GolfBoard and Social Media: How To Surf Your Way to Sales And Marketing Success

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Zeb Welborn

GolfBoard is not only a perfect vehicle for golf, it’s an ideal vehicle for social media.

If you want to know exactly what photos and videos you need to take to execute a successful GolfBoard social media strategy read this post, then DOWNLOAD the free document: The 8 Photos/Videos You MUST Have To Promote GolfBoard On Social Media

Want to know what drives millennials to take action? Create a compelling, new and social golf experience.

Top Golf is a perfect example of this phenomenon. It’s new, socially engaging and unique. You can create opportunities to be a destination golf course by bringing something new to your golf course to attract golfers who wouldn’t play it otherwise.

GolfBoard is the perfect product to drive rounds and revenue at your golf course and increase social engagement, but you have to promote it well. Below are some tips to improve the promotion of GolfBoard or you can Hire 19th Hole Media.

Need Help Promoting GolfBoard at your course?
19th Hole Media has a GolfBoard Social Media Program that we can perform for your course. To find out more, click the button. LEARN ABOUT OUR GOLFBOARD SOCIAL MEDIA PROGRAM

Prior to writing this article we looked at courses across the country who are using GolfBoard and their social media promotion of the boards is, quite frankly, hugely lacking – one or two Instagram post a year doesn’t cut it.

Here’s how you can promote GolfBoard to your social audience to increase rounds, memberships and revenue.

GolfBoard at Indian Wells Golf Resort

The proof is in … the purchasing!

That’s exactly what Indian Wells Golf Resort did with its GolfBoard fleet after 19th Hole Media assisted them with their program launch in 2016-17. They doubled their fleet to eight boards for the 2017-18 season.

For those unfamiliar, GolfBoard is a surfboard-like motorized scooter on which golfers carry their clubs and traverse the course in a manner similar to surfing, skiing or skating. Those who participate in those sports usually find mastering GolfBoard a breeze.

The rest of us?

We sometimes need a little help, but a driver’s education session on the range and a few holes on the course usually does the trick.

As a social media challenge, GolfBoard presents a similar education curve that revolves around two questions: What is it? How do you use it?

The good news is social media is ideally suited to answer these questions and draw new golfers, new revenue and new excitement to your course! Here’s a look at the case study for the launch at Indian Wells Golf Course and the blueprint for promoting GolfBoard at your course.

Step #1 – Create a GolfBoard Press Release

The first thing we did at Indian Wells was to write a press release announcing GolfBoard and promote it on Facebook. The response was incredible. Without boosting, the post had more than 10,000 views and 100 likes and many enthusiastic comments that show that showed the interest and awareness of GolfBoard. Sprinkled amongst those comments were some questions about GolfBoard use and safety that were easily addressed.

This post was published weeks before the arrival of the boards to not only stir enthusiasm but early rentals. You should have a waiting list at your course by the time the boards arrive.

Step #2: Educate GolfBoard Safety with Social Media

Another critical part of the pre-launch is to introduce the one-time safety waiver that has to be signed and video that has to be viewed at each course before using GolfBoard. This also presents a great social media opportunity for promotion and education and to answer more questions about them and build engagement.

You’ll quickly learn that photos of the boards stir interest but also raise questions. Seeing videos of the boards in action flip the switch for people and drive them to rent them. Why? Because they’re fun!

Step #3: Create GolfBoard Content for Social Media

Which brings us to the next step. When the boards arrive, you want to start creating content around them as quickly as possible. Take photos of them at course when they arrive but then get them active on the course and start taking videos of golfers using them. This is your best marketing vehicle for GolfBoard and where 19th Hole Media can help you most. We’re experts at GolfBoard video and creating videos that showcase the boards and your course, which is the best of both worlds.

Watch this video at Indian Wells Golf Resort –

GolfBoard can be rented solo or in groups, but you want to start booking groups as soon as possible. GolfBoard is a great group learning experience and golfers enjoy mastering the boards together.

Facebook and Instagram are the best social media vehicles for promoting GolfBoard, but Instagram is particularly effective due to the ease of loading video and the existing community of GolfBoarders and courses that use GolfBoard that already exists. Eventually the goal is for your GolfBoarders to start sharing their own videos on your social media, and you should be encouraging these. These are self-generating testimonials for use of the boards!

The boards are seen as a draw for millennials, but you’ll quickly find that the boards will impact all demographics of your course when promoted properly, which for older generations means allaying safety concerns. The best benefit is that you’ll find new golfers discovering your course out of curiosity or because they’ve experienced the boards elsewhere and this is their preferred way to play.

GolfBoards at Maderas Golf Club

Prior to joining 19th Hole Media, Corey Ross, our Content Strategist, worked on the GolfBoard launch at Maderas Golf Club in San Diego and created the social media program for promoting them.

In the first year of the boards at the course, they generated nearly 1,000 rentals and we’re credited with generating an additional $100,000 for the course! That’s the kind of impact GolfBoard can have for your course if promoted properly and consistently.

One thing we see consistently is an underpromotion of GolfBoard by the courses that have it.

GolfBoard gives your course a competitive advantage and social media helps you capitalize on it. You’ve already paid to rent or buy the boards. It’s only a little more to make sure they’re marketed properly! Let us help and show you how to Surf the Earth on social media!

We want to help you succeed at bringing more golfers to your golf course to use GolfBoard. That is why we created this FREE download that shares the 8 Photos/Videos You MUST Have To Promote GolfBoard On Social Media:

Use the information in the download and the tips in this post and you will likely be well on your way to expanding your GolfBoard fleet.

We created a program specifically to promote the booking of GolfBoard at your golf course. Learn how we can create social media campaigns to get new golfers to your course and sell out on your GolfBoard rentals.

19th HOLE MEDIA GOLFBOARD SOCIAL MEDIA PROGRAM

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Eight Ways To Improve Your Golf Course’s Chances Of Luring More Weddings Via Social Media

Posted on February 17, 2018 by Zeb Welborn

Is your golf course doing everything it can through social media to attract brides to your facility?

Weddings are special occasions full of beauty, joy and love. People decorate the space, they get all dressed up themselves and join together to witness love and to have a good time. Which means a public visual outlet, like social media, is the PERFECT vehicle to promote your facility and to attract customers.

Yes, you have wedding staff in place, but we know from experience that sales and service come first. Marketing comes somewhere after – if there’s extra time in the hectic schedule of a golf course’s wedding coordinator. We’ve yet to meet a golf course wedding coordinator who doesn’t appreciate help when it comes to courting prospective couples online.

We’ve had some great experience working with courses to promote their wedding venues. In fact, with our marketing plan detailed below, Maderas Golf Club had their two best wedding years EVER. Hire 19th Hole Media.

Need Help Promoting Your Wedding Venue?
19th Hole Media provides wedding venue marketing services that we can perform for your course. Right now we have a special on our 90-Day Online Marketing Services for Golf Course Wedding Venues. To find out more, click the button. LEARN ABOUT OUR WEDDING VENUE MARKETING SERVICES PLAN

Give Weddings Their Own Social Media Accounts

Frequently asked question: Should my event facility have it’s own Instagram account, Facebook page, etc?

The answer is definitely YES!

Why?

Think about it from the perspective of the bride and groom who are evaluating your venue. For them seeing the dedicated accounts is easy and efficient. They can get a quick idea of what their wedding day experience would be like at your course and can picture themselves getting married there. You want them to ask for more details or inquire about a tour. Having a readily available gallery of high-quality images on Instagram or Facebook or the website helps to do that.

Segmenting your audiences is important in today’s digital marketing age. Promoting your golf course to brides or your wedding venue to your golfers results in less engagement which leads to less reach on all your social channels.

BUT you should still cross-promote your weddings on the main account for your course every so often. The main account is likely to have more followers and you want to leverage that large audience.

Celebrate Your Couples

You want to showcase the beautiful couples who begin their new lives with you. It not only thanks them for their business, it is also a fabulous first impression for couples who come across the post when they are in the planning stages.

Let satisfied brides recruit future brides for you. Take their best wedding photos and post them on your page.

Arroyo Trabuco Wedding Photo for Golf Course Wedding Social Media

Photo from Wedding Chicks

A Wedding Photo Win-Win: That photo that perfectly showcases the happy couple and shows off your beautiful course.

It makes a definitive visual link between your gorgeous golf course and the perfect unique setting for the viewer’s special day.

Pro Tip: Don’t just share a massive wedding gallery. Make conscious content choices of what to share and include thoughtful captions.

Gather Galleries

In the shareable age we live in, it’s quite common for wedding photographers and/or couples to post their wedding gallery straight to Facebook.

Don’t be shy about pursuing galleries from photographers who’ve recently worked at your venue. You can bet they want their work promoted. During the height of wedding season many photographers can get VERY busy between meetings, shoots, editing sessions and booking weddings. They may not have the time or staff to get their photos posted in a timely manner. Reach out to them and request photos.

Trust me, it’s worth it. For all the photographers that come through your venue, you never know when one will have that unique capture that can be spun into social media gold for your course. For instance, we had a unique shot of a bride at Maderas being helped into her shoe. My social media spin: “Might Maderas be the perfect fit for your special day?”

Visuals drive the bus in social media. You want to be working with the best.

High Definition Video

At Riverwalk Golf Club we helped identify and reach out to a wedding videographer who allowed us to use a wedding video to promote the Riverwalk Wedding Venue. With paid advertising, the post itself had:

179,247 impressions
80,286 people reached
28,000+ video views
3,016 clicks
251 likes
21 shares
37 comments

The numbers were great, but that wasn’t even the best part. The best part about the video were the shares and comments!

Commenters suggested the wedding venue to friends, expressed their desire to have a wedding there and, probably most importantly, received social proof from commenters who used the venue before and loved it. These comments can then be used to continually market the wedding venue at the golf course.

Here are some examples of the comments left by Facebook users who saw the video ad we posted and advertised on behalf of Riverwalk Golf Club:

It’s easy to see how a good video can go a long ways on social media and help draw people to your venue.

Wedding Wednesday

Weddings have their own day on social media. It’s called Wedding Wednesday.

Is your course participating?

It’s a great opportunity to put your best content forward and show how you compare to the competition. It never hurts to set an expectation online and give people something to look forward to. Newspapers and magazines have operated on their expectation principle for decades. Carry the concept over to social media and plan your content accordingly.

Promote Promotions

After great visuals, the next thing most likely to lure online attention is a great offer. Don’t be shy about letting couples know about ways they can save with your course. You want to make use of every avenue available to get the attention of potential brides. Which means we’re not just talking about Facebook and Instagram, we suggest you also include your website and your course newsletter.

We had one course client who offered a military discount that flew a bit under the radar. We shined a spotlight on the discount with a steady stream of posts on social media. We had another successful promotion sharing early-bird discounts for New Year weddings that we posted and enhanced via Facebook ads.

Celebrate Your Vendors

The easiest job Corey had at Maderas was to snap a shot of the fresh flowers rotated weekly in their atrium by two of their floral vendors. Corey would take a photo, tag the vendor and post a compliment about the arrangement. They were happy to have the recognition – every time!

Praise your vendor partners and you both benefit. They benefit from the increased exposure to your social following and you benefit from their increased likelihood to promote and recommend your venue.

There’s still nothing better than word of mouth. Today’s word of mouth includes online conversations available for the world to see. Testimonials self-generate in social if you give them a place to happen. We’ve seen it time and time again!

Give Them A Reason – or Ten

When Corey first started creating content for Maderas, the initial objective was to write a blog post to support each entity of the club – golf, food and beverage, pro shop, weddings, etc. – in the first few months.

Corey’s first wedding post was titled, “Five Great Reasons To Get Married At Maderas.” He used a local wedding planner as a source. The post initially drew modest traffic and dropped off his radar – until he did an audit a few months later on the performance of the initial posts. Corey discovered the wedding post outperformed every golf post written in a similar time frame.

After more time with the facility Corey became more familiar with the entire wedding operation and he expanded on the original post to include ten top reasons to get married there. The best reasons to get married at your course is an evergreen blog post that EVERY course should have.

You can get INFINITE use out of a such a post AND re-purpose it for your own marketing purposes.

Don’t make brides deduce why you’re the best choice for their special day. TELL them!

We want to help you succeed at getting more weddings for your golf course wedding venue this year. That is why we created this FREE guide that shares exactly how we go about promoting golf course wedding venues:

Follow the steps in the guide and the tips in this post and you will likely be well on your way to having one of the best wedding years ever at your course.

BUT, if you need help to execute our 90-Day Content Strategy Guide for Golf Course Weddings…

19th HOLE MEDIA WEDDING MARKETING SERVICES PLAN

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19th Hole Media Top 10 of 2017 – The Best in Golf for 2017

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Zeb Welborn

Corey, Lacey and I sat down to go over an amazing year for 19th Hole Media. And we wanted to share the top 10 things that happened in 19th Hole Media in 2017. Thank you for being a part of it.

Here is our top ten from 2017!

#10 Palm Springs Golf Trip

We made several trips to Palm Springs in 2017, but Zeb got the chance to spend three days in Palm Springs, playing and visiting some great golf courses including Indian Wells Golf Resort, PGA West, Desert Willow Golf Resort, Monterey Country Club, Shadow Mountain Golf Club, Indian Springs Golf Club and several others. It’s never a bad thing to play three rounds of golf in three days in Palm Springs.

#9 Great Players at Great Courses

Two of our clients have some golfers who have been making waves on the PGA tour and beyond.

This year we signed on Bernardo Heights Country Club who boasts Xander Schauffele, 2017 PGA Rookie of the Year, and winner of the 2017 PGA Tour Championship.

Our longest tenured client, Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club is home to Michael Block who has been winning tournaments left and right getting the opportunity to play in numerous PGA Tour events including the upcoming Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

We also interviewed Michael Block several times throughout the year about his golfing successes and career. You can check those videos out on the video section of Arroyo Trabuco’s Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/pg/ArroyoTrabucoGolf/videos/

#8 Shooting GolfBoard Videos at Indian Wells Golf Resort

Indian Wells Golf Resort approached us just prior to 2017 to help them market GolfBoard via social media. One of my greatest golfing moments of the year was playing a round with Corey and shooting some GolfBoard videos which got some major traction throughout the year.

The golf season for Indian Wells lasts about six months during the winter. We did so well promoting the GolfBoard they doubled the size of their GolfBoard fleet and brought us on this season to do Facebook posting for their golf course, restaurant and wedding venue.

Check out one of their most popular GolfBoard videos here – https://www.facebook.com/IndianWellsGolfResort/videos/10155673915042366/

#7 GolfChat

A few years ago Zeb Welborn started #GolfChat, a twitter chat for golf fans and golfers.Who knew it would grow on to become its own wonderful little corner of the internet. #GolfChat took place every Tuesday on Twitter at 5PM PST with the help of @golfbandwagoner and @ConnectGolf. If you’re invested in golf, you should join us in 2018.

The chat has sparked some great conversations and debates prompting the establishment of #GolfChat Authors. #GolfChat Authors have contributed articles on golf to give their thoughts and opinions on ways to improve golf. #GolfChat is the place for knowledgable and thoughtful golf experts to share their insights on the golf industry. Check out GolfChat Authors, Click Here.

One of the highlights of the year was having Ron Sirak, award winning golf writer and, Brandel Chamblee, analyst at the Golf Channel, jump into the chat. Looking to make 2018 another great year for #GolfChat.

#6 The Social Golf Course in Scotland

No one has been more supportive of us and this business than our parents. They are the best! This year they had some wonderful adventures including a trip to the very heart and soul of golf, Scotland. They brought copies of the book The Social Golf Course written by Zeb Welborn and delivered the book to key individuals at St. Andrews, Royal Dornack, Brora and Elie.

It’s great to see The Social Golf Course at the Home of Golf.

#5 Working with NextLinks

We started working with NextLinks when they first began as REALiTEE Golf in the beginning of 2015. We have been fortunate enough to be involved with a company leading the pack on integrating technology and golf.

NextLinks is providing technology solutions for golf courses and venues to help incorporate golf and technology and are doing in a variety of unique ways.

Early in 2018, the Indian Wells City Council approved a plan to have NextLinks design a one-of-a-kind putting experience at Indian Wells Golf Resort. Their plan is to use lasers to create a nighttime experience for golfers and non-golfers in the Indian Wells area.

To see their plan watch their video – NextLinks – The Future of Indoor Golf – Goes Outdoors.

NextLinks is also working with the Silver Reef Casino in Washington to develop a unique golf experience and with the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. It’s going to be a great year for one of our favorite customers.

#4 Wedding Video Promotion for Riverwalk Golf Club

179,247 impressions
80,286 people reached
28,000+ video views
3,016 clicks
251 likes
21 shares
37 comments

But the best part about the video was the shares and comments. Commenters suggested the wedding venue to friends, expressed their desire to have a wedding there and, probably most importantly, received social proof from commenters who used the venue before and loved it. These comments can then be used to continually market the wedding venue at the golf course.

Here are some examples of the comments left by Facebook users who saw the video ad we identified, posted and advertised for on behalf of Riverwalk Golf Club:

We are creating a package specifically for wedding golf course venues. If you’d like to learn more about our golf course wedding venue marketing packages sign up for our email list here – http://eepurl.com/OTrhf

#3 19th Hole Media Clients Win CGCOA Awards

Sometimes businesses think social media is just a marketing tool, but it’s so much more than that. It helps with customer service, customer retention, customer feedback, develops new business opportunities, creates PR opportunities, etc.

We are proud to announce that the California Golf Course Owner’s Association’s Awards were won by several organizations involved with 19th Hole Media. You can watch videos of these CGCOA Award Winners here:

#2 Viral Golf Videos

Several golf videos we created this year went viral. One was a video of Zeb Welborn interviewing John Powell, from Los Serranos Country Club, about his world record-breaking round of golf where he shot 22 strokes under his age.

John Powell’s video was picked up by several major golf publishers throughout the country and he got lots more publicity for his remarkable accomplishment.

It was great helping get John Powell be recognized, he loved the attention he got from our video.

The second viral video was an interview I had with Bruce Loman, one of the first members of the Callaway Golf team. He’s seen Callaway become one of the biggest brands in golf and he shared the story regarding his experience with the company.

The interview came about purely by chance as Bruce recognized me coming off the 18th Hole at Strawberry Farms Golf Club. He was open to doing an interview right then and there.

Want 19th Hole Media to shoot and promote videos like these for your golf course? Sign up for our email list here and we’ll be in touch – http://eepurl.com/OTrhf

#1 Southern California Charity Golf Classic

The 3rd Annual Southern California Charity Golf Classic was held at Los Serranos Golf Club on July 29.

This year we had 132 golfers play in our golf tournament and raised $14,401.87. Combined, we have raised more than $33,000 in the three years we’ve hosted the Southern California Charity Golf Classic. Thank you to everyone who organized, sponsored, donated and played in the SCCGC!

In more exciting news, we wanted to share some new things that happened in our personal lives in 2017 too.

Birth of Our Darling Niece

Just about a year ago our brother Rocky became a father and we got to meet our niece. She is simply amazing. An animal lover who enjoys food, she is already very good at sharing. We are so excited to see her grow and to be a part of her life!

New Baby Coming in 2018

We’re happy to announce that Cindy, Zeb’s wife, is pregnant with their second child – a girl. 2018 is going to be another great year full of joy, laughter and excitement. Sebastian is super excited to become a big brother.

Sebastian’s Getting a Little Sister

It is not lost on us how fortunate we are to be able to do the work we do with people who never fail to be interesting and passionate. So many people have helped us get to where we are.

We have a lot of plans for 2018 and are looking forward to another memorable year. We hope you all have an absolutely amazing 2018!

Thank you all for everything!

Zeb & Lacey Welborn

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7 Quick Tips to Add Followers for Your Golf Courses Social Media Accounts

Posted on April 26, 2017 by Zeb Welborn

Gaining followers on your social media accounts is no easy task.

You need to set up your account, post regularly and follow along with comments. Most importantly, you need to have a strategy to add followers to your page.

Here are some quick tips on ways your golf course can add more followers to your social media channels:

On-Course Social Media Promotions

The easiest way to get followers to your social media accounts is to tell your golfers to follow you with on-course promotions. Some ways you can create on-course promotions to get golfers to follow you on social media are:

Clear Signage – include signs on your course, in the clubhouse and in the golf shop that tell your golfers you’re using social media.
Selfie Spot – Identify a popular picture taking spot on your golf course and include signage letting your golfers know this is a great spot to take a photo to share on social media. They will likely follow and share their experience at your course with their friends too.
Photo by Tom Prince
At the Point of Sale – Train your staff to let your golfers know to follow you on your social media channels for special offers, updates and course conditions.
Include a Scrolling Feed: Use a scrolling feed to show your golfers what you’re posting and what your golfers are posting on social media in your golf shop or clubhouse.

Engage on Other Social Media Pages

With more than 1.1 billion users, it’s possible to reach and connect with people from all walks of life, especially golfers. Local community pages, local golf-related pages, and local business pages are a great way to reach out and connect with your community and get more people following you on social media.

Local Community Pages: Regardless of where you live, there are social media accounts set up to engage your local community. In my town, Chino Hills Connections is a go-to resource for members of our community. Be sure to engage in local discussion to raise the profile of your social media pages.
Local Golf-Related Pages: You may have seen golf trick shot videos, golf equipment review sites, and golf course aficionado social media posts all over the internet. Connect with these influencers to raise the profile of your golf course and add to your follower count.
Local Business Pages: Local businesses are a great resource for golf courses to reach out to. Not only are they great prospects for events and tournaments at your golf course, but the people that visit those pages are likely people in your community.

Social Media Advertising to Target Golfers

An easy way to add followers to your social media channel is to use Facebook Advertising. With Facebook Ads, we recommend targeting golfers who live within 30 miles of your golf course.

Ads for Likes: You can run ad campaigns to target people who would be most likely to like your page. This will help increase your follower count.
Ads for Sales: We typically don’t recommend using ads for likes unless you’re just starting your social media account. What we suggest instead is using Facebook Ads to drive potential customers to a sale. While doing this they will be aware of your social channels and be more likely to follow.
Ads to Your Prime Market: With Facebook Ads, you can target golfers who are on your email list, who have visited your website in the past 90 days, or are the most engaged on your Facebook page. This high level of targeting insures that you’re reaching the right customers at the right price.

Use Hashtagging

Most social media sites use hashtags to help identify topics of conversation or categories of posts. Using hashtags in your posts will help add followers, specifically on sites like Instagram and Twitter.

Straight-Up Hashtagging: Example = #Golf – Using a hashtag like this makes your content usable on the various social media search engines. #Golf in Instagram as an example has more than 10,717,779 posts.
Local Hashtagging: Example = #SoCalGolf – Want to be searchable for a higher target market. Use local hashtags to be found by golfers who are more likely to play your course. #SoCalGolf in Instagram as an example has 7,304 posts.
Golf-Related Hashtags: Example = #GolfLife – There are tons of golf-related hashtags that can help your golf course get found by golfers all over the world. #GolfLife in Instagram as an example has 476,967 posts.

Run Social Media Contests

Run contests through your page to help spread word of mouth. They can get golfers to share your posts which can drive new golfers to your social media accounts. Some examples of contests you could run to gain followers are:

Photo Contest – Have your golfers submit a photo to your social media channel. The photo with the most likes wins. This will encourage your golfers to take a picture at your course, share it with their friends and invite them to your page to see it.
Share This Post with Your Friends Contest – Ask your followers to share a post. Randomly choosing a winner from the participants.
Majors Contest – Host a social contest during the major golf tournaments. Give your golfers a contest they’re happy to share with their friends.

Use Emails and Website to Promote Social Media Channels

Include your social media accounts in your emails and on your website. You can do this by:

Including your social media accounts in all employees’ email signatures
Sending an auto-responder email when they complete a round to ask them to follow your social media accounts
Having social media buttons on your website
Including a live social media feed, showing your actual social media posts, on your website.

Post Authentic, Engaging Social Media Content

The more engaging and authentic the content on your golf course is, the more likely you’ll have people want to follow you.

Think of your social media accounts as your own personal newspaper. The more subscribers you have, the more customers you’ll get.

Want more tips on how to get more golfers playing your golf course more often using social media? Sign up for the 19th Hole Media email list.

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Do Facebook Marketing Right for Your Golf Course

Posted on March 10, 2017 by Zeb Welborn

Last month, we covered the top six mistakes golf courses are making on Facebook. Those mistakes were:

Being overly promotional
Just posting flyers
Posting infrequently
Not engaging golfers with comments
Posting the same thing over and over
Not analyzing your efforts

For the full article please visit – The Six Biggest Mistakes Golf Courses Are Making on Facebook.

Now that we’ve covered the mistakes let’s talk about how to do Facebook right.

Ask Questions

The purpose of social media is to develop relationships with your customers outside of the golf course. It requires engagement. One easy way to do this is to create posts that ask a question. Engaging questions prompt your audience to answer which gives you an opportunity to extend the relationship even further.

Here are some questions we’ve posted for golf courses in the past which tend to get a lot of engagement:

Do you repair your ball marks?
What ONE thing would you add to the golf carts at our golf course?
You’re teeing off on our 167-yard Hole #12 with a pin in the middle of the green. What club is in your hands?

Just asking questions is not enough, you need visuals to go along with them.

Use Visual Content

Visual content draws the viewers into the post and, as a result, gets higher engagement. Golfers are twice as likely to comment on a post that has a picture or video than a post without. Facebook algorithms also show visual content to more of your followers.

Visual content can be in the form of photos or videos.

Using the above examples we could use:

a picture of a ball mark on one of our greens before we ask the question
a picture of one of our golf carts next to the clubhouse
an aerial video of the 167-yard 12th hole at this golf course

Once your golfers start engaging with your content it’s a sign that you’re beginning to do things right. Take it to the next level by engaging with your audience.

Engage Your Audience

Once your golfers start to comment on your Facebook posts you need to respond. Provide responses which try to extend the conversation. Don’t post a throw away comment that is easy to ignore.

The Facebook algorithms show your posts to followers more often when they have more engagement. If you focus on building engagement, your Facebook posts will show up to more people more often.

If you want to see great engagement in action check out our friend, John Hakim’s Facebook Page at Greenskeeper.org.

The more engaged your audience is on Facebook, the better job you’re doing with your social presence. To ensure your audience is engaged in your social efforts you need to be authentic.

Be Authentic

It’s easy to tell which golf courses outsource their social media marketing to a firm who doesn’t specialize in golf. For the most part, they try to use stock photos, funny videos and memes to drive engagement at your golf course. But, they rarely do.

Golfers follow your Facebook page to find out what’s going on at your golf course.

To be authentic:

use actual photos of your golf course
pose questions that only your golfers would know
update them on course conditions, course improvements and special promotions
highlight your staff members and golfers

Know of any other ways you can be authentic at your golf course? Add them in the comment section.

Be Consistent

I see it all the time. A golf course will pick up their social media presence only to let it slip in and out of dormancy. Consistency is important to continue to drive engagement and to make more of your golfers aware of the activities taking place at your golf course.

Inconsistent posting results in less engagement and, therefore, less exposure for your club.

Our average Facebook posts reaches approximately 1,000 people. Daily posting insures that our golf-related Facebook posts are being seen more than 30,000 times per month. Being inconsistent substantially drops the amount of daily exposure your golf course could be receiving.

Analyze Your Efforts

A successful campaign on social media depends on how well you analyze your efforts and can adjust accordingly. Facebook Insights is a part of every Facebook page and it is a great tool to help you monitor your efforts.

Facebook Insights can give you valuable information about:

Reach
Engagement
Likes
Promotions
Page Views
Post Performance
Demographics
Local Information

The metric we tend to look at the most when analyzing our efforts is how our posts performed. Each post shows how many Facebook users our post reached, which actions took place and how many people clicked through to the website. This information is critical in terms of catering your content to your customers. The more you analyze your efforts the more you’ll find what resonates with your audience.

Conclusion

In our last post you learned what not to do with Facebook marketing for your golf course. In this post you learned what to do with Facebook marketing for your golf course.

To establish a strong Facebook presence for your golf course you need to ask questions, use visual content, engage your audience, be authentic, be consistent and analyze your efforts.

These tips are designed to help you build a strong online presence for your business, but there is so much more that Facebook offers to help you get more golfers to play your golf course and play more often.

Thanks for taking some time to see how to do Facebook right for your golf course. We will be sharing more tips like this soon, Including a big one: The Difference-Maker in Facebook Marketing Today. Join our email list to ensure you learn even more about how to be successful on Facebook for your golf course:

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The Six Biggest Mistakes Golf Courses are Making on Facebook

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Lacey Welborn

The Don’ts of Facebook Marketing for Golf Courses

“Mistakes are part of the game. It’s how well you recover from them, that’s the mark of a great player.” – Alice Cooper

A new General Manager was hired at one of the first golf courses 19th Hole Media signed up to manage their social media pages. In my first conversation with him he told me he saw no value in social media.

“What do I care what people had to eat?”, he said.

In speaking with many golf course owners and general managers, they were of a similar opinion.

That was six years ago.

Through education, competition and the shifting purchasing habits of golfers most golf course owners and general managers realize the importance of social media in increasing rounds and revenue at their golf course.

Many, however, are doing it wrong.

Here is what NOT to do when marketing your golf course on Facebook:

Don’t Be Overly Promotional

People use Facebook to keep tabs on their family, friends and the companies that interest them. Selling on Facebook is acceptable, but not all the time.

How many of you would willingly sign up to watch TV commercials, look at magazines with only advertisements, or read newspaper ads without any news stories?

If all your posts are sales posts, your audience will get tired of your constant ads and stop following your course.
Another reason not to be overly promotional is that Facebook algorithms will show posts that get low engagement to fewer people. From analyzing thousands of Facebook posts, I can tell you that promotional posts get little to no engagement.

If you continually make posts that get little engagement, Facebook will show your posts to fewer and fewer of your followers.

Don’t Post Flyers

Many golf courses treat their Facebook page like an on-site bulletin board. They have their marketing team draft a flyer, blast it out via email and share it on social media.

Just like when you’re being overly promotional, flyers typically get little to no engagement. The less your Facebook followers engage with your posts, the less likely your posts will show up.

You also don’t want to post flyers because flyers usually contain a lot of text. Facebook will not allow you to boost – spend advertising dollars to reach more potential customers – any posts that have close to 20% text in the photo.

Facebook did this to limit an advertising look and feel to their platform. They also recognized that most photos with text had little to no engagement. And Facebook is all about engagement.

Lastly, consumers can spot, and ignore advertisements easily and flyers are easy-to-spot advertisements.

Think about opening your emails. Do you know which emails are promotional and which ones are not?

Most email users can immediately identify and delete any sales/promotional emails while recognizing emails that are important to them.

Think about watching TV. Do you watch commercials when you watch TV?

Most TV viewers now have a DVR to record programs and skip through commercials to watch their shows uninterrupted.

Think about retrieving the mail from your mailbox. Do you open and look at every piece of mail you receive?

Most people immediately discard mass mailings and open the letters that are important to them.

As consumers we’re constantly filtering out sales messages. Try your best to avoid anything that looks like an ad in your social media posting.

Don’t Post Too Infrequently

Another problem golf courses have is posting too infrequently. I can’t tell you how many golf course Facebook pages I’ve seen get started enthusiastically and then go dormant.

Many of your golfers are accustomed to getting information about their world from their social media pages. If your golf course is absent from posting to the people who want to hear from you the most, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.

There are many reasons why golf courses’ Facebook pages go dormant: perhaps the person in charge of social media moved on, it wasn’t a priority, or there just wasn’t enough time in the day to commit to creating a vibrant social presence. (Which is why golf courses hire 19th Hole Media.)

Every day something worthy of social media is happening at your golf course. Identifying those opportunities and sharing them with the world takes a consistent, committed and focused effort.

Don’t Not Engage

Another big problem we see many golf courses struggle with on social media is responding when followers comment on stuff.

Imagine a customer comes to the counter at your golf shop and says what a wonderful time they had playing your course and the person behind the counter says nothing.

Better yet, imagine your golf shop full of golfers when your customer complains loudly about an experience they had at your golf course and the person behind the counter says nothing.

When golfers comment on your social media pages they are expecting a response, just as they would when they are at your golf course. Ignoring comments by followers not only misses an opportunity to connect further with the golfer who commented, but it also hurts your relationship with other golfers who see that you aren’t responding to your golfers.

The more you comment back, the more you encourage comments in the future. And the more engagement you have on your posts, the more Facebook will show your posts to your followers.

Don’t Post the Same Type of Post Over and Over

Just like you wouldn’t want to continually post advertising messages on your Facebook page, you also wouldn’t want to post the same type of post all the time on your Facebook page.

I see many golf courses who just share links to websites on their page. Facebook posts can be links to webpages, pictures, questions, testimonials, polls, videos and others. The more variety you have on your Facebook posts, the more likely your followers will stay engaged with your course.

Don’t Not Analyze Your Efforts

Facebook has an excellent analytical tool called Facebook Insights which monitors the success, or lack thereof for your Facebook efforts.

In addition to gathering valuable demographic information about your Facebook followers, Facebook Insights will also show you which Facebook posts are delivering results and which ones are not.

Analyzing your efforts will not only provide valuable feedback when it comes to posting on Facebook, but it will also give you valuable insight into other marketable aspects of your business.

The Back Nine for Social Media

As Alice Cooper would tell you, in golf and on social media, mistakes happen. If your golf course is guilty of any of the Facebook don’ts for golf courses, it’s not too late to turn things around.

Don’t be overly promotional, don’t post flyers, don’t post infrequently, don’t not engage your golfers, don’t post the same type of post over and over and don’t not analyze your efforts.

Instead, recover from your mistakes, be great, and do Facebook right.

Coming Soon How to Do Facebook Right at Your Golf Course: The Do’s of Facebook Marketing for Golf Courses

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19th Hole Media’s Top 10 of 2016

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Lacey Welborn

At our end of year meeting each year we go over a lot of material, make a lot of plans, and do a lot of business stuff. But, we also make a point to look back over the previous year and celebrate our victories.

We have come a long way since we started. Here is our Top 10 of 2016.

Top 10 of 2016

10. Speaking Gigs

This year Zeb spoke with the California Golf Course Owners’s Association and the National Golf Course Owner’s Association Arizona on digital marketing for golf courses.

9. Visiting New Client Courses in Chicago and San Jose

One of the coolest things we did this year was add new client courses in Chicago (Village Greens of Woodridge) and San Jose (Cinnabar Hills Golf Club) . . . and, as a result, visiting those courses during the year to take social media pictures, videos and discussing how to best implement our plans for 2017.In September, Zeb brought the family for an amazing trip to Chicago and played Cog Hill, Cantigny, Village Links of Glen Ellyn and, of course, Village Greens of Woodridge. Thank you Brandon Evans for a memorable trip.In November, Zeb headed up to San Jose for the California Golf Course Owner’s Association Annual Meeting and to play/shoot social photos and videos at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club. Cinnabar Hills is a beautiful 27-hole golf course and includes the impressive Brandenburg Historical Golf Museum.

8. #GolfChat Authors

Zeb started #GolfChat in 2015 and since then it has taken on a life of its own.The Twitter chat (which takes place every Tuesday at 5PM PST) now has it’s own Author’s Group.Each month a topic is explored by golf bloggers and their articles are shared on the #GolfChat website.

We have to thank #GolfChat legends Jeremy White for orchestrating the authors group and Cassie Norris for hosting #GolfChat. As well as Pete Flanigan, Tiffany Chiasson, Todd Marsh, Tony Dear, Anne Foley-Smith, Dave Hill and Jim Burton for being #GolfChat Authors. And everyone else who has participated in #GolfChat.

Congratulations to the 2016 #GolfChat Award Winners – @Front9Back9, @golfbandwagoner, @ShawnBell, @h2cgolf, @GolfUnfiltered, @1beardedgolfer, @bowdo83, @tiffchaisson and @JDres15.

Follow #GolfChat in 2017 with the new #GolfChat Twitter account – @realGolfchat

7. GolfBoard

We first saw the GolfBoard in action early this year at the Golf Industry Show.Since then we’ve played it at Maderas Golf Club, Los Serranos Country Club and Candlewood Country Club.Maderas is one of the most popular GolfBoard destinations in the country and new partner, Corey Ross is solely using social media to promote it. General Manager, Michael Flickinger said their original GolfBoard fleet of four has already paid for itself.

This year we created marketing packages specifically for the GolfBoard. The GolfBoard is a great social opportunity to help attract followers and online conversations about your golf course. Our marketing packages help to leverage social media to drive new golfers to your golf course.

6. Social Media Golf Course Marketing Column and Sponsorship for California Golf Course Owner’s Association

Zeb has starting writing a column for the California Golf Course Owners Association regular newsletter. The column will share the benefits and best practices of online marketing with golf course owners.Check out his first contributions here:

19th Hole Media became a sponsor of the CGCOA this year and will be helping them recruit new members in 2017.

5. Game 7 – A Night to Remember

Game 7 of the World Series was one of the best baseball games I’ve ever seen. The game ended up being even more memorable for Zeb.Zeb watched the Cubbies break their curse with Steve Plummer, Ron Zraick, Michael Lautenbach – the past, current and future California Golf Course Owner’s Association Presidents – and Executive Director Marc Connerly while eating the best steak he’s ever had.

4. REALiTEE Golf

At the beginning of 2017, we were introduced to Dave Shultz and REALiTEE Golf.REALiTEE Golf is a majestic real golf experience that takes place indoors with a fun social atmosphere. It’s a big idea with a big personality launching it.In February we went with REALiTEE Golf to the Golf Industry Show in San Diego. There we saw founder Dave Shultz in action. He’s incredibly passionate and enthusiastic. We’re looking forward to being a part of REALiTEE Golf in 2017.

Learn more about REALiTEE Golf.

3. New Golf Clients

This year has been amazing for 19th Hole Media.We’ve added several new clients including Cinnabar Hills Golf Club, Desert Island Golf Club, Indian Wells Golf Resort, REALiTEE Golf, Riverwalk Golf Club, and Village Greens of Woodridge.We’ve also taken on bigger roles at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, and Los Serranos Country Club and continue to work for Anaheim Hills, Dad Miller, Greenskeeper.org, Robinson Ranch, San Dimas Canyon, and Strawberry Farms.

2. Southern California Charity Golf Classic

We hosted the 2nd Annual Southern California Charity Golf Classic at Los Serranos Country Club in Chino Hills, CA on July 29.With help from many in our community, the tournament met it’s goal and raised over $12,000 for Boys Republic, the Chino Rotary Club, the Chino Valley Fire District, the Love Them All Foundation, Priceless Pets and The Let It Be Foundation.The event was a ton of fun and we have already begun planning the 2017 SCCGC.

1. Corey Ross Joins 19th Hole Media

This year we added Corey Ross to the 19th Hole Media Team. Corey is the owner of Southern California Golf and Travel Blog, contributor to Southland Golf Magazine and Director of Digital Marketing and Social Media at Maderas Golf Club.

He obviously has great experience and our shared mission make Corey the perfect addition to 19th Hole Media.

Read more about our partnership with Corey Ross – Corey Ross Joins 19th Hole Media.

Thank you all for everything! We hope you all have an amazing 2017.

As we plan for 2017, we’re preparing to send out marketing tactics and tips for golf courses coinciding with the CGCOA newsletter. If you’d like to learn how to better market your golf course in 2017 sign up to get our emails – 19th Hole Media Newsletter

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How Donald Trump Won the Presidency with Social Media

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Zeb Welborn

Regardless of how you feel about the election results, you witnessed a drastic shift in the way politics will be handled in the future. Golf courses and businesses should take note of the power and influence Donald Trump was able to yield through social media.

“The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” – Oscar Wilde

Our President-Elect, Donald Trump, made controversial statement after controversial statement throughout the campaign and – every time – our political pundits said he was done. He would not recover.

But, he did recover.

Not only did he recover, but he continued to make more and more controversial statements and each time his influence grew.

His campaign is a testament to the new age of marketing – the power of social media.

Donald Trump’s strategy was to make sure eyes, ears and minds were on him and only him.

His strategy worked and it will work for your golf course.

Trump’s campaign relied on one simple premise:

“There is no such thing as bad publicity…” – Brendan Behan

If you’ve ever thought to yourself social media doesn’t work, it’s a waste of time, or it can’t help to get more golfers playing golf, Trump just proved you wrong. Trump used social media to persuade our country.

In a traditional campaign, any number of Trump’s controversial remarks would have doomed his run for the presidency, yet he thrived.

With each tweet, Trump defied conventional thinking and the reason it worked is because his statements dominated the headlines nearly every day of the campaign election cycle. Every late night talk show host, news anchor, newspaper, magazine and media outlet mentioned Trump on an almost daily basis.

The free press Trump received far surpassed the mentions of Hillary Clinton throughout the entire election. Whether good, or bad, Trump was on the minds of the American people and we have social media to thank.

As the results were being read, many pointed to the fact that this election would “rewrite the history books.” Its ramifications will reverberate throughout the future of political campaigns.

Trump was able to activate an untapped voter base. In the same way, golf courses can use social media to tap into golfers who have considered taking up the game, but haven’t yet.

In every debate, Facebook and Twitter were mentioned – they even had a selfie spot at my polling place.

Those engaging in discussions on Facebook and Twitter permeated news feeds and those who proactively supported or endorsed either candidate influenced our election.

If you’re active on social media you’re an influencer. You have the ability to persuade others to your way of thinking in today’s connected age. If your golf course is active on social media, you have the ability to persuade golfers to choose you over another golf course – OR – to choose golf over another recreational activity.

And when they choose you, you have the ability to generate a “base” of followers who will overwhelmingly support you and your brand. So much so, that they’ll take to Twitter, to Facebook and other social channels to tell everyone just how great your golf course is.

Trump demonstrated the power and appeal of reaching the masses. If you’re not using social media you have zero influence on those people using it. If you use social media, you have the potential to tap into thousands of people on a daily basis to convince them to play golf at your golf course.

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Top 5 Reasons Why You Should NOT Set Up Automatic Posting On Your Social Media Accounts – And How To Do It Anyways

Posted on September 18, 2016 by Zeb Welborn

Before I tell you how to set up automatic posting for all your golf course social media accounts, let me tell you why you absolutely should NOT do it:

It Screams Inauthenticity: To engage in social media effectively, you need to use each channel as it was intended. Posting the same exact message on your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest will tell your followers that you’re not engaging with anyone, you’re just blasting out a message. Remember, the key word in social media is “SOCIAL.” If you think socially and interact with your followers you’re much more likely to connect with golfers and encourage them to play your golf course more often.
Social Media Channels Will Limit Your Reach: Facebook and other social media channels have become more sophisticated in identifying when a third party tool like HootSuite is posting to your golf courses Facebook page on your behalf. As a result, they will make sure your posts show up less than if you posted them directly inside of Facebook.
Your Message Won’t Look Right: Each social media channel operates differently than the others. Instagram and Twitter are #Hashtag heavy, while Facebook and LinkedIn are not. Twitter can only post 140 characters at a time. When you share blog articles each platform pulls different website data to automatically populate the posts. Each social media channel has its own socially acceptable behavior. When you set up automatic posting for your golf course, you’re failing to reach your audience in the way they’d like to be reached.
You’ll Miss Out: If you only post in third party apps, you’ll miss out on opportunities that come from operating organically in each one of those social media pages. When logging into your accounts directly on your various social media channels you’ll be able to conduct outreach in those channels. If you’re relying solely on getting a message out there, you are missing out on opportunities to build connections and collaborate with other referral sources, golfers, local businesses, and your community.
Neglect Advertising Opportunities: The advertising feature in each social media platform operates differently too. As more and more consumers flock to social media, these social media channels will require more and more advertising to reach target audiences. If you’ve seen your Facebook reach lately you have probably realized that Facebook only shows each post to a small percentage of those who have liked your page. Spending money on social media advertising is an extremely affordable and effective way to reach your target audience. Use of an automatic posting tool will not help you identify advertising opportunities within the various social media channels.

Although I recommend not setting up automatic posting, it’s better than nothing. Realistically, posting on social media is time consuming and posting organically inside of each social media platform may not be feasible. For those of you that are interested, I’ll share with you some of the top tools to set up automatic posting for your social media channels.

HootSuite
TweetDeck
Buffer
SproutSocial
HubSpot
Social Oomph
Social Flow

Of the previous tools listed, I’ve only used HootSuite and TweetDeck. Each one operates a little bit differently and has unique features. If you’re looking to automate your social media postings these tools are a great place to start.

If at all possible, avoid automatic posting to your social media channels.

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GolfBoard at Indian Wells Golf Resort

Step #1 – Create a GolfBoard Press Release

Step #2: Educate GolfBoard Safety with Social Media

Step #3: Create GolfBoard Content for Social Media

GolfBoards at Maderas Golf Club

Get the Free Guide

Give Weddings Their Own Social Media Accounts

Celebrate Your Couples

Gather Galleries

High Definition Video

Wedding Wednesday

Promote Promotions

Celebrate Your Vendors

Give Them A Reason – or Ten

Get the Free Guide

#10 Palm Springs Golf Trip

#9 Great Players at Great Courses

#8 Shooting GolfBoard Videos at Indian Wells Golf Resort

#7 GolfChat

#6 The Social Golf Course in Scotland

#5 Working with NextLinks

#4 Wedding Video Promotion for Riverwalk Golf Club

#3 19th Hole Media Clients Win CGCOA Awards

#2 Viral Golf Videos

#1 Southern California Charity Golf Classic

Birth of Our Darling Niece

New Baby Coming in 2018

On-Course Social Media Promotions

Engage on Other Social Media Pages

Social Media Advertising to Target Golfers

Use Hashtagging

Run Social Media Contests

Use Emails and Website to Promote Social Media Channels

Post Authentic, Engaging Social Media Content

Ask Questions

Use Visual Content

Engage Your Audience

Be Authentic

Be Consistent

Analyze Your Efforts

Conclusion

The Don’ts of Facebook Marketing for Golf Courses

“Mistakes are part of the game. It’s how well you recover from them, that’s the mark of a great player.” – Alice Cooper

Don’t Be Overly Promotional

Don’t Post Flyers

Don’t Post Too Infrequently

Don’t Not Engage

Don’t Post the Same Type of Post Over and Over

Don’t Not Analyze Your Efforts

The Back Nine for Social Media

Top 10 of 2016