13
March
2018
Andrew Minty spent £422 on Facebook and brought in more than £90,000 in revenue. The Langland Bay director of golf tells us how he did it… You can imagine the reaction when Andrew Minty presented his club board with a plan to spend money on social media. “They were obviously very wary,” the Langland Bay director of golf admits. “It’s internet based and, at the time, businesses weren’t really getting into it. But the return has been fantastic.” Marketing revolved around traditional techniques, and Minty used editorials and promotions to push the golf club – just as many of his contemporaries have for decades. But Minty, the GCMA’s Manager of the Year in 2015, saw an opportunity at the picturesque Welsh club. “I’d had a couple of seminars regarding social media, when things really started to kick off and we started using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and now Instagram. It has just gone through the roof for us.” By using targeted advertising on social media platforms, Minty turned a total spend of £422 over two-and-a-half-years into more than £90,000 in revenue. He’s created a buzz around the golf course and capitalised to turn it into green fees and memberships. Minty explains: “From a New to Golf campaign we ran last year, we picked up 40 new potential members and 16 of them came through Facebook. I think I placed a £20 advert one week and £25 the week after. It’s very small amounts but to get that return I feel you have to advertise. The perception is that it must cost a fortune to go on Facebook. People, especially golf clubs, aren’t aware that you can put just £10 on. If you wanted to advertise a fourball deal you can put whatever budget you wanted to it. We spent £420. That’s a drop in the ocean compared with the return.” So how can your club follow suit? One of the first things, Minty believes, to recognise is every social media platform is different – and that you must approach each with a different message. “What I see with some clubs is they will set it up so if they post something on Facebook, it will automatically go onto Twitter and Instagram. I think the three of them have different styles,” he says. “The ultimate goal for me is to engage, educate and entertain potential members and visitors and inspire them as opposed to just putting adverts out there all the time. “So it would be doing things like quizzes, funny photos – things that are current and are fun and interesting in the golfing world. “Every now and then, I will put an advert in there or something regarding the golf club. It generally changes from month to month but they recommend you put these different posts out midweek on a Wednesday afternoon – when people are getting tired and looking forward to playing at the weekend. “That’s the sort of time you would place an advert or something that would... Please LOGIN to read the full article.
Not a member? Please click here to join today.
