Give Fans the Power: Surveys & Polls Boost Engagement Across Stadiums

Across the country, sports and media organizations are putting decision-making power back into the hands of the people. While events like the Super Bowl, Olympics, and Grammys have no issue drawing crowds of enthusiastic fans, how do organizers keep the momentum going all year round?

Over time we have seen organizations attempt to build deeper connections with their fans through interactive fan voting such as real-time surveys and polls. Social media Q&A’s, push notifications via mobile apps, and text messages requesting feedback after shows are just a few of the ways that organizations are stepping outside of traditional marketing to gather feedback.

Other organizations seek to take their brand to new heights by allowing fans to dictate the direction they head in next. For example, the Seattle Sounders FC held a General Manager vote in 2018 to determine the best person to lead their team. While the vote was in favor to keep the current manager at the time, gathering these fan votes gave the football club a pretty good idea that they were heading, and will continue to move, in the right direction.

To give you a better idea of how to utilize fan voting for more than just quick feedback and how to use it to grow your organization, improve fan engagement, or simply increase awareness, take a look at these examples below.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame

The goal for the fan vote launched by the International Tennis Hall of Fame was to bring fans and athletes closer together. One way to increase engagement rates is to make players more accessible to fans. Allowing fans to be active participants in this vote meant that they could be part of the player’s history. According to the Hall of Fame’s CEO, “In the first year of Fan Voting, we saw quite clearly how dedicated and engaged the fans are in supporting the tennis players they admire.”

This was the first-ever fan vote for the International Tennis Hall of Fame and tens of thousands of fans participated worldwide by voting online or at kiosks during tournaments.

Learn more about the International Tennis Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Every year, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s official nominating committee chooses a group of artists they wish to nominate for induction. In addition to this private process, they let fans share which artists they’d like to see as a future nominee in an event called Voice Your Choice. In 2018, fans submitted their favorite eligible artists, and out of the top ten chosen, five were listed on the 2019 ballot.

The fans ballot and the industry ballot are both tallied when deciding the 2019 inductees. This is an example of how an influential organization utilizes both industry feedback and public feedback to make impactful decisions.

Learn more about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame here 

MTV’s Video Music Awards

In collaboration with Taco Bell, MTV used Twitter’s Direct Message chatbot to let fans vote for their favorite nominate artist. Using automated conversations, the chatbot encouraged fans to cast their vote – and 77% of people who engaged did. Fans that shared their voting experience with their followers increased voting by 25%.

While other organizations rely on custom voting websites, this is a perfect reminder that public platforms like social media can also be harnessed for your fan voting needs.

Learn more about the MTV Music Awards

NFL Pro Bowl

The NFL has been using online voting since 1995 but has taken their fan involvement to new heights with the inclusion of Twitter to promote their vote. In 2018, they opened fan voting in order to decide which players got to participate in their All-Star game, the NFL Pro Bowl.

The NFL also used Twitter’s Direct Message function to allow fans to easily cast their vote. In addition to this tactic, they also let fans submit votes directly using their favorite players Twitter handle and event hashtag.

These are just some of the ways sports teams and media organizations are using popular social media platforms and interactive polls to gauge fan behavior and interests. By accruing this data, organizations across the country are gaining more insight into what will make them better, and how to continue improving in their fan’s eyes.

Learn more about the NFL Pro Bowl

If you’re looking for another way to gather feedback from the people that drive your organization, take a look at our product offerings.