14 Things I Would Like to See in Social Media + Sports in 2014

1. Dollars behind Facebook. 

You can no longer rely solely on earned media with Facebook. If you want to make the most of the platform, you simply have to pay to play.

This truth is hard for me to swallow. I use to be a firm believer in organic growth and reach on social media platforms, but after watching Facebook engagement and reach fall flat this past year, I firmly believe you have to strategically put dollars behind your content. You don’t have to take my word though… Facebook has admitted organic reach is dipping. See for yourself.

The bottom line is this… if you’re okay with only 16 percent of your Facebook fans seeing your content (source), then keep doing what you’re doing. If you want your content to stand out from all the noise and reach more people, then you need to pay.

2. Social data to make smart decisions.

Gatorade’s Mission Control was founded in 2010 and since then we’ve seen others, from the Oregon Ducks to NASCAR, follow their lead. Now is the time to shift the focus from the bright and shiny tools to actual data that can influence smart business decisions. Research proves organizations want to find ways to measure their digital initiatives and use social data across business. In a recent study done by OMI, it was found that analytics is the most coveted skill in digital right now. 

In 2014, let’s use social data to help drive product decisions and athlete endorsements (consumer sporting goods); adjust game broadcasts (ahem, if ABC listened on social they would know Eminem and college football don’t mix); garner feedback about the game day experience; understand the content fans are craving.

We have all this information right at our fingertips and in real time. It’s time to look beyond the likes, shares and comments to meaningful stories in social data that help influence real business decisions.

3. Continued rise of visual content.

When you look at all the major platforms in social right now, especially with the recent changes to Twitter, they all have a strong visual component. Good visuals in social are key:

• Photos albums, pictures and videos get 180%, 120%, and 100% more engagement respectively (source, Facebook).
• Sixty-five percent of people are visual learners, according to the Social Science Research Network.

Thankfully, we work in an industry that provides extremely compelling visual content. Use it, and use it regularly

4. Copy that’s a little more personal.

One of my pet peeves in social media is copy that reads like a stiff advisement. This is social media, for goodness’ sake! Social media is your brand’s opportunity to showcase a little personality.

It’s time for teams, leagues and brands to be a little more human. Speak the language your audience speaks and use the proper sports jargon. If you’re targeting teenagers or young adults, then know the latest trend words.  Use words like you, me us, we when you are crafting posts. If your fans like snarky, then be snarky (see @LAKings).

Please...  be anything but boring.

5. A focus on mobile.

Seventy-one percent of people use mobile to access social media (source, Adobe). With statistics like this, mobile is no longer secondary. Mobile is primary across social content and campaigns. Let’s remember that as we move in to 2014.

6.  Teams handling losses better.

I wrote about this earlier, but I’m a firm believer it’s okay to be a little human after a loss. I’m convinced that a loss is an opportunity to show empathy, be relatable and be human. All too often I see tweets that read just like a box score. 

Even worse (believe it or not), there are still teams that go completely silent on social media after a loss. Silence on Twitter doesn’t make the loss any easier.

Let’s take the time in 2014 to think about how we can approach losses- or a losing season- on social media. Yes, it will require thoughtful and strategic care, but relating with fans and acknowledging a loss can go a long way.

7. More interaction with fans.

Out of the top 10 NFL Twitter accounts (based on audience size) the @Saints account is the only one that engages with fans on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the lack of interaction is a pretty common trend across all leagues and teams.

This is social media, not one-way message media. The more you push, and the less you listen and engage, the more you lose sight of what social media is really about. Social media is about a real, genuine connection with fans … it’s not about you.

The consumer sporting goods industry has engagement down. It’s time teams and leagues take a few notes from the likes of Gatorade and Nike Running. 2014 is the year to start interacting with fans on a regular basis.

8. Brand journalism.

This might be a buzzword, but that’s okay. I really believe if teams, leagues and consumer sporting goods brands can get creative, then brand journalism could be really powerful. People love genuine stories about people. Don’t believe me? Just check out the success Humans of New York has had.

I tune in to College GameDay every Saturday morning, partially for the headgear, but mainly for the features. Every Saturday morning I look forward to crying through a Tom Rinaldi piece and learning more about the student-athletes behind the jerseys. Even if you never played sports, you can connect to the stories because they are woven with human emotion. We need more Tom Rinaldis in the sports world.

The great thing is that anyone can tell stories to the masses these days, not just media outlets. That’s why brand journalism makes sense moving forward. People listen to stories. They share them. They remember them. And, sports are full of great stories.

9. Better use of video content.

Sports and video content… it’s a match made in heaven! They were made for each other. In 2014 we need more of it- more Vines, more raw footage, more storytelling and more instant replays on social. More, more, more…

I’ll leave you with this: YouTube reaches more US adults ages 18-34 than any cable network (according to Nielsen). Online video is hot right now, but more importantly, it’s the way of the future.

10. Traditional ad campaigns integrated with social & digital.

This year, especially in consumer sporting goods, we saw amazing TV spots come to life:

• Adidas, “Basketball is Everything”
• Under Armour, “Time to Take Someone’s Spot”
• Nike, “Possibilities”
• Dick’s Sporting Goods, “Every Snap”
  

I’m a big fan of content that taps into emotion and storytelling. All of the spots above did that in some form or fashion. These ads did not disappoint.

What did disappoint me was the lack of integration with digital and social in some of these campaigns. If a brand, team, league, etc. is going to execute a great traditional ad campaign, they need to find ways to scale these efforts across all channels and platforms. We need all the media to converge.

Many of the campaigns above have elements and themes that can be carried in content marketing efforts year round. When you tell a story (not sell) like the campaigns above, they are extremely powerful on social and digital. In 2014, I want to see teams, leagues and brands take the time to find the themes in their traditional ad campaigns and carry the story even further through social. More needs to be done than just throwing the video up on YouTube, promoting a few tweets and calling it a day. I want to see advertising campaigns come to life and work to together across all media and all platforms.

11. Creative use of fan-generated content. 

Today, fans are capturing moments and stories on their own. Teams, leagues and brands need to use the content and elevate different perspectives. I see teams and leagues using fan-generated content, but I want to see more of it, and it done creatively. The fan reaction videos Auburn produced are a great example.

Additionally, I think empowering fans to tell your story means better WiFi and charging stations in venue. There’s nothing more powerful than fans sharing their awesome game-day experience on social media platforms for all their friends to see.

12. Infographics designed for the platforms.

I love that so many teams and leagues used infographics this year (bonus points go to Miami for using GIFs). A lot of the infographics I have seen were created for the web and not for social though.  I would like to see teams and leagues customize infographics for each platform, keeping in mind the audience and appropriate size dimensions. This will make the infographics more shareable, and hopefully, they’ll reach more people.

13.Less play-by-play on Twitter (for televised games).

IF a game is on TV (whether it’s college football, MLB or the NBA), we need to cut the play-by-play. Teams and leagues should work to drive fans to the TV broadcast (be a good partner) and use social media as a way to enhance the coverage, not detract.

In 2014 let’s vow to do less play-by-play on Twitter and more of this.

14. A push to step outside the box. 

Finally, let’s step outside our own social media and sports world and see what other industries are doing. Let’s push ourselves to be creative and think outside the box. Let’s take the social experience for sports fans to a whole new level. Plain and simple. 

Now it’s your turn… what would you like to see in social media and sports in 2014?

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