This is the crux for me. Imagine working in the media / comms team knowing that the HMFIC don’t value or want to promote social media etc. Conversely, if the owner isn’t arsed, he’s not going to set a very high bar for his team to reach, hence the poor performance.
Personally, I’m not into it either and am unlikely to be converted anytime soon, however, having a son that works in the media industry, I get that in todays world, that’s how things work.
I get very uncomfortable when Flynn gets directly caught up in the underlying shambles, which has happened a few times now.
That was part of my point above.
It shouldn’t matter if individuals are into it because others will be. Of the different social media Thanny listed above I’m probably active more on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Very occasionally on Instagram and never on TikTok. But I know others will be using Instagram and TikTok a lot more so they should be regularly updated even if I’m not personally going to see it.
And we’ve had many posts on here over the last few years pointing out how our fan base is ageing and it’s harder to get younger generations interested.
Well stuff like this is one part of how you reach them.
Also why the board being full of old men that seem to dislike social media or anything they consider newfangled to be a barrier to us making progress in many areas of improving things.
Indeed.
Same as “the match day” experience. All I want is a decent pint and something to eat that isn’t junk food or made from an animal. Not interested in bouncy castles, celebrity guests, face painting. HT entertainment and the like, however, I get that many do and if the club only cater for my needs, then audiences will dwindle.
Something more needs to be done for the younger generation. I take my daughter who is 5 and I have to take a bag full of things to keep her entertained, both pre and during the match.
The Kids Zone is okay, but not always open. It would be nice if a little more thought could be put into what they do for them moving forwards.
Posted my thoughts on another thread (Media Team - #30 by Giza) a while back and again this is a basic error for a media team to make. Especially one who works at a professional football club.
It’s all about perception and promoting a professional image as a club. Yes, it may not dictate a new signing, but i think it would help. These players are all over social media these days and love to reshare good content about themselves. Put it this way there are players out there who have made a name for themselves on lower league football through their social media content. Pope was one although the wrong type, Akinfenwa another. No one heard of Lee Trundle years ago until soccer am started sharing his skill reels.
8 year olds and many other ages live on watching YouTube nowadays and ask many what they want to be when they’re older and many will say a gamer/youtuber
I work in a similar field and I’d be embarrassed with the errors these guys are doing time and time again. My work isn’t as popular as this, but i know where i work is known locally for having great public perception helped by the social media content we produce.
This recent one from the club is a test that has gone wrong again and it just keeps happening time and time again.
Exactly the same experience pal. I take my 5 year old too, and it’s quite difficult to keep him engaged.
I know we don’t have infinite resources, but surely there could be something better done to attract and engage younger fans ?
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, surely it wouldn’t be difficult to email out, our put on social media a ‘swifty update’ each week or a message from a player - addressing kids? Make them feel a part of it. That’s how you build relationships and get kids interested, and invested.
I remember when I was little, I went every Saturday morning to the junior saddlers. Is that a thing any more? I genuinely don’t know - if it is, I’ve not received a single email or seen any advertisement about it.
Why not digitise the letter box idea in the kids room? Rather than the kids writing a note on scrap paper and getting a response days/weeks after and get a nice personal short video reply publicly/privately?
Im surprised they dont utilise astro turf pitch especially during the warmer weather a fenced area big open space perfect for a fan zone could even split it into adult and kid areas. Bouncy castle penalty shootout competitions and maybe a couple of players not in the squad attend for the kids. And drink and food stalls with a dj for the adults.
I’m not sure. I think if there was something like this, where they could meet children of a similar age, it makes it a more attractive proposition to go on a Saturday.
So many people on here talk about a matchday being a social time for them, to meet friends etc. The same should surely apply to those who are younger too - go to the game and see Child X or Y for an hour or so pre-game and do some activities. It’ll make them want to go more often than not.
Definitely. Just something other than two PS3’s, a box of lego would be a start and a soft play area that gets taken over by pre-teens with no regard for the smaller children in there.
This is the one area I feel the club are okay at, but there is little to no marketing for it. They have a postbox in the Kids Zone where you can write a note to your favourite player and get a response.
I know he gets hazed on here a lot, but Tom Heslop is good with communication regarding this, and my little girl has had 3 prompt responses last season. This just needs to be more publicised, so folk know about it.
Our media output is pretty pathetic, boring content that’s too predictable and is the same cycle week in week out for years now. Throw in a regular gaffe and you have a fairly amateur outfit. Now I’d agree with LP and KingKrod that it doesn’t really matter if we were winning games but the point is we have been rubbish for over half a decade so this stuff does matter in connecting with your current and future supporters, or even reconnecting with supporters who no longer attend.
Thanatos,
It sounds harsh, it’s because the current media team are incompetent and/or not experienced/creative enough.
It’s shocking. As I’ve said a few times, it’s literally a little investment in some decent lightning, a reasonable mic and some general competency on Adobe CC or OBS.
I totally agree.
Dale Moon is a classic example of the person the club should be hiring as head of media.
He did a great job for the short time he was with us, to say we’ve missed him would be an understatement.
Them seemingly being happy with our media output is just another example of the old boys club refusing to accept anything could possibly be wrong with the job they’re doing. Another case of them patting each other on the back and telling each other how well they’re doing when I’m reality they’re not.
They’re probably dismissing us pesky fans right now. How dare we question them.
I don’t think we can fully comment on where the fault lies. For sure, when the guy at the top says he’s not really interested in social media, that potentially sets a tone at the club. Maybe he places no emphasis or importance on it at all. I don’t know what Dan Mole’s remit is in terms of what Pomlett requires of him. I would have thought he would want higher standards. I don’t know who we employ in these positions and why, and I don’t know what we are doing to support them in raising their standards. I do know that we are making silly little errors consistently and over a period of time, and you would have thought attention was very much on this. Maybe we should suspend further judgement until we see how the Q&A goes? The very fact that they were testing it is a good sign hopefully.
Pathetic seeing people attempting to defend this.
There are people out there that work 37+ hour weeks and squeeze this kind of thing in as a hobby when they get home and still do it 10 times better than the people our club EMPLOY full time to do it.
Should not even be an issue at a business like Walsall FC. Social media is a fundamental part of the modern business world and its not changing anytime soon. Its absolutely embarrassing.
Not really an option these days, important commercial device for the club and an essential link to the next generation of supporters.
Whether it is an option or not, if that comes from the boss, that sets the tone for the business. An employee can either work to the boss’s remit or leave.
That’s a considerable concern then.
Funnily enough Wolves did a Q&A (albeit with vetted questions) with it’s directors yesterday. So in the last week that’s Wolves and Harlequins I personally have seen have some communication from it’s directors to it’s fans. There’s also an Exeter City (who have ACTUAL fan representation on the board by the way) fan pod that’s had officials of the club, players and even the manager on, on multiple occasions, this season. And these are just pieces of media I happen to have chanced across, rather than actively searched for.
I’m starting to think this “that’s more than you get at other clubs/You wouldn’t get this at the big clubs/were as good as anyone else” might not quite ring true…
Maybe so. Is Pomlett about my age? I think he probably is. We didn’t grow up with social media. I see some contemporaries who have moved with the times and embraced it (or at least understood its uses) and others who have steadfastly refused to do so. You would have thought that, with a high level career in business behind him, he would have had to adapt, but you never know.