Boston-based sports social network Fancred is the largest of its kind in the world. Founded in 2012, the company has grown tremendously but still faces the problem of continually adding audience. To find an answer for that question, Fancred launched a unique new component, indicative of its strong user base and startup nature: Make Gameday Everyday.
Established as its own site, Make Gameday Everyday had a simple, fascinating premise: To share the best of Fancred in a way that wouldn't simply fall into the category of mainstream content marketing. Fancred's Head of Strategy and Content, Landon Howell, spoke with BostInno about the concept:
Fancred has been around for over two years now. And everyday, we have hundreds of thousands of people sharing hundreds of thousnands of photos and articles, thoughts and moments. What we kept seeing is people, other members of Fancred, kind of wanting to see their perspective, whether it's the view that they have of the game, or the athlete that they bumped into on campus. They wanted to see that perspective. So in order to add to that community and further grow, we kept saying okay what can we do with these moments? How can we share them outside of Fancred other than just taking the direct link and sharing it out?
Howell, who has a background in web publishing and editorial, had an idea. Why not build a standalone site, showcasing the best of Fancred, but allowing anyone (even those who don't have the app) to access the content.
"I was itching to write about some of these moments, to go a little more in-depth," Howell noted. "These are just great moments, and we just want to share them."
So far, the site has been an undeniable success, harnessing an audience of over half a million readers.
One thing he didn't want, however, was for it to just slide into the abyss of standard content marketing, where blog entries about products or brands appear inauthentic and forced.
"People do content marketing all the time, but much of it feels very self-centered," Howell explained.
The good news in that respect is that Fancred's entire premise is based around unique fan experiences and moments. For Make Gameday Everday, Howell and Fancred's team could pick from an ocean of interesting content, adding other statistically-oriented posts as well.
Another refreshing idea for the site was to not force Fancred onto viewers. There was not mandate about downloading the app in order to view content. Nor were there a million Fancred-related pop-ups. The idea was specifically to not overwhelm readers with reminders about joining Fancred. The logic was that after seeing so much good content (and that it was all coming from Fancred), there would be a natural migration.
So far, the site has been an undeniable success, harnessing an audience of over half a million readers. The success has been derived from the diversity of the posts seen on the site. Given that it's mostly the product of the wide range of Fancred users, anyone perusing Make Gameday Everyday is just as likely to find an article giving tips on the best nachos in Major League Baseball stadiums as they are to see statistics from the NFL's opening weekend.
It keeps readers off balance, while simultaneously entertaining them. In terms of evolution, it's been a positive one for Fancred. Not even a year old, Make Gameday Everyday will undoubtedly continue to grow. And in so doing, it will be accomplishing its original purpose.
Image via Fancred
