5 Lessons the Wimbledon Tennis Championships Can Teach You to Ace Social Media Marketing

With the Wimbledon tennis championships currently in full swing (sorry), now seemed like a good time to serve up (and again) a blog post all about the not-tenuous-at-all similarities between it and social media marketing. Keep reading to digest some match-winning strategy (no more, I promise), and to see some lovely photos courtesy of Instagram users lucky enough to be at the event...

1. Advertising is subtle or kept to a minimum

Unlike other tennis tournaments, Wimbledon does not allow advertising around the edge of the courts, but the competitors' shirts do feature subtle mentions of their sponsors. Social media marketing works best, and is classy like Wimbledon, when self-promotion is subtle or infrequent.

2. Making the best of every opening

The British weather is temperamental at the best of times, so the weather at Wimbledon is monitored carefully and every effort is made to play while the sun shines. Capitalise on positive moments for your social media strategy, including company milestones, customer testimonials, and highlighting charitable work.

3. Displaying impeccable etiquette

Proper naming etiquette and Victorian ideals are still maintained at Wimbledon. Male and female players are reffered to as "Mr" and "Miss" or "Mrs" respectively during matches. You needn't go that far on social media, but being polite and personable in reply to everyone that interacts on your page or profile goes a long way to building stronger relationships with your customers.

4. Getting the mix perfect

Strawberries and cream have been synonymous with Wimbledon since the 19th century; a day at the championships isn't complete without it, and they're the perfect accompaniment to any British summer's day. Matching up the right content for different social networks is just important. For example, what works on Facebook or Twitter doesn't always appeal to a different audience on Pinterest or Instagram.

5. Having a strong brand image

Dark green and purple are the traditional Wimbledon colours - if you see an image of a Wimbledon tennis match, you'll know it. With such an abundance of visual content on social media (and the tendency for people to steal), it is imperative that your brand image stands out from the competition whether through your colour scheme, logo, composition, fonts, filters, or other.

Over to you

Has Wimbledon inspired you to reflect on your social media strategy? Or are you already ace-ing every suggestion made above? Let me know in the comments below!

Andrew Macarthy is a social media consultant and the author of the #1 Amazon Web Marketing Bestseller, 500 Social Media Marketing Tips.

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