The following article is from guest columnist Ben Nichols, Founder and CEO of the world’s first padel-dedicated Communications Consultancy, Padel 22 — which is looking to help the U.S. padel market grow exponentially in 2024 and beyond.
The start of the year offers time for prediction of what’s to come over the next 12 months, to set intentions for the year ahead. Yet, for a sport as early in its journey as padel is in the U.S., how do you predict what 2024 will look like, particularly in a sporting environment as mature and competitive as it already is?
Well, if 2023 is anything to go by, the omens look good for padel and its ascent in the world’s largest sports market. Last year we saw a step change in padel’s profile in America. The arrival of the country’s newest professional sports league, the Pro Padel League (PPL) with an initial seven franchise teams (which has now grown to 10) was one such milestone.
The launch of the first padel – pickleball college campus by Taktika at the University of the Pacific in Northern California was another. Then there was the opening of new Padel Haus clubs in New York City, both in the iconic DUMBO neighborhood and the eye-catching pop-up location in Williamsburg near the company’s Kent Avenue home.
There were new clubs in Texas, Florida, Colorado, and elsewhere. And then there was the increased visibility of padel in the media, everywhere from CBS and NBC to The New York Times. Which is where a company such as my own Padel 22 comes in. And its impactful communications and PR that I believe holds the #1 key to the breakout growth of padel’s brand in the USA in 2024 and beyond.
And so, if you’re a business owner, investor, entrepreneur entering the padel landscape in the United States, eager to put your new company on the map in an ultra-competitive sporting market, where do you begin when it comes to communications? What simple steps can you take to stand out from the crowd and ensure success for your business?
Here are five important steps you can take to get off to a good start:
1.Communications Strategy
Make no mistake, before you start ‘doing’, you need a Communications Strategy for your company. Starting to tweet about your company or sending out a News Release before considering the end goal – and how it fits into your bigger Business Vision – could be damaging for your brand. Before you ‘go public’, it’s important you know your desired designation. A Communications Strategy acts as a continual reference point for your company so that each time you’re about to communicate, you can check: how does this serve the bigger vision of what we’re trying to achieve?
2. Website
So, you have a new business in what is to most Americans a brand new sport. Whether you’re a padel apparel brand, racket manufacturer, a club or a league, you need to consider what your brand truly represents. What do you stand for and how are you different from others?
Word of mouth is essential, but in this era, perception does equal reality and that’s why a clear, impactful website is all important. It’s the first port of call for your target audience, whether that be a fan, potential sponsor or customer. It’s their place to make an immediate judgment. Your website is your shop window and it’s important you have a clear picture of what you offer online, as well as a clear personality so that people understand who it is they’re going to be working with.
3. Social Media
With its status as a ‘new’ sport, padel compared to the more traditional sports, provides the perfect opportunity for brands and businesses to utilize social media.
Once you’ve identified your target audiences, you can then more easily develop a plan for how best to engage each audience through different platforms, including what type of content they will want to see. One popular method can be to work with content creators or influencers, who if selected well, can be excellent advocates for your brand by getting your message out there successfully. As part of your social media strategy, it’s important to develop a set of metrics so that you can measure the success of your campaign. This will allow you to observe more closely how each YouTube Short or Instagram post performs.
4. LinkedIn
As padel has grown internationally over the past few years, LinkedIn has very much been the playground for the padel business industry.
I, for one, am an active user of LinkedIn, as it’s an excellent way of keeping in touch with current padel commentary, trends and the latest professionals who are working in the sport. LinkedIn offers fantastic opportunities for new padel businesses, and so creating regular content for your personal page (positioning you as a thought leader in the sport) or your business more broadly will help you become more visible to other stakeholders in the sport and, ultimately, help you succeed.
Before you dive into regular posting, consider your preferred tone of voice (just because it’s a business network doesn’t mean you need to be too serious – in fact, projecting a personality is key on LinkedIn), how regularly you want to post and the topics within the sport where you have valuable perspectives to add. This will provide you with a good base to build a strong LinkedIn community.
Developing and executing an impactful LinkedIn content strategies is an area we’ve been proud to deliver for clients at Padel 22. An impactful LinkedIn content strategy can reap big benefits for your company’s profile.
5. USP
Be clear on why your story is unique and what separates you from the other clubs, manufacturers, court constructors, leagues or apparel brands in the market. While you are passionate about your business and believe it’s the best thing out there, you need to win over your target audiences if you’re to succeed – and that means being clear in all your communications about what makes your company unique.
Whether it’s through a launch event, a News Release announcement, a reveal on social media or working with a content creator, you need to have a clear angle that is different to the competition – and communicate it clearly.
Padel 22 is the go-to Communications Consultancy for the growing padel community in the USA.
Founded by leading Sports Communications expert, Ben Nichols, Padel 22 has worked with the leading businesses in the global padel industry, including New York’s Padel Haus, the Pro Padel League (PPL), Taktika Padel, Northeast Padel, the UK’s premium padel club Padium, British Number 1 Tia Norton and the all-new racket sport conference, RacquetX.
Padel 22 is currently looking to work with new, ambitious padel businesses in the U.S. who want to put themselves on the map in 2024 and beyond. If you’re interested in discussing how Ben and the team can support you, get in touch at: ben@padel-22.com
