ESPN aims to increase viewership of Major League Soccer (MLS) games by dedicating journalists solely to MLS coverage on social media and generating hashtag campaigns. The document recommends establishing a stronger MLS presence on ESPN's popular homepage by featuring an MLS blog. It also suggests using inbound marketing techniques like an MLS newsletter and notifications on ESPN's homepage to build the subscriber base. Paid advertising strategies include boosting Facebook posts about matchups and running Google AdWords for keywords like "MLS scores". The total monthly budget outlined is $4,572.

1. DIGITAL STRATEGY:
ESPN MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Sydney Frazer
A45346763
frazersy@msu.edu

2. BACKGROUND INFO
 ESPN is broadcasting more Major League Soccer games for the
upcoming season
 Huge up and coming market
 Not many soccer fans in the U.S.
 Major League Soccer is the United States soccer league, many
soccer fans focus their attention on Premier League soccer
(overseas)

3. TARGET AUDIENCE
 Adults age 18-55
 Broad range: people of all ages are sports fans
 Important to reach a broad spectrum of people who could
potentially gain interest & watch more frequently

4. SOCIAL MEDIA
 Dedicate 1 or 2 journalists who solely report MLS coverage
 Generate more content via social media so followers can see on timeline
 Journalists can change name: @JohnSmith_MLS
 Easier to find info for other followers if MLS is in their Twitter handle
 Use a hashtag
 People who have a favorite team are more likely to engage and watch
 Example: #TeamDC or #TeamChicago
 Easy to track success: we can see exactly how many people are using the hash tag
 Builds hype for matchups

5. ESPN’S HOMEPAGE
 ESPN already has incredibly popular homepage (built in audience that has a
lot of traffic)
 Establish a stronger MLS presence on the homepage
 MLS blog is the main feature on the homepage:
 Talks about top plays, top weekly matchups, standout players, and big rivalries
 Better informs potential fans and more likely they will stay on the channel if a game Is on

6. INBOUND MARKETING TECHNIQUES
 Inbound off of the ESPN
homepage: anyone who clicks on
the MLS tab on the dashboard will
be prompted to fill out personal
info to join an e-blast
 Other features: include MLS newsletter,
notifications for game times, where
games are being broadcasted, who’s
playing who, etc
 Quick and easy way to track subscribers

7. PAID ADVERTISING: FACEBOOK
 Facebook Boost posts:
 ESPN Major League Soccer makes a Facebook post featuring a matchup with
the game time, each team’s franchise player, and that it is being broadcasted
on an ESPN channel
 Decently priced
 Post will appear on other people’s timelines even though they do not follow
the ESPN Facebook page
 Reaches out to friend’s of those who do follow ESPN on Facebook

8. PAID ADVERTISING: GOOGLE
ADWORDS
 8 major keywords:
 Major, League, Soccer, Score,
Game, Time, ESPN, MLS
 Chosen because most people
that search the web will be
searching for the score of the
game or the time of the game

9. PAID ADVERTISING: SEO
 Same 8 keywords as Google AdWords
 Website will be better optimized to ensure that ESPN’s MLS web
page will appear at the top of the list for any user on Google

10. BUDGET (PER MONTH BASIS)
 Google AdWords:
 $1-$5 per word: $2,000
 SEO Firm:
 $750
 Facebook Boost posts:
 $5 per day = $155
 Inbound Marketing firm:
 $1,667
TOTAL: $4,572 per month