The Hashtag Sports team has no doubt about the power of content to connect and engage sports audiences. They’ve built a premier global event organization around this idea.
They knew that creating an easy way to exchange digital event media with their community of influential marketing and media professionals would be a winning combination. They could stand ahead of other industry offerings and expand content output and distribution to boost their brand and event participation year-round.
When the global pandemic required a shift in the team’s annual flagship 2020 event plan from a live, in-person environment to a fully virtual one, it was time to test their thesis. With no way for their large event community to meet and network in person, the team sought to replicate the in-person awards show and multi-day conference experience for them and embody it through immediately shareable digital and social content.
Boosted social engagement by 125%
Their existing, primarily email-based workflows for capturing and distributing timely, premium content with awards participants, conference speakers, sponsors and attendees could not meet these new online demands. They used Greenfly to streamline content exchange for the multiple Hashtag Sports event elements. The platform’s automation was critical to success; the Hashtag Sports team saved days of manual work, particularly in producing the online awards celebration and organizing conference media. The team captured over 1,100 new content assets through Greenfly, including more than 140 Grabyo video clips automatically imported.
The small but growing marketing and event staff loved having this one-stop shop for managing, collecting and distributing short-form event media during the awards and conference phases — one that helped them stay nimble and collaborate remotely. The Greenfly partnership enabled Hashtag Sports to bring to life and elevate this virtual anchor event experience for their industry community.
“Greenfly is best-in-class technology powered by an equally best-in-class customer success team — an incredible partner and a key part of our event success, as social content has become critical for our brand in driving engagement and dialogue within our community.”
— Anthony Caponiti, CEO and Co-Founder, Hashtag Sports
Over 150 participants created and shared event video clips and graphics before, during and after the event. This activity helped the Hashtag Sports marketers leverage their speakers’ and community’s robust social followings to significantly expand digital promotion and conversation — with significant social reach and engagement increases.
The Hashtag Sports story can help other event organizers and marketers across industries seeking to boost brand awareness and participation through social media marketing. Whether you have virtual or in-person events, the key is sharing and showcasing unique social and digital content with your passionate advocates.
