Catgory: Social Media

Fighting the Social Media Stigma

By Guest On May 22, 2013 In Social Media

Often when I tell people that I work in social media, the response I get is: “I would love to play on Facebook and Twitter all day for a living.”  Can you hear my sigh through your computer?

Yes, sometimes working in social media pigeon holds us to the platforms. People who work in social media have a specific communication style and skill set that goes beyond people able to craft a post and a tweet.

First of all, social media professionals have a unique way of communicating—they can cut through the company-jargon to speak to the heart of consumers, fans, etc. They know how to make the complicated, simpler; they know how to make the ordinary, interesting. Social media strategists understand what it takes to make brands more relevant, timely and human.

In addition, working in social media helps you understand what it means to have an integrated communication plan. After all, social media is only a small piece of a larger puzzle.

I could go on, and on and on.

This is the bottom line: Those who work in social media should bring more to the table than hitting “post” or “tweet”.

It’s our responsibility as social media professionals to communicate our skill sets— in addition knowledge of the platforms—to those who don’t work in the industry so they see value beyond a post or a tweet (we need big-picture thinking).  After all, what we do will long outlive the latest platform fad… it will just take shape in different forms and fashions.

Agree, disagree?


Tricks of the Trade to Maintaining a Happy, Engaged Social Community

By Guest On May 3, 2013 In Facebook, Social Media

I’ve spent a lot of time managing communities online. I love this aspect of my job; I get satisfaction in connecting directly with passionate fans, receiving instant feedback and seeing how people consume and engage with brands / content. In full disclosure, I even get a “case of the refresh” every now and then to see how much traction a post is getting. Come on, I know I’m not alone.

As a community manager, I get to learn about the heart of my company’s online audience everyday- what makes them tick, what they are passionate about, how they react, what they share, what they don’t like, etc.  Over time, I’ve learned a few tricks of the trade to maintaining a happy and engaged social community . Below are four of my simple rules, along with examples from others that back it up. Hopefully they’ll translate for you, but I understand every audience is different:

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What’s the Worth?

By Guest On March 15, 2013 In Best Practices, Facebook, Social Media with 2 Comments

Quality over Quality
I’ve seen it before, not just in sports, but with any brand: A large fan-base, little engagement.

It’s not a new approach, but I firmly believe engagement (clicks on links, shares, comments, etc.) is just as important– if not more important– than the number of fans or followers. If fans aren’t engaging, consuming, or seeing content, then what are they really worth? Think about it.

Long gone are the days of focusing on number of fans alone; here to stay are the days of creating killer content, telling a story, building a community and humanizing your brand.

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Under Armour Women: What’s Beautiful Campaign

By Guest On March 11, 2013 In Digital, Lessons Learned, Social Media with 1 Comment

A group of women– and Under Armour brand ambassadors– just got back from UA Camp Sweat at the IMG Academy in Clearwater, Florida. They won the trip through Under Armour Women’s latest What’s Beautiful? contest.  Here’s a video explaining the campaign (take the time to watch, or you’ll get lost with this post):

For anyone interested in social media and digital, their campaign is worth noting. Below are thoughts on Under Armour’s wins throughout the What’s Beautiful campaign, and also, a few lessons learned:

Campaign Wins

1. The Point of Entry is Clear and Defined
Users need to be extremely engaged to win and get noticed in UA’s What’s Beautiful contest, but that’s okay, because the point of entry is extremely clear and defined:

  • Step One- Declare a goal.
  • Step Two- Complete challenges.
  • Step Three- Win UA glory.
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Four Perks of Student-Athlete Generated Content

By Guest On March 3, 2013 In Social Media

We all talk about the idea of using fan-generated content to help tell our story, but what about using student-athlete generated content to help tell the story of teams, athletic departments, etc.? I think it has leverage. Here’s why:

1. Humanizes
If anyone can capture the personality of the teams, it’s student-athletes themselves.

With the rise of social media, there is a greater demand for content beyond the stats, wins and losses.  Social media isn’t about spitting off stats or the next game time; it’s about giving fans an inside look into the athletic department, the teams and what it’s like to be a student-athlete. Social media is about the people; it’s about humanizing your brand.

Student-athletes can tell an athletic department story better than anyone else. It’s time to empower them to share a story idea, give them an outlet to blog or allow them to submit photos from practice, on the road, etc. to be shared on social platforms.

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