Background
The U.S. Soccer Foundation is the charitable arm of the U.S. Soccer Federation. The Foundation believes in the power of sports based youth development to transform the lives of kids around the nation. Their three main programs: Passback, Soccer for Success and Safe Places to Play have touched hundreds of thousands of kids lives from coast to coast.
The Problem
People often confuse the work of the Foundation with the work of the U.S. Soccer Federation (U.S. Men's National Team and U.S. Women's National Team). However, the Foundation wants members of Congress, elite media and charitable foundations across the nation to understand their programs are more than just after school soccer matches. The Foundation is the model for what effective sports based leadership looks like in our nation.
Solution
Our team worked closely with the Foundation to create organic content calendars for social media that focused on the work done in local communities relating to their core programs. Our strategy leveraged the Foundation's main annual events (Capital Soccer Classic and Urban Soccer Symposium) as a way to engage with D.C. influencers and those in the charitable space. Our team created:
Organic and paid social content to support the live events of the Foundation, including the Capital Soccer Classic, Urban Soccer Symposium and over 20 mini-pitch openings
Weekly content calendars for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Toolkits for members of Congress, athletes and supporters to engage with key events
Social media videos to promote the work of the Foundation
Results
After we executed our strategy and plan we saw the following:
An increase in digital engagement with the U.S. Soccer Foundation's social accounts and other thought leaders like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Clinton Foundation
A 10 percent increase in followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and a three percent increase in verified followers on Twitter
Engagements with key people and organizations like D.C. United, Seattle Sounders and Congresswoman Kathy Castor
The Foundation's channels acquired verified profiles on Facebook and Twitter
