Pages that don’t work. Under construction banners. Replayed press releases. Poorly produced video content (or clipped TV interviews). Lackluster traffic. Pitiful efforts.
All these things and more describe the websites of NASCAR’s biggest teams. For all their sponsorship dollars and sales savvy, the sport’s elite have largely failed in their efforts to attract a strong audience to their Internet presences.
In our very unscientific TNI poll we found a little less than half of respondents regularly visit the websites of their favorite teams or drivers. According to comScore Hendrick Motorsports had just 68,000 unique visitors in March. The traffic numbers for other teams are lower (by comparison NFL teams regularly have unique numbers from the low six figures to the low seven figures per month).
The popular excuse is that NASCAR fans follow the drivers, not the teams, so they don’t visit the team sites. I don’t believe this is the whole story though. The teams, for their part, have done very little over the years to utilize the potential of their sites.
What you currently find on their websites is non-exclusive content (press releases), some photos, and the occasional video collage set to ridiculous music. Some teams have attempted blogs, but they get forgotten; and while others have done a good job with video recently, I don’t trust they’ll continue to do it.
Roush Fenway is making steps in the right direction, but the end result is still to be seen. According to Sports Business Journal, the team is spending close to $500,000 on a new team website (this includes the site, a relationship with the Barbarian Group and a new studio) – the new site will be “half competition/half sales.” Team president Geoff Smith said this was a way for them to modernize their outreach. Welcome to the 21st century Geoff (you’re only 10 years late).
One of the key components of this redesign is video content, and the team has already started to wade into that. They recently produced a Home Shopping style infomercial for Ricky Stenhouse. It was mildly entertaining, but about 4 minutes too long. Don’t get me wrong, it was well done and having a guy like Sean Pragano (Ricky’s PR guy and a former broadcast sports reporter) host is great. Every team should attempt to put out viral videos. Roush just needs to be very careful about who they’re marketing this to, and whether or not there will be an actual benefit.
Unfortunately, many teams are online just because they feel they have to be. As Michael Smith so accurately wrote, “…most teams don’t tout their sites as a legitimate source of exposure. It’s mostly a value-added component to a sponsorship deal.” While very correct, the statement is fundamentally flawed. How can a site be a value-added component if nobody sees it? Perhaps more important to this post though is why isn’t it being used as a source for exposure?
NASCAR, just like every other sport in the country, is facing dwindling coverage by downsizing newspapers, newspaper chains and broadcast outlets. Where most sports teams are looking to increase their online presence, especially on their own sites, NASCAR teams are doing nothing. I think it’s bizarre.
On top of that none of these teams do anything to promote their sites (with the exception of the occasional sticker on the car or, driver’s firesuit). It seems quite simple and logical to think that a team would want to tell people that they have a site and there are great things on it, but none do.
Honestly there is a lot teams could do to encourage people to visit. Most important is getting capable individuals in place to produce exclusive content for the site. The fact is, it takes skill and knowledge to effectively write for and produce video content. It also takes a skilled individual to consistently write compelling and interesting stories and blogs that people will return to read. If teams can effectively add value to their sites, and increase traffic, it too could become a tool for making money. Go figure.
Too often organizations delve into things without asking the fundamental, why they’re doing it. It seems like such a simple thing, but often gets overlooked. Websites certainly take time and money to make right, but with the proper individuals and the appropriate investment they really can turn their sites into a valuable part of their marketing efforts.
TheNASCARInsiders.com
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