Catgory: Lessons Learned

A Heart-to-Heart

By Guest On September 11, 2015 In Lessons Learned, Social Media

Dear Social Media Mangers,

Let’s have a heart-to-heart about today (September 11). I get it. We’re in an industry where our work is extremely public and any mistakes we make are mistakes made in front of thousands, possibly millions of other people.  We’re scrutinized when there’s a typo, told we need to learn where spellcheck is and anything and everything can be taken out of context. And, there’s no erasing it.

But this is the work we’ve decided to embark on. We know that one simple tweet can have a negative ripple effect- not just on you, your team or department- but also on the entire brand.

So while I get it, I have a plea to you and me and all of us in the industry. Please treat the platforms we’ve been given with a little more tender, loving care. A simple, thoughtful message is okay; product placement, logos everywhere, self-promotion & tackiness is not. Even more, companies need to learn the power of silence. Brands don’t need to stretch their relevance and interject into every conversation. On days like today, it’s up to us to put away our social media hats and focus on being genuine and human. Today is not about adding noise to the conversation, being relevant or about the number of likes. The message should be about the voice of your employees… real, genuine and heartfelt.

I know we’re all human, and yes, mistakes happen. But I’m begging you, let’s be a little more thoughtful with the power we’ve been given.  The more we make the platforms about us, the less we’ll get in return. Let’s get back to what social media is all about. That’s a real, genuine connection with the consumer… it’s not about you.

Jessica­

Tackling Social Media Myths

By Guest On September 8, 2013 In Facebook, Lessons Learned, Social Media, Twitter

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The social media industry is full of misconceptions. For anyone who works in the business, addressing the myths and misconceptions is often the hardest part of our jobs. Below are nine of the biggest myths I think are worth tackling. Be sure to share yours with me, too!

Myth #1- Social media is free.

Signing up for Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and the likes does not cost a dime, we all know that. If you want to do social media the right way though, you need content and manpower behind it. Great photos, graphics and videos do not come without a cost.

If social media is a priority, then you have to put the right resources behind it to generate the content that compels to your consumer. Remember, good content will carry a large load of your social media success.

Myth #2- You just need five minutes everyday.

Social media is about building relationships, understanding your consumers and molding your messages to make them meaningful to your audience.  This, my friends, cannot be done in five minutes. Scheduling any ‘ole tweet once a day, even if you have a million followers, is not social media success.

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Should Teams & Leagues Actively Engage With Fans on Twitter?

By Guest On July 15, 2013 In Best Practices, Lessons Learned, Twitter with 4 Comments

The other day I watched a wonderful SportsCenter Featured piece on two former high school wrestlers (one of the wrestlers is now a Paralympian) and an unlikely bond they formed with former ESPN producer Lisa Fenn. Since the feature was so compelling, I tweeted out the link. This is what followed:

I was impressed that I got a response from @USParalympics since I didn’t tag or mention them in my tweet. Their social media team knew the SportsCenter Featured piece was bound to get some traction, so they monitored the link (in all forms, long and shortened) and engaged with those who felt compelled to share the story.  Basically, they were capitalizing on a new, captive audience they had at the moment. Smart move.

Their tweet got me thinking about the importance of listening, engaging and building relationships on Twitter. All too often, brands just push on the platform. No longer is Twitter just a platform to inform; it’s a community where teams and leagues need to engage. 

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When Your Community Shifts, Are You?

By Guest On June 5, 2013 In Lessons Learned, Social Media

This past week I worked the Women’s College World Series where we activated with Instagram for the first time at the championship. Since Instagram is a visual platform, I wanted to tell the student-athlete and behind-the-scenes story through pictures (yeah, obviously).  I wasn’t worried about real-time information, game updates, etc.; I just wanted to capture powerful visuals to help showcase the championship.

As the tournament went on though, I noticed some fans were having conversations among themselves on the Instagram platform—what time does the game start, what is the TV coverage, what is the score, what is happening etc.?  This wasn’t in my plan.

After evalauting the coverage, it’s clear to me that my to strategy to “tell the student-athlete / behind-the-scenes story” needs to be shifted moving forward.  Our fans didn’t just want the pretty visuals. While that’s still a large part of what they want, they also want information like score updates, TV information, etc. on Instagram.  I imagine this need will be even larger next year as the Instagram audience grows.

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Four Quick Reminders After the Hacking of @FifaWorldCup’s Twitter Account

By Guest On April 22, 2013 In Lessons Learned, Twitter

Many of us watched earlier today as the @SeppBlatter & @fifaworldcup went array on Twitter.  Yes, in case you missed, they got hacked. Here’s a recap of the action here.

Unfortunately, it is not the first time we’ve seen a brand get hacked on Twitter and it won’t be the last. For those of us who work in social media and the communications world, it’s extremely painful to watch these types of scenarios unfold. Today I kept thinking… what can we all learn from this? So, here are four simple takeaways from the @SeppBlatter & @fifaworldcup account hacks today (or from any hack for that matter):

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