How are you marketing your team/brand's new multi-language website? How are you promoting your new offerings to consumers who strictly speak/read Spanish, Chinese, and French?
The New York Yankees have come up with a very effective, visible solution to target Spanish consumers. The team is using a small section of its premier behind-the-plate signage to promote their Spanish site, YankeesBeisbol.com (as shown below):
As many of you may have seen during the past few days of MLB All-Star coverage, the Yankees' strategy was an extremely effective way to draw incremental interest, traffic, and readership amongst bilingual/Spanish dominant speakers. Without this signage, many Spanish dominant speakers may have never had an idea that the Yankees offered a free media channel that directly reaches and speaks to them.
Teams and brands must make greater efforts to drive awareness for their multi-language websites. Start by putting yourself in your targeted consumer's shoes... If you once clicked on a team's site that did not speak directly to you and was hard to navigate, would you likely return a week later?
I am excited to see what other visible and non-traditional means that teams begin utilizing to market their team sites. For teams in diverse markets (or with diverse fanbases) it is imperative that this becomes a high priority... Connect with your all segments of your fanbase!