What The World Cup Can Teach You About Digital Marketing Strategy

If you haven't started paying attention to the FIFA World Cup yet, now's the time to join the action!

Soccer fan or not, the tournament is one of the biggest global events of the year, capturing the attention of millions of people who are watching matches, checking scores, scrolling social media, and joining conversations online.

Naturally, major brands are taking advantage of the attention. 

But here's the interesting part: it's not always the big companies spending the most money that win the most attention. Often, it's the small businesses that are finding creative ways to join the conversation and connect with fans in authentic and engaging ways.

Keep reading… you might be surprised by how relevant the World Cup can be to your own company, marketing strategy, or digital presence.

“But the World Cup has nothing to do with my business”

And yet, businesses are earning attention on social media because they're finding clever ways to position their product or service to join the conversation, not compete with it.

The truth is, your business doesn't need to be as big as Adidas, Coca-Cola, or even be in the sports industry to take advantage of a major worldwide event like this.

The best marketing often comes from meeting people where their attention already is. Right now, millions of people around the world are tuned into the World Cup, creating a unique opportunity for brands to share timely, relevant content that feels connected to the present.

First, let’s get the creative juices flowing…

If you haven't noticed already, many companies are creating real-time content, sharing fan reactions, posting behind-the-scenes moments, and joining social media conversations because that's where audience attention lives during events like this.

The key is acting quickly.

As long as your content is relevant, relatable, and aligned with your audience's interests, these moments can be a great opportunity to boost engagement, especially during the summer months when people may be spending less time online overall.

Instead of only relying on your content calendar, look for opportunities to create content that responds to what's happening right now. That's often what gets people to stop scrolling, engage, and join the conversation.

Let's dive into some strategic ideas you can start putting to work today!

How to incorporate the World Cup into your business’ marketing strategy

What you don’t want to do is post just to get something up on the feed. 

Here are some ideas on how you could make your content relevant to the World Cup, while still adding value from a greater brand perspective: 

Ideas for a casino or hotel

• Host watch parties and share fan reactions or event updates on social media. 

• Create game-day promotions to get people in the door.

• Feature staff predictions.

• Pick your champion: Poll followers on who they’re rooting for. 

• World Cup bingo: Create a bingo card with common match moments (yellow card, penalty kick, upset victory, dramatic save, etc.) for user-generated content. 

• Around the world at the casino: Feature food, drinks, or entertainment inspired by countries competing in the tournament. 

• Tie goals scored during select matches to random drawings or prize opportunities.

Ideas for a staffing firm

• Create content around teamwork, with tie-ins to the sport and camaraderie of soccer.

• The World Cup of interview questions: Let followers vote on the best (or worst) interview questions.

• Red card workplace habits: Show common workplace mistakes that deserve a “yellow card” or “red card”.

• What position do you play at work? Compare job functions to soccer positions. 

• Workplace rivalries: compare office-culture differences, tools used in the office, or things followers who work in an office would find relatable.

Ideas for a construction company 

• Share photos of iconic World Cup stadiums and talk about the engineering, craftsmanship, and construction techniques that make structures like these possible.

• Compare a construction crew to a soccer team.

• Create a fun reel with a dramatic announcer voice.

• The World Cup of home design trends: Create a bracket and let followers vote through Instagram Stories or comments. 

Miscellaneous ideas

• Let customers vote on products, services, menu items, features, or offerings until one champion remains (this is great for encouraging engagement).

• Fan cam: Share user-generated photos of people watching games, celebrating, or representing their country.

• “If you know, you know” posts: Inside jokes for fans following the tournament. 

• Photo caption contest: Post a funny fan reaction or player image and let followers caption it. 

• Tournament takeovers: Let employees, customers, or supporters share who they’re rooting for and why. 

The key is finding creative ways to tap into current trends while keeping your brand presence at the center of the conversation.

A local success story: World Cup marketing in Massachusetts

In Boston, The Haven, a Scottish restaurant and pub, has embraced Scotland's return to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years by organizing a three-day fan festival complete with food, drinks, live entertainment, and match watch parties. Rather than simply posting about soccer, The Haven found a way to connect the World Cup directly to its business, culture, and customer experience. The result is timely content, increased visibility, and a reason for people to engage with the business during one of the biggest global events of the year. It's a great reminder that you don't need to be a World Cup sponsor to benefit from the attention on it; you just need a creative way to become part of the conversation. Watch it here. 

A different take on trend marketing by a travel company 

Not every company participating in the World Cup conversation is posting match predictions or soccer-themed content. Specialized travel company Big4Travel took a different approach, creating a campaign that tied travel discounts to FIFA rankings while positioning vacations as an escape from the nonstop World Cup coverage. Rather than competing for attention alongside the tournament, they found a creative way to use the event as the backdrop for their own message. Watch the video ad here. 

The bigger marketing trend

The World Cup reinforces something we talk about all the time: attention is earned, not demanded.

Instead of constantly asking people to buy something, the companies getting noticed are the ones showing up, joining the conversation, and creating content people actually want to engage with.

When you become part of what your audience is already talking about, engagement tends to follow naturally.

Something to think about this week…

As you scroll on social media this week, look for inspiration on how your audience is engaging with content that already exists on your feed or by looking at what your competition is doing. Determine how your business can become part of the conversation, with relevance to your existing brand strategy. 

If your goal is to increase brand awareness and engagement, trends can be a powerful way to join conversations that people are already having. The key isn't to jump on every trend that comes along, but to identify the ones that naturally align with your business and connect to topics your audience already cares about.

When done well, trend-based content feels timely, relevant, and gives people a reason to stop and engage with your business.

Not sure where to start?

We can help your business appeal to current trends and get attention by using unique content, creative ideas, and posting consistently. 

Our social media packages are designed to serve your business needs, whatever they may be.  

Interested in learning more? Reach out to Tara at Tara@MakinItMarketing.com or book your complimentary consultation to get started today!