It’s no big secret that the US is the hottest market in the sports-betting world right now.

As more states legalise sports betting, operators are opening up the furnace and throwing their advertising money in as they compete for customers.

It’s a crowded field, though, and the ones that will get ahead are those that use their marketing funds smartly.

While some operators will approach major names to promote their brands, others will look to micro-influencers and tap into pre-built sporting communities to build a customer base.

At their core, all sports are based on the idea of community. Fans come together and stand shoulder to shoulder to support their team and share their interests, and social media has helped strengthen that connection.

Our phones now possess the ability to connect us with people in our communities at the touch of a few buttons. The more effective sportsbooks have a good understanding of that.

Micro-influencers can be key to accessing these communities for sportsbooks. These smaller accounts often have unique insight and access, and tapping into that can be essential to fostering brand loyalty and boosting customer retention rates.

Smaller accounts often have a focus on a specific area. They could be an expert in a specific sport, or they have become the voice of a team online.

For example, a micro-influencer in New York may have built their brand around the Jets. If you’re a sportsbook running an NFL promotion, having access to a community of 20,000+ people that love a specific NFL team will be much more effective than just running a promotion through a celebrity with a myriad of followers with different interests.

This also touches on a key point regarding location. States currently have different legislations regarding sports betting, so marketing a betting promotion to a player in Texas, for example, will be a waste of money. 

Micro-influencers can provide unique access to players in a specific location. Taking the above example, this influencer is going to be able to market to people who can legally bet, as that’s where their core audience will be based.

A more targeted and localised advertising campaign allows sportsbooks to see a much higher conversion rate.

Whenever a micro-influencer creates some content, their followers are instantly engaged. Content often feels much more personal than a post by a major celebrity or influencer and tends to speak more directly to the user.

Micro-influencers can interact with their followers and create discussions in a more relatable manner without their interactions being lost in a sea of comments from millions of users.

All of this helps to create a sense of community. They post content daily, and followers will be more engaged with their ads and promotional posts than they would be from a random ad appearing on their timeline or interrupting a video.

Of course, operators should occasionally check to see what kind of content they are being tagged in, but this is not as much of a problem when dealing with more niche communities.

Finally, micro-influencers often have the one thing money can’t buy – trust. They have cultivated close-knit communities of followers that share the same interests.

Players are much more likely to stick with a brand that they feel is trusted among their communities and that has their best interests in mind.

The power of trust can never be underestimated. Crucially for sportsbooks, this is also an incredibly cost-effective method, with operators seeing a much higher ROI when using micro-influencers.

Competition for customers in the US is fierce, and the ones that will succeed are those that are using their resources wisely.

Building communities and creating engaging content for customers is an effective marketing strategy; micro-influencers are the most efficient way of doing this.

Troy Paul is a highly accomplished business leader and CEO of SGG Media, the #1 source for sports social media content and advertising. With a passion for growth and success, Troy leads a team that incorporates 1,450 influencers with a staggering 35 million avid sports fan followers. He has secured contracts with some of the most recognisable names in the sports and related industries including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM Casinos and Fanatics.

Sports advertising agency SGG Media is turning to America’s largest crowdfunding site StartEngine.com to raise $5m from private investors.

The move will give private investors the opportunity to buy into a sports gambling-related business from as little as $250.

SGG Media is a division of Sports Gambling Guides (SGG), a sports social media and advertising company that aims to disrupt the sports affiliate marketing space by harnessing the power of social media to deliver sports and sports gambling content to US bettors.

SGG Media has built up a network of over 1,300 micro-sports influencers who deliver content and promotions to a combined audience of 25 million sports fans via Twitter, Instagram and other forms of social media.

SGG Media president and co-founder Troy Paul: “To put it plainly, if you believe in the future of online sports gambling and the future of social media advertising, this is a great opportunity to get involved with our company from as little as $250.”

It has partnered with some of the largest companies in the sports betting and daily fantasy sports (DFS) industries, including BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet and Fanatics.

SGG Media described their decision to open up investment in the company for private individuals via US investment platform StartEngine.com as an “industry first”.

Troy Paul, co-founder and president of SGG Media, said: “It’s perhaps the first opportunity for private investors to show support for a sports gambling-related company. To put it plainly, if you believe in the future of online sports gambling and the future of social media advertising, this is a great opportunity to get involved with our company from as little as $250.

“We strongly believe the crowdfunding round will prove to be another major success for SGG Media and will enable the group to continue its trailblazing work at the cross section of sports and social media,” he added.

With StartEngine.com having already helped other start-up businesses raise $50m in private funding, SGG Media said it is confident of achieving its $5m offering on the platform.

The $5m will further compliment $3.25m the group has already raised in funds over the past 15 months.