By Mike Fraser KMP Digitata Business Development Manager

We dashed over to Manchester’s Northern Quarter last week to hear special guest speakers from the world of sport talking in the second edition of Digital Sport Manchester.

I love sports, plain and simple. Even though I have my favorites, I can watch almost any sporting event with contentment. But, the thing I love most is how sports bring people together.

So why did we attend ‘Digital Sport’ well the clue is in the title – Digital – we wanted to learn how other sectors like ‘Sport’ build those vital relationships and how they actually deliver them through technologies – plus some of us love ‘The Beautiful Game’ and other sports but we also love everything digital!

We had a pretty warm and welcoming introduction from Daniel McLaren founder of Digital Sport. Speakers included Liverpool FC, Spredfast, SeeThat, Sky Sports and Leeds Rhinos.

And yes the name of game was to talk about how sport has used digital media to transform them whoever they are and whatever size club, from local to global brands and they really engage with the fans.

What struck me was no matter what the sport was or where the team were currently in the league, everyone at the event had the same passion and objective and it was inspiring to see how the love of sport can bring so many people together. In particular what I thought was very interesting and engaging was Liverpool FC’s talk about their work “Thinking Global, Acting Local” by Paul Rogers – who is the top guy for International Digital Development at the club.

Liverpool FC are very much in touch with their international fans. Their website is available in 22 different languages; with China, Indonesia and Thailand even having their own stand-alone sites. This kind of community outreach for a football club is fantastic!

What I think we could learn from this…chasing numbers on social media means nothing if you’re unable to convert those numbers to paying customers. Whether you’re a football, rugby club or a digital agency we all need to be aware to capitalise on our strengths; looking at other areas for opportunity.

Whilst we needn’t stress about our global presence we must continue to boost positive results on our Reach, Reputation, Brand and Impact.

Sport has always brought folks together I get that…but in an ever expanding crowded digital world it’s important we understand how to maximise long-term customer engagement and retention.