to build a business. Increasing value over time is really, really important.” One example Miller gave of how his company has sought to do that is with the “Face-Off” poll for the Rangers, which is called “Tip-Off” for the Knicks. “This is a poll where a fan can come in and make up their own questions. ... If you make a quiz, you get 10 points, and for everybody who then takes the quiz, you get another point. The better the content the more people will take it and the more points you get.” Those points may be redeemed for tickets, prizes and other items from the teams, which is just one more component to drive fan interaction. Miller: “What we’ll see these sites evolve into is a bit more of a game show experience, where it’s like a game show is wrapped around an entire season.”
