March Madness 2015 has arrived and with it comes an avalanche of potential new players for sports betting affiliates who are willing to show them the way.
If you don’t think the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament is worth your time, here are a few facts you’ll want to consider.
According to the American Gaming Association (AGA), as reported on by CalvinAyre.com around 40 million Americans will be filling out some 70 million NCAA brackets on the day they’re released.
By the time the tournament starts, about $9 billion (USD) will be in play on Tournament wagers. That’s more money than rides on America’s other big sports wagering event, the Super Bowl. (But the World Cup is still the biggest global wagering event.)
To slice off a piece of this huge opportunity, you’ll need targeted content, great offers, and as much social media as you can muster.
Market to Newbies
Most Final Four pool participants are novice bettors who like to get out there during big events, but might not be making of habit out of sports betting. (Hint: this is the time to go CPA rather than revenue share.)
To help ease their worries about wagering online, give them lots of basic how-to’s and FAQ’s about your programs. This group needs assurances that they’re not handing over their credit card numbers to a bunch of coke-addled sports bettors in Costa Rica (hey, somebody out there saw Runner, Runner.)
Promote Sterling Programs
Suffice to say, this is when you’ll want to trot out credible, brand names like Paddy Power, LadBrokes, and Intertops to your potential new converts.
In your FAQ’s, emphasize that these are publicly traded companies that are licensed and established in Europe and the UK.
You might even consider posting up YouTube links to television ads from these companies to further establish their legitimacy.
Embrace Social Media
March Madness is perfect fit for social media, especially Twitter. It’s also a perfect time for sports betting affiliates to experiment with hashtags to help build up those important social shares.
Remember, every turn, twist, and upset of the Tournament is a both a hashtag and an opportunity to connect with a new player.
And if you’re not sure which hashtags to use, Huffington Post has kindly published this list of the 100 Twitter Hashtags to Follow During March Madness.
Finally
With 68 teams competing in hundreds of games over nearly a month, March Madness is a feeding frenzy you won’t want to miss. The Tournament comes during a dry spell for US-facing sports betting affiliates and can give your spring revenue flow a mighty boost.