Recent Articles
California Golf Course Owner’s Association (CGCOA) Presentation on Social Media
The California Golf Course Owner’s Association (CGCOA) invited John Hakim, owner of Greenskeeper.org and myself, Zeb Welborn to speak to their members about the importance of social media on October 23, 2013.
California Golf Course Owner’s Association CGCOA
During the presentation we discussed the importance of social media and the impact it’s having on our economy and our golf courses. We also gave a lot of practical examples on how to use social media effectively at the local golf course level.
We had a lot of great feedback from our webinar and were asked to come back to present again at another date in the future.
The California Golf Course Owner’s Association (CGCOA) is dedicated to the stimulation of market growth for California’s golf course industry. They promote collaborative advertising and promotional advertising programs encouraging more rounds of golf throughout California.
John Hakim and I love sharing our knowledge and expertise with the golf course industry. If you’re in the golf course industry and you have questions regarding social media, contact me.
Zeb Welborn
Zeb@WelbornMedia.com
(909) 973 – 9089
Share This Article!
New Marketing Methods for Golf Courses
The Golf Course industry as a whole is way behind the curve when it comes to promoting the game and encouraging others to play it. As a community, we need to work together to help grow the sport and encourage others to take up the game. We have developed new marketing methods designed to help grow golf by implementing social media policies at local golf courses across the country.
Social media, in particular, Facebook can have a substantial impact on the growth of the game at the local level. Local golf courses need to create a buzz and excitement around the events that are happening at their golf course.
If more golf courses can encourage more golfers in their local areas to take up golf, the golf industry will thrive for decades to come. If we continue to market and promote the game like we have in the past, we will be killing the game we all love so much.
Other recreational sports are using Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms much more effectively than other sports and the golf industry is missing out on opportunities left and right.
Contact us to learn more about how we can help your golf course reach more customers and reach more customers more effectively than other traditional forms of advertising – email me at Zeb@WelbornMedia.com.
I’d also love to hear your thoughts on the video we created for 19th Hole Media – New Marketing Methods for Golf Courses. Please visit our Facebook page to leave your comments for us to see how we can improve our presentation for future videos.
Share This Article!
19th Hole Media Social Media Clients
We feel very fortunate to work for our golf course clients in Southern California and Greenskeeper.org. We love managing their social media presence and have built strong, long-lasting communities at our courses. More golfers are being exposed to these golfers courses and playing them more often.
Personally, I’d like to take some time to acknowledge those golf courses on our blog in the hopes that you golfers out there will be able to make your way to them sometime in the near future.
San Dimas Canyon Golf Course is located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and offers a unique experience for the golfers in the Los Angeles area—a true “get away from it all” experience. The 6,400-yard, par 72 course runs along the base of the San Gabriels among the native California oak and other natural vegetation. San Dimas Canyon Golf Course was previously awarded “Best Course for the Dollar” in all of LA County by Greenskeeper.org and the banquet facilities won the Bride’s Choice Award by WeddingWire.com in 2010 and 2011.
Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club is a public-access daily fee facility featuring an 18-hole championship-length golf course designed by PGA Tour professional Tom Lehman and well-respected local golf course architect, Casey O’Callaghan. Set amidst Trabuco Creek and The Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo, the 240-acre Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club provides an unforgettable golf experience on par with South Orange County’s finest high-end clubs. Conveniently located off Avery Parkway, Arroyo Trabuco offers unparalleled value in a pristine, park-like setting.
Greenskeeper.org is a free online community, golf social network, providing golf course reviews, aeration alerts, overseeding schedules, photos, specials, tee times, score tracking, outings, product reviews, and more.
We really are grateful that we get to work for such amazing organizations in the golf industry and, using social media, are exposing each of these businesses to more golfers and encouraging their golfers to play more often. If you’re in Southern California, we strongly recommend visiting San Dimas Canyon Golf Course and Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club. And, if you’ve never heard of Greenskeeper.org you need to check them out.
If you have any questions about how we can help use social media at your golf course or your golf-related business, don’t hesitate to contact us – Zeb@WelbornMedia.com or (909) 973 – 9089.
-
- Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club
-
- San Dimas Canyon Golf Course
-
- Greenskeeper.org
Social Media Golf Marketing Outperforms Newspapers and Golf Magazines
As the golf industry has declined so have the budgets of golf courses trying to reach new customers. It’s an endless downward cycle resulting in fewer rounds being played at golf courses and fewer people taking up the game. Social media golf marketing outperforms newspapers and golf magazines in reaching more golfers, in targeting golfers and in engaging golfers more often.
Golf has been slow to react to the wave of new technology that other industries have been jumping on. Social media is one area in particular where golf courses at the local level are lacking which is failing to encourage new golfers to take up and play the game because they can get more added value from other, more socially active activities.
To grow golf, it is essential to continue to promote the game at the local level. Golf courses in every community should be working hard to encourage the members of their community to take up golf. As people who love the game it should be our duty to share the love we have with the game with so many others.
But, it needs to be affordable, it needs to be easy, and it needs to have an impact. Social media outperforms magazine and newspaper marketing in every imaginable category and the more time invested into a social media golf marketing campaign, the more impact your golf course will have on golfers.
Lets compare:
A local daily newspaper has a circulation of 119,000 people. The cost for a 3 x 5 ad is $340. To have your ad show up every day you would be $2,380 per week. The cost per thousand impressions is $2.86.
- It does not target your market
- There is no opportunity for follow up
- Circulations are declining
A local golf magazine has a circulation of 50,000 people. The cost for an ad is $1,700. The magazine goes out once a month. The cost per thousand impressions is $13.60.
- Targets golfers, some within your geographical region and some outside of your geographical region
- There is no opportunity for follow up
- Circulations are declining
19th Hole Media (Welborn Media) worked with a local golf course in Southern California for 18 months. At the end of our tenure we were reaching 77,136 people every week. We were being paid less than $250 per week. We were posting daily to their Facebook and Twitter pages and created blog posts and videos at sporadic intervals. The cost per thousand impressions was $0.88.
- Targeted golfers within 50 miles of the golf course
- Connections can last a lifetime
- Number of impressions increases at a constant rate
Golf Magazine vs. Newspaper vs. Welborn Social Media (19th Hole Media)
In a side by side comparison of the advantages of social media marketing versus any other form of marketing, 19th Hole Media blows them out of the water. We reach more golfers, we cost less and we reach your golfers more often.
Let us show you what a social media golf marketing campaign can do for your golf course. Contact Zeb Welborn today at Zeb@WelbornMedia.com to schedule a free consultation for your golf course.
Share This Article!
Bunkers Paradise – An Online Golfing Community
For those of you that don’t know, I’m the host of the Defining Success Podcast, an online, interview-style radio show that aims to interview people from all walks of life to determine what it means to be successful. In Episode 9, we talked with Ken Lee, the Editor-in-Chief at Bunkers Paradise, an online golfing community devoted to everything golf.
In the interview with Ken we discussed a variety of topics, but mainly focused on the impact social media has had on growing Bunkers Paradise and how he’s effectively managed to grow an online golfing community.
Ken Lee
The online golfing community is set up to give golfers the ability to learn from other golfers who enjoy and love the great game of golf.
Ken, and the people at Bunkers Paradise like to have fun. They make unique golfing videos, they review golf equipment and all in all just have a great time connecting with other golfers.
Social media has been critical to the success of Bunkers Paradise. Their enthusiasm using social networks has encouraged more and more golfers to partake in online golfing activities, connect with other golfers and play more golf.
“Social media has been our forum for success,” Ken said.
Bunkers Paradise
Building an Online Golfing Community
We met Ken Lee from Bunkers Paradise while we were managing the Twitter account for Los Serranos Country Club in 2012. Ken is helping to build an online golfing community at Bunkers Paradise to help promote the game of golf and encourage more golfers to take up the game.
At the time, Bunkers Paradise had just begun to develop its online following and had really just started utilizing social media. Today, Bunkers Paradise is now getting recognized by almost every single major golf company. Everyone is interested in having the Editor in Chief of Bunkers Paradise try out there products and share their findings with their following.
In the following interview with Ken Lee, we learn how he was able to build a strong golfing community and how he’s used that to reach more golfers and generate value for his organization. By building and managing his following online Ken Lee has created a resource where golfers feel comfortable connecting with one another and sharing their ideas and opinions. And, as a business, Bunkers Paradise has prospered.
The previous interview was taken from the Defining Success Podcast, managed by myself and is devoted towards changing the way we view success. The podcast features interviews from people who love what they do, are good at it and are using their skills to help others.
We can help you build an online golfing community at your local golf course. Ken Lee discusses the importance of quality over quantity and we couldn’t agree more. We can help your golf course reach more customers, encourage golfers to play more rounds and generate more sales for your golf course. If you’d like to find out more about what we do or how we’ve been able to help golf courses across Southern California, please contact Zeb Welborn by email at Zeb@WelbornMedia.com or by phone at (909) 973 – 9089.
Share This Article!