I am very excited to show off a couple new functions that we are planning to launch with very soon. Several months back, I did some market research on a wide variety of sport marketing expert sits, both inside and outside of the martial arts and combat sport market. I was trying to compile a list of what where the features that event promoters want or need. One of the standout questions I kept on running into was “What is next in event engagement?”. this question churned in my head for a while and bellow is a peek at what we are about to share with the martial arts and combat sports world.

To successfully find possible solutions to “what is next in event engagement?”, we needed to define a few variables. These variables include target audience, availability of resources, and being that Find Fight prides itself on being a low to no budget solution for event promoters, a low to no cost point.

Defining your audience
The target audience for most martial arts and combat sport events falls somewhere between 18-34 years of age. A large majority of this age group, compared to all others has the most residual income, due to not having monetary responsibility like mortgage payments and families. Also, this very same age group is leading the way in social media with 40.8% of all Facebook users and 47% of twitter users falling in the category. The natural result would be that your audience of fighters and fans are both tech savvy and most likely own or plan to own a phone that allows them to communicate with their social networks more easily. You could see this trend already happening within the NBA with players like Shaq tweeting during games.

If the trend is that users will be actively engaging within there social networks during your events, then why not promote the trend by creating a centralized area for the content to be aggregated. Find Fight allows your audience to share there experiences through the use of twitter and a specified hashtag that the promoter sets. This hashtag is then filtered out and shown on your event page so promoters could easily point their fans at home to follow along by tweeting a message like “See what is going on at Acme Fight Classic 10 here http://www.findfight.com/acmeFC/10 and join the conversation! #acmeFC” By directing your fans to your own branded site, you will allow perspective fighters and fans the ability to not only join the conversation, but also explore your blog posting, and upcoming events.

An added feature of Find Fights Live Event Tweet Stream is it’s ability to search each message for any image reference and automatically send that photo to the live photo feed. Not only could fans at your event share 140 characters of text but most mobile Twitter application also allow you to capture photos and send them in your tweet. This allows you audience to submit a stream of photos of fight action as it happens, or just send an image of hanging out amongst friends.

Live Video Streaming
Whenever i speak to promoters about live video streaming the first question they have is “How do i monetize that?” and then come to the realization that in order to effectively live stream your entire event and monetize it takes lots of money, and in the long run is probably not the most cost effective means. However, if a promoter thinks about content before cash, they will quickly see that there are a slew of Live Streaming social networks that offer a great solution for creating live content. One thing to remember is that content does not necessarily mean streaming your entire event from start to finish, but it could mean creating some other forms of content to share with your audience. There may be an influential fighter that happened to be in attendance and you may want to quickly interview him live. Maybe there is one headline event that you would like to stream for the people at home to see. By specifying your UStream channel on your promoter page your audience will see your stream on your event page as soon as you begin gto broadcast. As mentioned in the previous twitter functionality, being that this service is centralize with your other content you could invite people at home to check out your event page and see the interview. You could also suggest that they ask questions via the twitter hashtag which is conveniently right next to the video.

We feel that both of these solutions enhance your audiences engagement both on location and allows people at home to also take part in the experience. Please comment and let us know what you think about these feature. We love to hear from you all!

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Find Fight has decided to leverage both Facebook connect and twitter’s authentication systems as alternative log in methods. This method of authentication proves to be a win/win for both promoters and the people viewing their event pages on FindFight.com. Although logging into Find Fight using your Facebook or Twitter username and password offers only limited access to the site, visitors will be able to comment on blog discussions and RSVP by clinking on the “I will be there” button. Advanced functionality such as event page subscriptions and setting up Fight Agents will require the user to sign in as a Find Fight member.

What this means for Fighters and Fans?
Logging in to Find Fight through Facebook or Twitter allows fighters and fans to broadcast their activity to their networks. Since social networks are built through relationships with people that share some sort of common interest, Find Fight decided that it was important to allow the user to share their interaction with their friends on other social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Since there many of the user’s friends have a high probability of being either interested in Martial Art, discussion on Find Fight are very relevant to some of the discussion that they may already be having on Facebook and Twitter.

What this means for a Promoter?
By simplifying the commenting processes, and allowing the user to share their passion with their friends on other networks, fighters and fans may have an increased sense of ownership to there comments and interaction. Since the user is taking time out to interact with your event page, Find Fight feels it is only right that they are able to share that interaction with others. At the same-time this process of sharing interactions with other social networks extends the reach of the event far beyond the confines of FindFight.com. Best of all, “Word of Mouth” is always a great way to enhance your brand recognition.
 
About Facebook
Facebook is a popular free social networking website that allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and video, send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues. Check out twitter by going to http://www.facebook.com

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About Twitter
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read each others’ updates, known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters, displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to other users - known as followers - who have subscribed to them. Check out twitter by going to http://www.twitter.com

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As we close into our official launch of FindFight.com. I have decided to create the first of a series of screencast that will walk you through the functionality behind the site . Our first screencast will demonstrate the flow that a promoter would take to create a new event, and broadcast the new event to their various networks.

Send us an feedback at twitter username @findfight, or post any ideas or feedback to http://getsatisfaction.com/findfight.

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What is Find Fight!?

Find Fight is on its way to become the Martial Arts Promoter’s best kept secret! Find Fight’s goal is to become the soapbox in which you stand on when you promote your events, and as the name suggest, help your fans and competitors “find” your events.

Social Media has taken a huge leap in the past couple of years. Companies such as Facebook and mySpace have created a new generation of consumer.  For this reason, as marketers there is an urgency to adapt to your audience.  Photos on Flickr, videos on YouTube, and now Martial Arts Events on Find Fight!

The most successful marketing campaigns have three key components all of which are available on findFight.com:

1. Content - Content is the substance of an event. It is the information or tool that attracts potential competitors and fans to your events.
2. Search Engine Optimization - SEO makes it easier for potential competitors and fans to find your content. It is the practice of building your site and inbound links to your site to maximize your ranking in search engines, where most of your audience begin to learn about your brand.
3. Social Connections - Social media amplifies the impact of your content. When your content is distributed across and discussed on networks of personal relationships, it becomes more authentic and nuanced, and is more likely to draw qualified customers to your site.

(continue reading…)

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