Catgory: Uncategorized

Social Is Not A Silo

By Jessica Smith On June 13, 2019 In Uncategorized with 1 Comment

Once upon a time social media was a new tool that companies knew they needed to take advantage of but didn’t know why and how. As a result, the recent college grad in the office got the keys and had to figure it out.

Ten years ago, I was handed those keys right out of college. This was a time in the industry before Instagram was a thing and algorithms controlled the news feed. Facebook and Twitter were the core of social. Content meant text posts that drove people to a blog (big gasp). Social media was “free” (eyes roll).

In my first few roles, I had a lot of freedom to do what I wanted and make those decisions alone. The organizations I worked for had strong visions and strategies in place, but social was still such a grey area. We needed to be there, but did not really know the business case. Hence, the free reign.

The early days of social are long gone now. We no longer need to try without understanding why. Social media has grown up, matured and proved its business case. It’s the front door to brands today. It drives brand affinity and also revenue. And as a result, social media roles need to evolve from what they were “way back when” and stop treating them like a silo. There are two big keys that need to be addressed with this:


First, social is a marketing tool.

At the start of my career, I had very little marketing foundation. I wasn’t thinking about the brand, voice, big ideas and integrated planning. Everyday was a tactical playground where I posted and tweeted without a larger understanding of the why.

I have to guess that I’m not the only young social hire who did not quite understand what building a strong brand foundation means. And in the endless playground that is social, it’s easy to get distracted in the things that (quite frankly) don’t move the needle.

After years in this industry, one of the biggest frustrations I have is that people who work in social are too often put in a corner. Social media managers aren’t “just social” people. They are marketers who happen to specialize/work in a channel. And, they should be embedded in the larger marketing vision.

If someone works in social, it’s not their job to understand the platforms alone. It’s their job to understand marketing, brand and creative. Period.

People who work in social should not be disconnected from the overall marketing picture. This is true in how we hire, train and set people up for growth.

If you hire a new college graduate for a social media role, expose them to projects beyond social. They need to know more than the platforms. They need to grasp marketing as a whole and how their work maps back to the larger goals. Give them that foundation.

If you hire a more senior leader for social, make sure they have a seat at the marketing table. Understand that they have more to offer than their knowledge of the platforms.

And, for anyone that works in social, they should be encouraged to expand their scope. This means leading projects beyond the platforms and providing a path for growth that does not pigeonhole them to the platforms.

Social is part of the larger marketing vision. Employees should be adept in the brand vision, strategy and plan. They should be able to translate that vision and the brand to the channels.

Long story short, stop putting social in a corner.


Second, social is a collective effort.

In a similar vein, the voice and tone of how the brand comes to life on social media should not be the sole job of one or two people. Companies would never let one person dictate a brand campaign, so why should one person dictate the entire presence of a brand?

Yes, there will always be someone who plays gatekeeper on the channels. I believe in defining lanes, having gatekeepers and knowing who ultimately is the final decision maker. But the “big picture” of the presence should never be dictated by one or two people. It’s imperative to make sure there’s a team that contributes to the collective strategy – a strategy that starts with the brand and larger vision.

When one person dictates the entire presence, too often it becomes about personal preference. Social media is not about the person behind the account. It’s about the brand, the brand, the brand.

Just like social media is part of marketing, social media should be a collective effort within the marketing function. Breakdown the silos, open up the doors and make sure the work is mapping back to what everyone is driving towards. When a team contributes to the channel it becomes about the bigger picture and helps leave egos at the door.


The old ways of social being a role that lives in a silo should be long gone. Yes, organizations need people who are experts and gatekeepers of the platforms, but it should still be a collective effort.

At the end of the day social is part of the larger marketing ecosystem. It’s time to structure how we hire and work in that way.

Insight Into The Royals’ Social/Digital Approach

By Jessica Smith On May 9, 2019 In Uncategorized

The Royals have stepped up their content game this season . Since the launch of their Always Royal campaign in February, it’s clear that their team has a strong vision and creative arm power to support it.

Not only do the Royals have a strong brand identity, but they also experiment and diversify their content. Their ability to create engaging content for the platforms — that still feels right for their brand — has made their creative shine this season. Here are a few things that stand out about their approach:

Consistent & Cohesive Campaign

The Royals rolled out their “Always Royal” campaign in February and it works for a couple different reasons.

First, the messaging works well because it’s easy to understand and multifaceted. Always Royal can be molded to many different scenarios, whether the team is on a roll or going through a downtime. As seen in the video below, it’s easy to make this messaging “always on”.

Second, their look and feel is incredibly strong. All of their creative and content ladders up to their season campaign with consistent font, textures and visual branding. They’ve done a good job defining their box to play in so all the content looks cohesive, but also unique enough to capture attention.


Built For Social & Always Diverse

The Royals have been building a team of digital content creators and it shows. It’s clear their hires live and breathe the platforms and understand the nuances of what makes digital content different from traditional formats. Their content has been fun, fresh, diverse and built with the platforms in mind. Below are a few highlights:

View this post on Instagram

? start for these two. #AlwaysRoyal

A post shared by Kansas City Royals (@kcroyals) on


Full Experience Outside Of Baseball

And finally, the Royals don’t focus just on baseball. They do a really good job showcasing the full experience. Their accounts give fans a feel for what the gameday experience is like well beyond the scores and highlights.

When you work in sports it’s easy to take simple moments for granted, but it’s so important to be the eyes and ears of your fans. Whether it’s a moment between a young fan and player or the calm of the stadium before the game begins, teams need to think about capturing content well beyond the game and provide something beyond what people see on a broadcast.


Feeling inspired by the Royals content? Well, there’s more! Erin Sleddens, the Senior Director of Digital & Social, was kind enough to answer a few questions on their team and philosophy.

1. First, can you just give a little background about yourself and your role at the Royals?

Joined the Royals in 2006 as the Manager-Community Outreach. Then quickly shifted roles to become the Manager-Online Marketing and oversee the club’s digital properties at the time (website/email). As digital evolved, my role expanded to include all strategic new media planning for the club including social, mobile, digital advertising, web/email, market research etc. I’ve led the Royals digital department for the past nine years (13th season overall with the club) and this is my third year as the Senior Director-Digital and Social Media.


2. What does your digital team look like at the Royals? And, how has the team changed and evolved over the past several years (hires you have added)?

I currently oversee a team of five including Manager-Digital & Social, Digital & Social Intern, Manager-Content. Content Producer-Real Time Specialist, Content Producer, Editor and Animation. The digital video team (Content Manager and two Content Producers) were brought on this season. In 2018, we had a single contracted position to assist with video but knew that we needed to evolve the digital team even further to assist with content capture and storytelling.


3. At a high level, what’s the Royals’ overall philosophy on social media? I would love to hear a brief overview on what you all are looking to accomplish and your approach.

Our overall goal is to tell the story of the Royals brand in an engaging, relatable, fun way while keeping it family friendly to correspond with the core values of the Royals organization. We’ve been through the ups and downs with team performance during the rise of social media and understand the storylines may change season to season but we have not strayed from this club being a place that welcomes everyone and truly values the dedication of our fans.


4. Your team’s work has always been really strong, but this year the creative and video content has been taking to another level.

Can you talk about how your content strategy at high level and how you all have built up your creative arm to support it?

Thank you! We have a very strong creative team that supports our digital team. It is a collaborative effort between both groups within the marketing department to consistently produce engaging relevant content that stays on brand. We hold weekly content meetings to update on projects and brainstorm upcoming content. We also have a space to share any on the fly ideas anyone may have. We keep an eye on the industry but also look at the content we, as fans ourselves, like to consume.


5. In a similar vein, what are the three biggest things you and the team have learned about creating content specific to digital?


1) It’s easy to get lost in the clutter these days. The rule use to be to make sure you utilized a piece of creative with every post, now each piece needs to be carefully created to make sure it will capture the most eyeballs and resonate with the most people while also remaining cognizant of the time and effort it will take to produce it.

2) Buy-in is extremely important to the success or failure of a content team. You can have amazing resources but lack the access that you need to create that content. Getting everyone on the same page with the importance of storytelling and connecting fans to your brand is not always easy, but it’s definitely necessary.

3) We all want to make content that goes viral, however, we’re also here to sell tickets. There is a way to accomplish both but not necessarily every promotion has the capacity to make that kind of a splash. Tempering the want/need to make only viral content with the necessity of some of the sales responsibilities is a learning process for everyone.


6. One thing that has really impressed me about your team’s creative work is how consistent and cohesive everything is. Your look is distinct. Your voice feels consistent. And you all do a great job laddering back to “always royal”.

Can you talk about why this consistency is important to your team and any secrets to success for executing so well on the vision?

We spend nearly six months working on campaign theme ideas for the upcoming season. We talk through every scenario including how the concepts will live on social throughout the season before determining a final theme. We also rely heavily on the expertise of our Creative Services team to make sure all of the creative aligns throughout no matter who is working on the project. The consistent voice goes back to sticking with the core values of the organization and making sure everyone is on the same page with those expectations.


7. You all did some hiring this off season, and I imagine those hires have planned a role in the creative/content part. For those looking to get buy-in from leadership to hire more creator/content roles, what advice do you have?

Yes, we hired three full-time associates to build the new digital video team within the digital department. We spent several months gathering data to present to executive leadership to showcase the importance of storytelling, how our fans connect with the club on a day to day basis and how video would impact the bottom line through ticket sales and most notably sponsorship revenue.


8. Finally, what do you think is the next big thing in the social media and sports industry?

I see digital roles expanding or shifting even more towards assisting players with their content strategies. We’re seeing a little bit of that now but I can see that becoming a full-time role for someone within a team to help players build their brands through their social media channels. It will be interesting to see how teams navigate assisting players while also making sure their team channels continue to engage using player content as well.


If you are looking for inspiration in your work, I hope the examples above and Erin’s insight will prompt you to give the Royals a follow. Not only do they have a strong vision, but they have an incredible creative team that is cranking out fun and different content daily.

A big thank you to Erin Sleddens for taking the time to answer the questions. You can follow her on Twitter here: @esleddens

Playing Gatekeeper In Social

By Jessica Smith On May 6, 2019 In Uncategorized

Let’s talk about one of the biggest challenges in social: Playing gatekeeper to what goes on the platforms.

In the early days of the channels, social media was thought of this to place to “put up everything”. Oh, we don’t have a communication or marketing plan for x initiative? No worries! We’ll just throw it on social. Quickly the platforms became an answer for people in organizations to check a box whether it moved the needle.

As social media has matured and platforms have evolved, it’s become clear that social media is not meant to be a dumping ground for “stuff”. Everything a team, league and brand posts should add up to the larger picture. Even though it’s “easy” to upload a piece of content and hit send, doesn’t mean it belongs on social media. Content needs to add value, entertain or inform in any interesting way — otherwise, people will unfollow and algorithms will deprioritize content. Essentially, using social media to simply check a box ends up cannibalizing your own reach.

As the noise continues to grow online and consumers turn off more and more, we have to be thoughtful in how we approach things.

This means that not everything belongs on the platforms and that’s okay. Easier said than done though, right?

If you work in digital, your job supports teams across the organization from marketing to community and sponsorship. It should 100 percent be a priority to collaborate and find solutions with partners. But, that doesn’t mean that you should not protect the platforms and audience you’ve built.

So, how do you protect what’s been built online while still building bridges within an organization? Here are some tips I’ve learned about the art of saying no, finding solutions and working with internal (and even external) partners:


Put the strategy to paper.

Yes, I realize I’m a broken record here but anyone that works in digital should be putting their strategy to paper. When you put things to paper, people understand the vision and rally around it. If executing the vision requires cross-functional support (which most likely it does) it does not leave any type of guessing game. It makes sure everyone from leadership to the team executing are aligned.

Additionally, if you put your strategy to paper and get buy-in from the top, it helps you push back when things don’t make sense. It lessens fire drills. Helps drive projects forward. And, allows you to say no when needed (but not just for the sake of it) because you have a reason for being. Put your strategy to paper.


Get buy-in from leadership.

Once you have the foundation of your strategy, it’s imperative to get buy-in from leadership. First, this will make sure that the work is truly tied back to what matters for the organization. And second, getting buy-in from leadership will ensure you have others who will advocate for the work and have your back when you have to pushback. A good management team will also be honest when you’re pushing back just for the sake of it.

Find those people in your leadership corner who will be champions for the strategy and vision. It matters a lot.


Evangelize & education.

After you have your strategy to paper and buy-in from leadership, the next step is to evangelize and educate on the strategy. Every potential partner internal and external should be briefed on the strategy for the year. They should walk away understanding what the focus is, why that’s the focus and how their work potentially fits into the bigger picture.

Evangelizing and educating is one of the most important things a digital team can do within an organization. It’s hard to push back on things if people feel like there isn’t a reason for it. But, when you are able to walk partners through the big picture, they’ll have a better understanding of what fits and what doesn’t. It gives your work a reason for being and allows people to understand the “why” behind the no. That’s important.

Make sure you also leave your partners with a takeaway, whether that’s the full deck and presentation or a one-sheeter they can reference like the example below.


Move people away from the channels.

One of the biggest challenges I see with social media is that it’s become a catchall for people. Instead of taking a step back and figuring out solutions, people immediately start with the platforms.

Everyone that works in marketing within your organization should help push against this. Good work does not happen by starting with the platforms. Every marketing and communications project should start with the challenge, not with the tweet. It’s important to nail the idea, then tackle the execution and tactics.

Channels are a vehicle to distribute and not the answer to everything. Make sure everyone internally is moving people away from starting with the platforms.


Implement a process.

One thing that is often lacking within organizations is a more formal process to get something up on social. You know the drill. Too often people come to the team the day of saying “we need this up on Twitter now”.

To fight constant fire drills and make sure that everything is mapping back to the larger picture, implement a requesting process. Think of it as a brief for social where internal partners must fill out their goals, what they are looking to do and how it fits into the larger strategy outlined for digital.

Implementing a process like this will help internal partners give thought to the why and hopefully make them think twice before requesting something to check a box. It also gives your team the time to think through solutions other than “posting this now”.


Find solutions.

As mentioned, if you work in social your job touches multiple departments within an organization. Your job is not to say no for the sake of saying no, and as a result, you should work hard to find solutions for partners.

Sometimes, this simply means approaching work differently. Do not make assumptions that internal partners know all of the digital tools we have at our disposal. It’s your job to find creative solves and make sure it aligns with the larger strategy.

For example, if the sales team is constantly coming to you to post organically about ticket sales but you know that does not move the needle, then propose a paid strategy. If your community relations team is constantly asking you to post a picture that gives no context or emotion, then talk about approaching community events through a new creative lens (video storytelling). Find solutions.

There will be times when simply no is the answer. But no should never be your first instinct. Make sure you do your due diligence to find the solutions for partners and when you have to push back do so by articulating the why.


Show the results.

Numbers and results are your friends, especially for building a case on why the team should approach things a certain way. As you look to get buy-in across the organization on the strategy, make sure you educate and show what is working.

At one organization I was with, we used to do a weekly email called “7.5”. Each week we highlighted “7.5” things the team and senior executives needed to know about our digital channels. This included big wins, lessons learned and industry updates. The extra “.5” was always something more lighthearted and fun. Sure, the email highlighted the success of the team, but it was also informational, educational and fun. And, most importantly, showed how the team was helping to move the needle for the company. It wasn’t boastful, but educational, and made people more invested and interested in the work.

The weekly email is a very small example of how you can help advocate and educate others about the work of the team. Every organization responds to information differently, so find the best medium to bring the work to life. But remember, it’s not about boasting as much as it is educating and showing how the work back to organizational goals.



Playing gatekeeper to what goes on the platforms is not an easy job. It’s important to build bridges with the organization while also protecting the audience you’ve built. As a result, it’s important to lay the foundation of what digital means for your organization and how internal partners can play a role in the larger vision.

Don’t say no for the sake of saying no. Do the hard work to put your strategy to paper, get buy-in, evangelize the work, implement a process, find solutions and show the results. This is how you build advocates with an organization and get buy-in for the larger picture. It’s not easy, but if you can do this, it will be a huge win.

Dwayne Wade Tributes Provide Lessons In Masterful Content

By Jessica Smith On April 16, 2019 In Uncategorized

Dwayne Wade’s final game at American Airlines Arena provided a lesson in how to do content right. The Miami Heat and sponsors that created tributes for Wade didn’t just produce good content; they produced some of the strongest content I’ve seen in a long time. From Budweiser’s emotional ode to Wade beyond the court to Gatorade’s original jingle, below are a few highlights from Wade’s tributes and lessons to take away:

1 – Budweiser: Bigger Than Basketball

If you browse the internet at all, there’s a really good chance that you’ve already seen Budweiser’s nod to Wade. It might be the best produced piece of branded content we’ve seen in a long time. Grab some tissues and watch.

Budweiser nailed this piece. In a time when so many don’t get branded content right, they delivered a few powerful lessons.

First, like everything, branded content is about the concept.
If you want branded content to have a one single chance of making an impact, you have to nail the concept first. Consumers don’t care about the vehicle for content as long as it’s interesting, useful, relevant or entertaining to them. If you can provide some kind of value then you’ll get a chance at their attention.

Budweiser’s piece for Dwayne Wade was an incredibly powerful concept. I’ve never seen so many tweets about the fact that a branded piece of content made someone cry. And, that’s exactly why it worked. The concept was powerful enough to move people, thus generating buzz for both Dwayne and Budweiser. Focus on nailing the concept before anything else.

Second, branded content can’t be selfish.
Too often branded content becomes about the sponsor; slap a logo here and slap a logo there all for the hopes of gaining some eyeballs. Consumers see through partnerships that are not thoughtful, so slapping a logo on a piece of content is a loss for everyone (the brand/athlete, sponsor and fan).

Budweiser didn’t worry about elevating themselves. They focused on elevating Wade, the athlete they sponsor. The concept was inspired solely by Wade (and as a human not player), and because of that, felt extremely authentic to the audience. Sponsors can’t get selfish with branded content. You have to understand why you partnered with a brand or athlete and leverage them as a vehicle to reach an audience. If the content becomes all about the sponsor and not relevant to the partnership, then content will fall flat. Good branded content cannot be selfish. Period.

Third, the execution can’t be in your face.
If you have a great concept that elevates the partnership (isn’t selfish), the next key is to execute seamlessly. In the Budweiser piece, you don’t even see a Budweiser logo until more than :30 seconds into the piece (& the logo is in the background of signage at the arena). The subtle nature allows the consumer to connect with the message vs getting turned off that it’s a branded content piece.

Too often I see sponsors trying to force the message. Even if the concept is strong, 20 logo hits, branding within the first second and a tag in the photo and a mention in the copy will hurt the delivery. Too often by the time a piece gets shared, the message has been muddled and the content looks like an advertisement in Times Square.

Don’t take away from a strong concept by trying to force the branding. As we saw with Budweiser’s piece, if you nail the concept and the delivery the impressions and chatter will take care of itself.


2 – Miami Heat: #L3GACY

The Heat did a phenomenal job with all of their content surrounding Dwayne Wade’s last game. It’s clear that their team brainstormed, prepped and thought about every angle. While it’s worth perusing their feeds to see all the content and inspiration, these two pieces really stood out to me:

Sports teams often operate with smaller resources and budgets than big brands. It’s not always easy to execute on everything you want and do it extremely well. The Miami Heat though delivered across the board. Below are just a few of my takeaways from what they produced.

First, they delivered on good old-fashion storytelling.
The Heat’s “Act 3” piece was an incredible example of storytelling done right. They didn’t try anything fancy or over-complicated; they just delivered on Wade’s incredible story chapter by chapter. Breaking down Wade’s career in three acts was incredibly powerful. It’s a concept that has been relevant in storytelling for ages but also relevant for Wade.

In a day and age where we sometimes get distracted by fancy and high production value, the Miami Heat proved with Act 3 that it’s more about the heart of the story. Wade’s story and career didn’t need any flare added to it; the story in itself covered all of that. If you can deliver telling a story well (and in a way that is easy to follow), you’ll deliver for your fans.

Second, they brought in voices that matter.
The Miami Heat did a great job bringing in voices that matter to Wade’s story. From the piece featuring his son to the appearances that were made in the Act 3 piece, the Heat drew from collective voices that were part of Wade’s journey.

When looking for angles for content, new voices can play an important role. It’s important to make sure that stories aren’t driven from one point-of-view. Tap into everyone who made the moment, the journey, the rewards, the struggles that much greater. Sports are a collective thing; leverage that.

Third, they tapped into emotion.
I believe emotion is the most powerful tool we have in marketing. It’s what connects people, draws them in and makes situations, people and moments relatable. The Miami Heat delivered on the emotional piece. Look at the comments from their content and all you’ll see are responses like “who is cutting the onion”.

We’re in the business of understanding people. Our job is to evoke something in them. Make them laugh, cry, cheer or even question. Emotion is the most valuable tool we have. Tap into, like the Miami Heat did.


3 – Gatorade: 3 Is The Magic Number   

Gatorade has always been a brand that has showed up big in moments around their athletes. And, this moment was no exception. To honor Wade, Gatorade enlisted John Legend to tell the story of the impact he made on and off the court.

While this video was overshadowed by Budweiser, it deserves a nod and is certainly worth a watch. Two takeaways from it:

First, this was as original as it gets.
Having John Legend right a tune for Dwayne Wade was as original as it gets. There was no chance that another brand was going to have something similar. I love that Gatorade enlisted a creator to commemorate this moment in a way that no one as can. Originality always wins.

Second, they did something different.
This piece from Gatorade was a little different than other tribute pieces they’ve done, and I like that they took a creative risk. It’s not an overly-dramatic anthem spot. It’s a catchy tune that tells the story of Wade as a person and player really well.

It’s would be easy for Gatorade to constantly fall back on what has worked in the past, but they seem to be a brand that is willing to try new things, test new territories and constantly wants to show up well in big moments. We could all take a lesson from Gatorade in stepping outside our creative box a bit and trying something new. Not everything will always be a home run, but you learn valuable lessons along the way from testing, creating, trying and evaluating. Don’t be afraid to do something completely different.


Moments like these are when teams, brands and sponsors are at the top of their game. Whether it’s delivering an emotional video or creating something completely original, there are so many things to takeaway.

What stood out to the most to you?

Yes, You Should Put Things To Paper

By Jessica Smith On April 3, 2019 In Uncategorized

There is one thing in digital I will advocate for until the end of time: Putting your strategy and approach to paper. Yes, I know that this industry is fickle. Yes, I understand that platforms change. Yes, I know that teams have to be nimble. But no, that does not take away from the need to put your strategy and vision to paper.

Too often digital is the wild, wild west. The voice, tone and messaging feels aimless and disconnected from the brand’s DNA. There’s pressure to resort to gimmicks for vanity metrics. Teams do a lot of “stuff” without understanding the why or the ROI. In the end, digital without purpose will never get its due.

If you work in digital, the best thing you can do is take the time to define what you do and why. Pull yourself away from the tactics. See the big picture. Play the long game. Define how digital impacts what matters to the organization. Put the vision to paper. And, focus your energy there.

It can be hard to pause, stop and think in an industry that is constantly moving and changing. But that’s an excuse to play the short and easy game, not the long game. If teams don’t stop to reflect and define, they will be in a constant churn of testing and trying without truly understanding the why. This fly-by-approach can amount to small wins but not much else.

Tactics and strong execution matter a lot, but only if they ladder back to something bigger. So yes, here’s why you should put your strategy and approach to paper even in a nimble and constantly changing industry:

Gives Work Purpose & Focus

First, putting your strategy to paper gives the work purpose. It starts with an understanding of your organizational goals and cascades off of that. Social is meant to be fun, yes, but more than that we’re in the business of driving results (whatever that is for the org). The priority should be on the business first.

If your team does not have a clear understanding of what matters to the organizational, then they’ll be aimlessly clicking, posting, tweeting, and facebooking on the internet all day. They’ll end up bogged down in a bunch of tactics that don’t truly impact the business.

Putting a strategy to paper gives teams a guide and North Star. It allows them to prioritize their energy on what matters and avoid the endless traps and distractions that come with working “on the internet”. When teams have purpose, they feel empowered and values. Make the work matter.

Gets Buy-In

Second, it helps to get buy-in across the board. When you work as a team to put things to paper, people understand the vision and rally around it. If executing the vision requires cross-functional support (which most likely it does) it does not leave any type of guessing game. It makes sure everyone from leadership to the team executing are aligned

Additionally, if you put your strategy to paper and get buy-in from the top, it helps you push back when things don’t make sense. It lessens fire drills. Helps drive projects forward. And, allows you to say no where needed (but not just for the sake of it) because you have a reason for being.

Helps You Advocate For The Work

Finally, putting a strategy to paper helps you champion for the work of the team. If the plan cascades off of organizational goals and you’ve gotten buy-in from leadership, then the work has a reason for being. Knowing your why is a powerful tool for giving digital its due. When you can say the plan impacted x, y and z you’ll be more likely to get more resources and have team members rewarded and recognized.



If you want digital to get its due within an organization, put things to paper. This doesn’t mean everything is written down. It’s about the vision, the objectives, the high level plan and mapping back to org goals. It’s about the long-term play and not what will change in the day-to-day.

Once your team has a strategy and vision down, put together a one-pager and pass it around (like this very rough example below). Evangelize the work and vision. Make sure people understand how digital is impacting the business. Our jobs are a lot more than likes and retweets. Prove it.