SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Content, content, content – it’s one of the big buzzwords in the betting space right now as a tool for marketing, customer acquisition and retention, and general engagement, but how can it effectively be used?
Breaking down this topic was the task of SBC’s latest webinar, former Racing Post Editor, Bruce Millington, hosted delegates from two operators as well as betting content specialists Spotlight Sports Group (SSG).
In the fast-paced, highly digitised, and highly competitive modern betting industry, operators have increasingly taken on the role of content providers, observed Andrew Mook, Sky Bet’s Head of Marketing Strategy and Planning.
“It’s really important, the way that the game and the integration of betting into the sport of football and horse racing has advanced, there’s just an insatiable thirst for all of that detail.
“You look at the way creative bets markets have brought around that detail, there’s a need to service a much more granular level of information that informs a customer.”
The trick bookmakers must master is finding an angle for customers. This is something that tipsters with their ‘cheat sheets’ – many will be familiar with the popularity of these influencers around major betting events like Cheltenham, the Grand National and World Cup – have down to a tee.
Operators must figure out the ‘nuance of finding the relevance’ of their content, Mook emphasised, in order to effectively leverage it. This involves finding the right angle of engagement and presenting data at scale.
This is something that Spotlight Sports Group (SSG) strives to achieve. The company’s Sales Director, Rob Black, offered a breakdown of the firm’s event-based content hubs, which have been produced for the likes of Sky Bet around high-profile tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup and Premier League.
“As a result, something like a Cheltenham or World Cup is both a great acquisition tool for operators but is also really valuable from a retention perspective. It’s desirable to have an improved content offering.
“One of the things we’ve managed to work well with some of our partners on is to do some of the heavy lifting from a technical implementation point of view. We’ve built entire sites that feel like a seamless part of the sportsbook, but its very light touch in terms of integration.
Providing this content enables customers to have stronger opinions and have more confidence in their betting choices, he explained, something which Mook was also keen to focus on.
“It’s always a benefit to have those trust signals, and I think integrity – whether it’s your own content you create or that of a third party that you bring into the sites – is the important thing,” the Sky Bet speaker remarked.
“The point at which the customer engages is also important. Having relevant content around key events allows customers to pre-engage and observe other sources of content and inform their own opinion.”
“A happy medium between aligning strategy, trading and product whilst ultimately working towards what they are trying to achieve and not distracting from the fact that a customer’s end goal is simply to place a bet.
“When we look at products in the industry today, I don’t believe that we have fully cracked the content experience around bet builders,” he said, in particular highlighting stats betting.
“There is a lot of opportunity for operators to improve on their stats offering, and build that into the product itself. Just to touch on in-play, speed and simplicity is critical for in-play betting so while we try and develop these experiences it’s important we don’t infringe on the customer’s goals, which is obviously bet placement.”
