Working in the social and content space in sports is a different beast from other industries. You can’t predict the final product. The volume of content and information flow is high and constant. And the passion for the product is unmatched. 

Despite our industry’s uniqueness, marketing in our space often feels the same. There’s a lot of rinsing and repeating year over year— many of the same on-the-field or on-the-ice moments, game highlights, etc. 

It’s not easy, I get it. But the teams that can get away from the rinse and the repeat are the teams that will win and build a brand fans have an affinity for for years to come. So, what separates the best social and content teams from the rest? While this list could be even more exhaustive, here are the top things that stand out to me:

1. Understand moments are a platform for the brand.

Significant moments in sports — season start, player signings, milestones, important wins, etc. — are more than big moments. They’re a platform for your brand. At a time when fan emotions are high and their attention undivided, this is a team’s chance to reinforce who they are and shine a light on why fans root for them.

Too often, though, content created in these moments is so generic it could be interchangeable across teams. How many player signing announcement graphics or videos have you seen that all feel the same? If the creative pieces are so generic they could work across any team, then the moment has not been done justice. 

Owning big moments as a platform for our brand is something we have worked hard to do at Stewart-Haas Racing. And while I often avoid talking about any of our team’s work, what we did when we announced Josh Berry to the No. 4 car is an easy way for me to showcase what it means to use big moments to reinforce your DNA. Here is our announcement video:

For those less familiar with NASCAR, Berry is replacing Kevin Harvick. Harvick is a future hall-of-fame racer who elevated the expectations for SHR and will go down as one of the greatest drivers in our sport. With the announcement, we needed a strong passing of the torch moment that would emotionally connect with fans, solidify Berry as the right racer for the moment and reinforce WHY he is the guy for the No. 4 ride and fits our mold at SHR.

Everything we did, we created with those goals in mind. Having Harvick be our voice for the announcement wasn’t just a nice to have; it was a strategic play to give validity to the passing of the torch. The language in the script was written to reinforce our expectations of the No. 4 and our racers at SHR. The theme of #4WARD was to showcase our excitement for this next chapter and give fans an anchor to rally around. 

Additionally, we were strategic about our ancillary content leveraging assets that would help reinforce Josh being the right guy for the ride and the fact that he’ll fit in with our “bunch of racers” mold at SHR. Everything from copy to image selection plays a part. 

There are so many moments in sports that you can’t control. When teams have these big moments, they must capitalize on them to reinforce their DNA and maximize fan attention. It’s one thing to execute against big moments — it’s another thing to maximize them. And the best social teams in sports leverage the heck out of them. 

2. Don’t rely solely on game and practice coverage.

One of the biggest challenges I see for content teams in sports is the reliance on games and practice for content. You might wonder what the issue is. After all, games and practices are the key components of our product. 

The issue is that relying solely on games and practices for content creates a sea of sameness. How many times can we see the same touchdown play from 20 different accounts?

Getting buy-in well outside of games and practice was an area the industry was shifting toward, and for some reason, most teams never got there. Now I scroll, and it feels like there’s less “newness” and lots of “sameness” in the sports and content space. In reality, game and practice coverage is rarely ownable as so many people have access to highlights. 

If teams can get buy-in for content out of games and practice, they’ll win big. It puts less reliance on performance and more emphasis on personalities. Yep, it’s challenging. That’s why it’s a big win. 

I’m not devaluing the challenges that come with getting this buy-in. I understand it’s a tall task. But, leaders in the sports marketing space have to push their teams to find creative solutions to make this happen. And the leaders need to advocate for its importance to those who push back. 

But what’s the pitch to advocate for it?

The pitch is that getting buy-in beyond the games allows our team to control our narrative. It helps our team humanize our players — and people connect with people. It builds a long-term play with our fans so that they can build a connection with the team regardless of the on-the-field product. And it helps us build a stronger brand presence, which makes us more valuable to current and future partners. 

Teams that figure it out will separate themselves.

3. Take care of the business.

We sometimes see griping and moaning in the #smsports space about wanting more credibility, appreciation, and understanding of what the work brings. But the reality is social and content teams need to care about and execute against the business needs to get credit where credit is due. It’s our job to show the value we bring.

Here’s the truth: Sponsored content isn’t a burden. It’s a blessing. And the best social teams in sports understand this — and work hard against it. 

Years ago, it took a lot of work to advocate for resources on the social and content side because we were still learning the value it brought to the business overall. Today, the business case for social and content is easy — thanks to a rise in sponsor interest and paid media for ticket sales — as long as you’re committed to executing against it.

The best social sports teams focus on serving their partners and ensuring their sponsored content is authentic, interesting and engaging. Gone are the days of slapping a logo on something or pushing content that doesn’t belong on a team’s channels. It’s all about integration and providing value. 

Instead of looking at sponsored content and ticket initiatives as a burden, consider them an opportunity. An opportunity to get more resources, test new things, and showcase the team’s value to the business.  

4. Tap into the emotion of sports. 

Emotion is one of the most powerful tools we have as marketers, in and out of sports. Whether it’s thrill, awe, empathy or humor, content that evokes emotions connects with the fan in a way that compels them to pay attention. It’s the most critical component in creating valuable content.

And lucky for us, sports are full of emotion.

The best social teams in sports know how to harness, curate and spot the emotion of sports to create strong content. They have an eye for human moments beyond the scores and understand innately the type of content that resonates with the fanbase. They tug at the heartstrings because, let’s be honest, people gravitate towards sports because of how they make us feel. 

Here are a few examples of strong emotional content I’ve seen recently in sports + a link to a post on X with more examples from the sports community:

Jonah Berger said it best. When people care, they share. So, unlock the power of emotion and sports to connect with people and capture their attention. If you want people to stop, care and share, evoke a feeling. 

5. Execute like a human but within their brand box.

Passion runs high in sports, and fans seek an authentic connection to feel closer to their team. And the best way to connect with fans while ensuring you are driving towards business goals is to think like a brand but execute like a human. Let me explain what I mean by this. 

Let’s talk about “think like a brand”. When building their strategy and plans, strong social media teams wear their brand hat first. They think through what it will take to reach their goals, all while playing in the box that’s been defined. They also understand that a brand’s voice, tone, and personality should feel consistent across channels regardless of admin.

 But, while everything teams do should ladder back to the brand and business, we must also remember why people like sports. We can serve our brand and business and still have fun.

This is where “execute like a human” comes in. The best social media teams in sports unbutton a button on social. They don’t reach for a stiff presence that is overthought, overprocessed, too polished, too overdone, built-for-awards, and not built for the audience. Instead of being corporate when they execute, they execute like a human and understand the nuances of social, which require a more casual tone, approachable manner and attention to fans

The reality is people don’t want to be sold to, preached to, or talked at. They want to connect, and the best way for sports teams to do that is through a personable tone, engaging in conversations, sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses, showing empathy, and being honest.

So, if you want to foster a sense of community, trust, and loyalty among fans, make sure your team thinks like a brand but executes like a human.

6. They don’t overthink the creative process.

The best social teams in sports don’t overthink the creative process. Now, I realize this probably sounds contradictory to someone who believes in over-investing in “brand” and ensuring teams are incredibly intentional, but hear me out. 

Too often in the creative process, we obsess about the things that don’t matter and aren’t intentional about the things that do. I’ve been part of a variety of organizations and organizational structures. The biggest mistake I see is how organizations set up creativity and content to “happen” in organizations.  

A lot of organizations want to treat creative as a precious commodity. They want to separate the strategy from the creative and vice versa. It’s like some sacred entity that only a few can contribute to. It’s a thing where risks are avoided and overanalyzed so much it’s water-downed. When creativity becomes so precious that no one outside of creative can contribute to an idea or create, organizations don’t maximize it. 

Orgs need to stop overthinking and overprocessing creative and content. Instead of making it difficult to execute, marketing in sports orgs should be built to:

– Allow people to flex different muscles
– Build natural collaboration
– Create an environment of yes
– Move quickly
– Fail & learn
– Freedom

Creative and content is too important in social today to let ego get in the way. Organizations need to be intentional about building an environment that maximizes creativity and let’s team execute freely.

Bonus: They have an evergreen content strategy.

One of the critical pieces to moving beyond the scores and on-field action is to define an evergreen content strategy, and the strongest teams take the time to develop and execute one. An evergreen content helps provide year-round relevance by focusing on timeless content that is relevant regardless of where you are in the season or how the team is performing. Don’t let the highs and lows of a season define your social presence. Invest in an evergreen content strategy!

As mentioned, this list isn’t exhaustive of everything that separates the strongest social media teams in sports from the rest. To get an outside perspective on what the strongest social media teams do, I sourced some answers on X, and I’ll leave you with them. You’ll see some overlap from the ones above and some new ones as well:

One of the things I’ve believed for a long time is the need for sports team to build up their brands well beyond the scores. In an unpredictable industry with so many variables you cannot control, a team’s “brand” should be the one constant.

If you spend all your energy focusing on the team performance, then you put all your bets on building a brand based on winning. After all, if you’re only focused on team performance, then the only way you’re going to connect with fans is if you perform at a high level and win consistently. 

This video below from Steve Jobs on their Think Different campaign captures the essence of what brand marketing is about. As Steve says, it’s about values. It’s about being clear what your brand stands for and what you want fans to take away from it. 

More than that though, Steve nails it when he says “even a great brand needs investments and caring if it’s going to retain its relevance and vitality”.  It’s this idea that really hits home with sports. If you want to remain relevant during the highs and lows of team performance, then you need to give fans a reason to care and feel invested beyond wins.

But what does it take to build a brand for a sports team? I’ve been spending a lot of time working through brand work and how we define it, execute it, and bring it all to life. I’ve come to this place where three core components are required: your brand identity, your brand strategy, and your brand plan. And while I think many people lump these all together, I believe they are all three distinct building blocks that must work together.

Brand Identity 

The first building block of your brand is your brand identity. I realize this might be counterintuitive to all the “strategy first” that’s been ingrained in our heads, but hear me out.

So often, when a brand identity is talked about, the only focus is on the logo and look and feel. Your brand identity is not just a logo; a brand identity is about your DNA and the things that make you unique. Visuals are a huge component of any brand, but to believe it’s the only thing that defines your brand identity feels fundamentally flawed and ultimately waters down the work it requires to build one. 

Before marketers build out any plans, they must understand why a brand exists, and your brand identity helps you get there. Building your brand identity should be strategic in nature, but it’s not your strategy. Think about your brand identity as the team’s compass for how to bring the brand to life. 

I don’t believe there are hard fast rules for building out your identity, but a few things to consider including in the identity work that will help you understand what you stand for:

Your Origin Story – How was your team or company founded? Are there any interesting facts, moments or themes from the beginning that helped to build your foundation today? 

Your Why – This is where you include things like your brand ambition, purpose, vision, and values. 

Your Personality – If your brand was a person, how would it talk, write, and interact with others? This is where you outline your muse, your voice & tone and your writing style. 

Your Look & Feel – This is exactly what it sounds like. Your logo, visual identity and style guide. 

Your Brand Platform – A brand platform is what you want to communicate and your public-facing messaging points and tagline. 

The result is a brand book to guide internal and external partners when you put this all together. For the most part, this won’t change and any additions or changes should be subtle. 

Brand Strategy  

On the other hand, your brand strategy is about the visionary roadmap to bring your brand identity to life. 

Your strategy should first start with your goals, but these goals must cascade down from “your why” that you outlined in your brand identity. 

Once you understand your goals, it’s important to take a look at your competitor landscape, the opportunities and the challenges. By doing this work, you’ll start to see the white space opportunities that could help you reach your goals, stand out from your competitors and ultimately build a strong brand identity. 

The final part of your strategy is to outline the methods – those key big focuses – that you’ll take to reach your goals and vision. 

Your strategy should be more long-range, forecasting ahead and giving you a roadmap of the big vision for an extended period of time (often spanning two to five years) — but it will need to be revisited and re-built, unlike the brand identity. 

Brand Plan 

Your brand plan is about the actionable actions you will take to implement your strategies, and these are the tactics that the team executes on a day-to-day basis. 

Your brand plan changes more frequently. Even if your strategy is a three to five-year roadmap, you’ll look at your brand plan yearly, quarterly and even in opportunistic moments. 

All of these components come together for a robust plan that will make sure your team is standing out, well beyond the scores. This is important for everyone within the organization to know — and is most likely relevant for external partners as well. Building a strong brand requires buy-in from everyone within an organization, and it’s not just the job of the marketing team to contribute.

Once you have your work on paper, I also recommend distilling it into a simple framework that people can easily digest. Like the work above, there are a lot of ways to do this, but here’s a sample of what a brand architecture can look like.

Take this work and evanalegize it.

Does this sound like a lot of work? That’s because it is. But if you only focus on short-term tactics, you’ll only get short-term gains. Teams and leagues must play the long game.  

If you build your brand right, you’ll build fan affinity that