City v Wealdstone

To be honest, after ages of shying away from it, the promotion of games via Facebook (and, possibly, Twitter?) has been improved loads over the last year or two. Although this sounds like a small step, having individual match events mean that supporters can then invite people to so that the invites grow exponentially. This is far quicker, cheaper and more effective than posters and flyers. However, the former does depend on the social links of people who already know about City and doesn't reach completely new supporters and this is where the latter can help but it is still extremely ineffective - if you can't poster everywhere -, labour intensive and expensive

Obviously there are six degrees of separation between Bath City supporters and any other residents of Bath

As many as six?

There's also the issue of supporters who are not online. I was stared at with incredulity when I informed someone recently that a sizeable proportion of our supporter base relies on the Chronicle, matchday programme and posters for information on City. Another source of information should be the matchday tannoy announcements - Mark will always read out whatever is asked of him, but the effort is wasted if the speakers are as poor as they were on the grandstand side on Saturday. I guess the necessary repair work is going to prove expensive.

Bristol Mike wrote:With the bid total still a long way short you would have hoped that the increased profile generated by the bid would have attracted a good crowd. Whilst I agree the club isn't very good at promotional things you would expect anyone interested in the big bid would then take some interest in things like official website, forum, twitter Facebook etc

If someone is at that level of interest, though, they've probably already made the decision to either come to a game or not.

I think we're overestimating how much brain space Bath City currently occupies in the average Bathonian's head. People have lots of things to keep themselves busy - especially anyone with kids at this time of year. At best Bath City will pop in and out of their head very infrequently whenever something reminds them that we're there. So we need to ensure they're getting as many reminders as possible when they go about their daily life. We're just not on the radar of the average Bath resident if we're honest.

I don't think there's a quick or easy way for a club like Bath to build its fanbase. It will take hard work and effort over time, and sadly no-one else will do it for us.

That may be a sizeable proportion of our current supporterbase, Martin but I think it is safe to say that the majority of those we are wishing to attract are online and social media-friendly. I am not saying, of course, that we shouldn't have other outlets and areas for raising of profile and providing information. It is just that these are, as I said, so labour intensive.

SteveBradley wrote:

2weirdtown wrote:

LB wrote:After the way last season started I think the result was probably more important than the performance, especially as we were at home.

Have to agree with most of the comments above - not a great deal appears to have changed from last season.  Again we seemed to play very deep on occasions, and too often resorted to the long ball forward - if we are going to do that then McCootie needs to be on from the start. I think last season we generally looked better with the ball on the ground.

Great finish from McCootie though.

I thought the crowd might have been more, especially with the efforts that have been made to get people interested in the club recently. Had it not been for the Wealdstone fans it would have only just been over 500. I know it is early and people are away, but I thought it might have been nearer 750 if only for some people coming along for the first time out of curiosity.

You really have to question whether Bath wants a football club at all.

Non-league clubs don't get fans handed to them on a plate - we have to work hard to earn them, and then keep them.

There wasn't a single thing anywhere around the town to promote the first game of the season. The Bid has clearly lifted the profile of the club and interest in it - but how are people with a new found or passing interest in City supposed to know when games are if they aren't being promoted ? The club needs to be in people's faces much much more.

Given that the club never promotes fixtures, it's a mystery how anybody turns up to be honest.

There was a 'Back the Bid' display in the middle of the CITY shopping centre all Saturday morning, admittedly not specifically promoting the game, but it was a 'presence'!

Marc Monitor wrote:That may be a sizeable proportion of our current supporterbase, Martin but I think it is safe to say that the majority of those we are wishing to attract are online and social media-friendly. I am not saying, of course, that we shouldn't have other outlets and areas for raising of profile and providing information. It is just that these are, as I said, so labour intensive.

Yes, it is extremely labour intensive (and expensive) to keep those offline updated regularly about the club. However, I'm firmly of the opinion we must give those people who are already City supporters no excuse for turning their backs on the club.

Marc Monitor wrote:To be honest, after ages of shying away from it, the promotion of games via Facebook (and, possibly, Twitter?) has been improved loads over the last year or two. Although this sounds like a small step, having individual match events mean that supporters can then invite people to so that the invites grow exponentially. This is far quicker, cheaper and more effective than posters and flyers. However, the former does depend on the social links of people who already know about City and doesn't reach completely new supporters and this is where the latter can help but it is still extremely ineffective - if you can't poster everywhere -, labour intensive and expensive

We has a distribution network, but a former club employer abandoned it.

comrade powell wrote:Well said, Steve. I know it is through your efforts, but one place in town where the fixtures are displayed is in Flan O'Briens, Westgate St. They were only too pleased to advertise the Pat Nevin and Escape to Victory events when I popped in last week. I hope City fans repay their support when they want a drink in town! And do forum members drink in other pubs who could display posters?

The Royal Oak (LBR one, not Widcombe one) always has fixture posters up, as does The Charmbury Arms, The Hop Pole normally has one up as well (possibly via Mr Monitor's work). I'm sure there are other pubs which would display a poster, often you just have to ask as there is normally a notice board they are happy for you to put things on.

That being said, The Old Crown has one in the window, but it is perhaps the worst poster I have ever had the misfortune to see. While I appreciate that these things are done by volunteers/people who have a lot of other important things going on, if we are putting out posters like that I'm not sure it helps.

It's a shame we can't have huge lettering on the side of the stand to display our next game, would be ideal for those on the train. Bit tricky to amend though.

I believe Phil will check out the speakers on the Pop Side. A couple of people messaged to say it was muffled but other than a quick sound check on the stand side, and the Bristol End, before the game, I didn't notice it. Added problem being there was about 12 people in the ground then as opposed to over 600. Hopefully it'll be ok again soon, it drove me up the wall in pre-season.

The bid prospectus mentioned how it was going to use a range of social media and online methods to raise interest in the club and get the gate to the magical 1000 mark.

Why can't this be started now?

Well said Steve B, and other contributers to this thread, who believe, like me, that one of the deficiencies of our Club is that it does not appear to publicise the fixtures, let alone other Club related events, efficiently enough. Without the funding to appoint a paid communications officer, this matter is a stumbling block in our quest to gain more support. Thank goodness there are volunteers who do their very best to 'spread the word', but the 'word' does have to use all forms of media. not just electronic ones, in my opinion.

As usual, I can cover three pubs that I visit the most - just give me the posters, and I will deliver.

Linkedin is the biggest business network in the world. I regularly share Bath City stories on here, I'm afraid to say I seem to be the only one. It's free to use, you can set up groups, send updates, target specific business people and lots more. Not just another communication avenue but perfect for the bid to reach targeted, wealthy, local and international business people.

Steve Whites Missus wrote:The bid prospectus mentioned how it was going to use a range of social media and online methods to raise interest in the club and get the gate to the magical 1000 mark.

Why can't this be started now?

Basically, because we have to work with the club about what we can and can't do presently as we don't own it.

The club doesn't own the name Bath City Bid, a linkedin account as 1 example could be set up for this I would think.

How does not owning the club prevent the bid team from trying to boost attendances using social media and other methods, the bid team is working with the Supporters society, surely boosting crowds is in there interest regardless of the bid.

I don't want to pass the buck, Mike, but as I'm sure you are aware the deadline for reaching the Bid's minimum target is just a few weeks away and the team must be totally focused on that. Having said that, we want to work with the board in helping to boost attendances, increase income and other areas which are of concern to supporters.

I appreciate that the deadline is looming but from day one surely selling the club to the community means bums on seats just as much as £250 shares, has the bid made any difference to season ticket sales?

Well the buying of community shares was certainly the most important target from day one for the Bid team. Once community ownership is achieved, I'm sure the marketing of the club would be prioritised by an interim board composed of reps from the two groups. But with respect, until it is achieved, that priority is the present board's responsibility.

As to your question about season ticket sales, perhaps someone from the club could indicate if there has been an increase. But I doubt if they would be able to pinpoint the reason for it.

Apologies for coming over defensive - like many others who have posted, I share your concerns about how the club is marketed but at present the Bid team are not in a position to really influence it. So please spread the word about the importance of backing it!

Bristol Mike wrote:I appreciate that the deadline is looming but from day one surely selling the club to the community means bums on seats just as much as £250 shares, has the bid made any difference to season ticket sales?

The Bid team have to raise a huge sum of money in a short period of time with a limited group of people helping. If we don't succeed in that target, it is likely that the club will end up in legal issues over its outstanding debt, and more than likely homeless sooner or later. That is the reality. The only route that will stop that is the Bid.

If the Bid team diverted some of their limited time and energy away from raising the money needed to secure the club's future and instead put it into trying to get a few more people along to games, it wouldn't directly help with its core task of raising £750k. Any income generated that way would go to the club, not the Bid's target. So it would therefore make it more likely that the Bid fails and the club ends up homeless. A priority call has to be made.

That said - the Bid team would love to help with promoting games, sorting merchandise etc, and are in communications with the club about how that could possibly happen. The club is receiving more media coverage in the news section of the Chronicle than it has in years-al because of the Bid. But we cannot lose sight of the core need to secure the club's future by hitting the fundraising target. Otherwise we could feasibly end up with no ground and possibly no club in the not too distant future.