How to Grow Your Digital Fan Engagement with Mobile Apps

Fans are ultimately those who make up the income of your sports business.

That way, fan engagement is crucial to the success of your organization.

Today a large part of fan engagement is digital. Mobile apps and smartphones play a central part in fans' digital media consumption: people spend up to 4,5 hours per day on average using mobile apps.

In an earlier blog post we described how Sports Fan Engagement apps can be built with No Code. No Code generates new opportunities: there are more sports organizations that can afford to build apps, and the apps are more flexible than ever before.

Using No Code and automations you can build an app that serves your fanbase practically on autopilot: engaging fans in real-time and requiring minimal upkeep.

The next level of Fan Engagement is actively engaging with fans and facilitating two-way interactions.

In this blog post, we'll explore how you can facilitate two-way engagement with Mobile Apps.

This blog is an excerpt from our eBook on Growing Digital Fan Engagement and Revenue.

Check it out to dive deeper into the subject!

Digital Fan Engagement Features

Now let’s look into different ways you can drive digital fan engagement with your fans.

Create an interactive "Fan Zone" into your app, and entertain your fans, collect fan feedback and 1st party data with these engaging features – here are some examples from apps built with the Choicely app builder:

Polls. Ask about your fans’ sentiments – collect feedback or ask just for fun.

Battle. Pre-game prediction of who will win. Give fans a chance to predict and gain post-game bragging rights.

Draws, surveys, applications... Collect contact details or feedback with easy-to-use forms.

Player performance rating. Fans can give their own “FIFA 2023” style player ratings.

Show the rating results. Good topic for post-game chatter.

Player of the game vote. Have fans pick their favorite.

When you actively use engagement features like this in your app, you can grow the connection with your fans, as well as give them a reason to come back to your app – time and time again.

Integrate 3rd Party Fan Engagement Features to Your App

When it comes to mobile apps, the features the app developer can build or offer as an out-of-the-box solution, shouldn't limit you. There are thousands of specialized software products on the market that could be a could fit for your app and fanbase.

Choicely app builder supports integrating ready-made features that work in the mobile environment, as well as custom developed features.

Here are some examples of custom features that our customers have used in their apps built with Choicely:

Reactoo Studio enables anyone to create professional quality live-stream shows with real-time audience participation without the need for skilled operators.

The sports fan media AFTV has this interactive live stream experience in their app.

This custom feature is also used by AFTV. With the Starting XI feature, fans can make predictions of the Arsenal FC’s starting lineup for the next match. The feature has been developed by the customer’s team and it has been integrated to the AFTV+ app.

Gobi Stories adds an easy-to-use stories functionality reminiscent of Instagram or Snapchat to a customer's app or website. Gobi can be used in sports apps to showcase the latest news of a sports club, players, et cetera. We also use Gobi ourselves on our website.

Live stream is a great addition to any sports app. Watching streams through an app is a natural way for fans to follow the matches and competitions. The Choicely platform is universally compatible with live streaming services. Below is a live stream within the app of the International Judo Federation.

Statistics and scores is another obvious section in a sports app. Checking results through an app that’s on the home screen of your phone is the fastest way to see if your team won and who scored. The screenshot above is from AFTV’s results section.

Digital Fan Engagement: Case AFTV

The beloved sports media AFTV and their mobile app are great examples of very active sports fan engagement.

The fan media that’s dedicated for the fans of Arsenal FC is best known for its popular YouTube channel of 1,6 million subscribers. AFTV also has millions of followers across social media channels like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and X.

Our collaboration started when the AFTV team came to us, aiming to take their fan engagement to the next level and expand their digital universe to native mobile apps, where they can interact closely with their community.

The AFTV+ app was built without coding, using the Choicely No Code app platform, and the app was introduced during the 22–23 season. Today the AFTV+ mobile app is a world-class fan channel for the Arsenal tribe.

What is most noteworthy about the AFTV+ app is the active effort to engage the users and build a community – before, during and after matches. The app has:

• Polls on a daily basis
• Match result predictions
• Player ratings after each match
• Sponsors integrated into the content
• Content from across AFTV’s social media channels as well as exclusive shows, including early windows on top content
• The aforementioned interactive live stream and starting lineup predictions
• Sections for statistics, scores and upcoming matches
• News
• Merchandise store

All of this activity gives fans a good reason to open the app often, and a good opportunity for AFTV to grow the total engagement time with the fans.

"This product is clever and intuitive and cal fulfil our needs for a responsive app built on native platforms. For the price, it is remarkable technology."

- Brett Best, CEO AFTV / Global Fan Network

Conclusion

Follow the tips in this blog post and actively engage with fans, and you will:

• Have a lively app worth accessing regularly, as fans will consistently find new and engaging content
• Grow the usage of your app
•  Increase engagement time with the app
•  Grow a connection with your fanbase and foster fan loyalty
• Grow 1st party fan data
• Understand your fanbase and collect fan feedback
• Give fans a chance to give their input to decisions
• Entertain fans

This blog was an excerpt from our eBook Growing Digital Fan Engagement & Revenue with No Code Sports Apps. Check it out to dive deeper into the subject!