Catgory: Social Media

An Easy Way to Cross-Promote Your Snapchat Account

By Jessica Smith On January 28, 2015 In Social Media with 1 Comment

I never liked how you add people on Snapchat.Without pictures and profiles, it’s always been hard to know if I added the right person or account. Yesterday though, Snapchat added a feature that makes it easier for people to add others on the platform. It also makes it easier to cross-promote accounts elsewhere.

Here’s what they did: Snapchat rolled out custom QR codes to each profile. To add someone, users take a photo of someone’s QR code using the Snapchat camera. It’s as simple as that. 

There’s a workaround that makes this feature really cool for teams and leagues to cross-promote their account. Here’s how it works: Take a screenshot of your account’s QR code from your phone and promote that picture on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. To add your team account, all a fan has to do is open the app, point the camera at their medizin-de.com screen (and on the ghost) and tap. A simple and cool way to cross-promote your account!

Here’s what it looks like:

Have you tried to promote your Snapchat account this way? If so, did you get more followers? I would love to hear how it worked.

Thanks for reading! 

Be the Eyes & Ears of Your Fans

By Jessica Smith On January 16, 2015 In Social Media with 1 Comment

When you work in sports, it’s easy for forget about the extraordinary in your ordinary. Everyday you get up and are fortunate to go into the “office”. You’ve seen the locker room, know where coach’s office is and can paint a vivid picture of what the venue looks like in snow, rain and sunshine. You’ve been around the players, aren’t star struck when you see them and could care less what their gameday routine is. To you, this is all just business as usual (as it should be).

This everyday for you, your colleagues and your team is extraordinary for your fans though. They crave this access, inside knowledge and personal insight into their team. As a social media manager, why not try and be their eyes and ears? Tell the story of your team’s “everyday” for them.

There’s no wrong or right in our industry as long as you’re doing what makes sense for your team/brand. I’ve always felt though, that there is a lack of personal content by teams (in general at least). There is so much focus on the scores, the stats and the on-the-field action. There’s not enough focus on the players, personal journey, peek inside the industry quirks of the team and emotional journey.

Fans crave this content because it’s something they never get to see unless you provide it. It makes the team more human, helps to foster a deeper connection and tends to pull at people’s emotions (and people share content that evokes emotion). It’s important for so many reasons.

To be the eyes and ears of your fans definitely takes some planning. It also takes looking at things just a little different. Take a step back and think about all the ways you can bring your team and everyday to life for your fans:

How can you give them access to the stadium/venue? How can you help them get to know the players more? How can you show them what the routine looks like on gameday, both for operations and your players/coaches? How can you tell the story TV isn’t covering? What is it like to be on the sidelines, in the dugout, on the court, etc? What emotions go through a player’s mind on gameday? Are there any superstitions and fun quirks on the team? What’s the celebration like in the locker room after? How does the team get inspired? What personal hobbies, outside of sports, do your players have that they would be willing to share?

There are so many questions you can ask to help you tell a more personal story for your fans, but it all starts with a little planning and a content-first approach. In this busy world of social media and sports, challenge yourself to stop, pause and plan: How can I be the eyes and ears of my fans? How I can I bring the “everyday” of our team to them?

Approach each day through a different lens. Try to find that “extraordinary” in your ordinary. It’s an important story to tell and one that your fans will appreciate.

Do you think it’s important for teams to be the eyes and ears of their fans? How can teams approach content differently? Share your thoughts below.

Thanks for reading! 

Why Access Is Important for Social Media Teams in Sports

By Jessica Smith On January 14, 2015 In Best Practices, Social Media with 2 Comments

Stop and pause for a minute. Think about all the content out there that’s related to sports on social media, from the media to the teams and even the fans. There is no such thing as the off-season anymore as the news / content cycle churns at all hours of the day and throughout the entire year. Just like every industry, the sports industry has a lot of noise.

Now take a step back and think about what you see on Twitter when you are watching your favorite game. If your timeline is anything like mine, it’s filled with score updates, color commentary, reaction GIFS and on-the-field photos. This content does not just come from teams, but also broadcast partners, media members, bloggers and even fans.

So how can teams stand out from all the noise on social media? What type of content can they share that is useful, engaging and different? More importantly: What is their story to tell?

I believe the story for a sports team is their people. It’s the journey to and from the wins and losses and everything between. It’s the behind-the-scenes and intimate moments. The personalities. The emotion. The passion. That’s the story for teams. That’s the story they can own.

And, this year we’ve seen great examples of teams capitalizing on their access to capture behind-the-scenes content:

 

These teams leveraged their access and captured everything from a victory ride home to awesome post-game locker room dances. And, they nailed it. Capturing moments like this are important for several different reasons:

  • It’s content (that’s different) teams can own. No one else has access to it, unless of course it’s given.
  • It tends to be emotional, which resonates with fans.
  • It makes fans feel like they are a part of the journey.

While we have seen some great examples of behind-the-scenes content, it’s still not the norm. There are probably a lot of different reasons for this, but the other day I tweeted about the access Carolina has and said that behind-the-scenes content was easy. I was quickly reminded from the Twittersphere (which I appreciate) that behind-the-scenes content is easy in theory, but that it’s not necessarily easy because it requires access. I’ve been thinking a lot about this.

I have never worked for a sports team, but I have worked for a governing body and covered championships. While the battles are a little different, we still faced similar hurdles: Getting access, digital rights, fear of intrusion, etc. We didn’t always have access to everything we wanted, but we took baby steps to get there. Steps like:

  • Integrate with the operations team.
  • Educate throughout the year on why social media is important.
  • Align social media with organizational goals.
  • Develop relationships year-round.
  • Setup a process / guidelines everyone is comfortable with.

My point is simply this: If the goal in social is to tell the team story, strengthen the brand, connect with fans and drive engagement, then getting access to tell the behind-the-scenes story should be a priority. I know access is earned and not given, but it’s time to take the steps and have the hard conversations needed to get there. Start building trust and getting buy-in.

In 2015, it’s time that social media teams get the access they need (in reason of course) so they can tell the important and emotional stories that emerge. A social media team is a valuable part of every organization. If a franchise team or athletic department invests in a social media team, then they need to invest in helping them do their job.

And yes, access is a key to that.

 Do you think access is important for social media teams? Share your thoughts below.

As always, thanks for reading! 

The Seahawks Showcase The 12th Man’s Passion and Reach

By Jessica Smith On January 18, 2015 In Social Media with 2 Comments

It’s no secret that the Seahawks have great fans. If you follow sports at all, you know the 12th Man is alive and well. What you may not realize though, is how much the Seahawks capitalize on their devoted fans and the passion for the Pacific Northwest on social media. Their team gets the importance of harnessing the passion online. It’s an approach that is refreshing to see.

The Seahawks take time for their fans. They engage, build digital initiatives to rally the troops, make fans a part of gameday and celebrate them in unique ways. Recently the Seahawks launched a content series that focuses on the latter, and it caught my attention. Here’s a look at the series:

The copy choice, the imagery; it all comes together in such a compelling way. And, look at the engagement. Fans love it. So, what’s the story behind it?

“The #WeAre12 hashtag and marketing campaign is something our organization has used for the past 18 months to unite our team and the 12s,” said Kenton Olson, the Director of Digital Media & Emerging Media for Seattle Seahawks. “Our Managing Director of Marketing had the great idea to extend this campaign during the postseason by leveraging photography and the great sights in our region in an effort to show the reach our team. That concept eventually evolved into the content series we are running.”

The photos you see throughout the campaign have been sourced through photographers the Seahawks have relationships with. Along the way, they have received some fan submissions too.

What I love about the content series is that it goes way beyond the scoreboard and taps into the passion of a fanbase, a city and an entire region. Scores are nice and all, but it’s the belief in something bigger that ties sports fans together. This campaign touches on that.

“We only have 20 days each year we play a game,” said Olson. “Rather than focusing on those few days we wanted to showcase our fans’ passion that takes place the other 345 days. Also we wanted to use it to show that the passion for the Seahawks extends well beyond Seattle and extends throughout the Northwest. In this series you will see photos from Oregon, to Easter Washington to British Columbia.”

As Olson notes, sports are about a lot more than the games played.  And if you work in social, then telling those stories are a way to stand out from the noise and resonate with fans. We need to see more content like the #WeAre12 series. Take a step back and ask what is special about your team and fans? Find the content that taps into the emotion, history, tradition, passion and stories like the Seahawks did.

I would like to send a big thanks to Kenton Olson for taking the time to answer a few questions on the Seahawks content series. You can follow him on Twitter here: @Kentono

As always, thanks for reading! 

Locker Room Access Provides Colts Digital Team Golden Content

By Jessica Smith On January 7, 2015 In Social Media with 2 Comments

I’m a big believer in behind-the-scenes content. And while I know that access can be hard to get, I believe it’s important in sports. It’s content that doesn’t compete with television, media or anyone else: It’s a team and organization’s story to own.

Content that peeks behind the curtain also helps to humanize the team and make fans feel like they are a part of the journey. It’s invaluable. If a team is investing resources in social media, then they need to be investing in a way to make behind-the-scenes access happen. I realize it takes time, processes and relationship building, but it’s worth doing the work to get it done.

There are many examples of great behind-the-scenes content this season, but one of my favorites comes from the Colts. Every game the social media / digital team seems to have stellar access to the locker room postgame. They have managed to capture golden content, ranging from victory dances to emotional speeches. I’m not even a Colts fan, but the content makes me want to root for the team. Why? It puts me in the middle of the celebration and shows the emotional, fun and human side of the team. The quick glances at these personal moments make the amoxicillin very likable.

I’ve compiled a few of my favorite moments from the Colts locker room access this year. I think you’ll see why type of access provides such a golden opportunity for teams:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you think? Is this type of content important for teams? Share your thoughts below!

Thanks for reading!