Catgory: Social Media

Things to Consider in Social Media + Sports in 2016

By Jessica Smith On January 3, 2016 In Social Media with 6 Comments

With a new year, I always like to take a minute to reflect and look forward. What can we do better in the year ahead? This isn’t about forecasting trends—it’s about thinking how you to step up your game in the New Year. I know everyone’s goals and objectives are different, but my hope is that something sparks an idea or has you think about something differently. So without further ado, here are 14 things I would like to see in social media and sports in 2016:

 

1- Defining a purpose.

Somewhere along the line, FOMO and vanity metrics have replaced the need for a smart, strategic approach. It’s easy to get caught up in, especially when our work is extremely public and opinions come from all four corners.

Consider taking a step back in 2016 to define your purpose. Forget all the outside influence. Create a strategy working off of organizational goals. Focus on your story. Define a strong point-of-view on how you will leverage each platform (please, please please stop treating every platform the same).

 

 


When you define your purpose and get buy-in, stay your course. It’s easier to pushback on random social requests that don’t fit into your larger approach. Instead of simply saying “no”, you now have a why. For example: If you decide Instagram is a pure photo play with no logos, graphic treatment, etc. then you can push back if you strategically when you get asked for sponsored content with logos everywhere.

Defining a purpose and point of view pushes good, creative thinking.

 

 

2- Tell a story.

On Saturdays in the fall you’ll find me watching College GameDay. I don’t get up because I love college football (even though I do), I tune in because I look forward to Tom Rinaldi and his stories. The raw human emotion in storytelling like Rinaldi’s is powerful. It’s a connector. It makes me laugh, cry and remember the people behind the numbers on the uniform.

Storytelling was on my list last year, and it’s making the list again this year. Why? Because there are so many powerful and inspiring stories in sports.

 

 

In 2016, focus on the emotion of sports. We’re lucky to work in an industry where people already connect with teams. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take the time to dig deeper than the scores and facts. People connect with the off-the-field moments even more than the game scores. Emotion in sports is the common thread that ties everyone together. Focus on weaving the emotion and the stories into your content strategy—the emotion transcends winning and losing.

Need some good examples of storytelling from this past year? Here you go:

 

 

 

 

3- Thoughtful game coverage.

When I follow along on game days there is so much clutter. I mean, so much. From broadcast companies to teams and leagues, there are so many different accounts covering games. It’s often the same things over and over again: Stats highlights, play-by-play and boring dry updates.

Game days move quickly. You feel like you need to cover it all. I get it. The beautiful thing is you don’t have to cover every single play.

In 2016, take a step back and define your purpose for game day. Game day coverage doesn’t always have to be about dry and boring play-by-play. Focus on the stories and the behind-the-scenes moments. Be the eyes and ears for your fans. Add value, not noise. Do anything but tweet just to tweet.

 

 

4- Stop trying to win the Internet.

2015 was the year of social media mishaps. Sadly, some people lost their jobs from one single tweet. As a social media manger, you can’t try too hard to win the Internet… it will only end up in trouble.

In 2016, platforms need to be treated with a little more tender loving care. Social media is often the front door to an organization. And while we should have fun on the platforms, it also shouldn’t be taken lightly. There are many ways to resonate with fans. The voice of an organization on social media should be an internal team exercise— not just that of the social media manager. Once the voice and tone are set, it is up to the social media manager to leverage his or her creativity on the platforms, writing ability and artistic eye to shine. Creativity isn’t limited to voice and tone alone.

 

5- Investing in video.

Video, video, video. You’re going to be hearing a lot about video in 2016 as it’s growing exponentially:

 

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Video takes more time, money and effort, but it’s what people are going online to consume. Video is a more powerful piece of content. It’s better for recall, it’s more persuasive and it improves interaction rate.

In 2016, take the time to put together a thoughtful approach to video. Nearly every social media channel supports video in some form or fashion AND it gives the opportunity to tell a more powerful, emotional story way beyond the field and stats. From quick 10-second hits to more long-form storytelling, it’s time to take video seriously. There’s no excuse to not include it in your content efforts.

 

6- Spending on social (on all fronts).

We all know the days of social media being free are over. It takes a strong budget and resources to do social the right way.
A good social media presence requires several things from a budgetary standpoint. First, it requires manpower from a community manager to content creators (photographer, graphic designer, etc.). It’s nearly impossible for one-man social teams to cover all they want AND interact with the community of fans. It’s also impossible to think that a one-man team (or small tam) can strategize, analyze AND create good content. Build the team it takes to succeed.

Secondly, good content often needs a little boost to take off. Put aside money for paid. This will ensure your content is seen and will help you reach new fans. With all the noise online now and algorithms to deal with, the days of organic reach are long gone.

In 2016, it’s time to take the investment in social media seriously. If social media is a priority for your brand, team, league, etc. then build out a budget and resources appropriately. The right investment is important as this space becomes more and more cluttered—good content and coverage comes at a cost.

 

7- Mobile messaging

Mobile messaging continues to rise in dominance. Thirty-six percent of smartphone users report using a messaging app (via Pew). That number increases to 49% with those 18 – 29. Messaging apps capture attention in a more powerful way. Users often spend more time in the apps and engagement is personal and deep (way beyond a double tap). If you’re looking to attract future fans, messaging is a good place to start. Here’s a look at the stats:

 

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While we don’t have a lot of case studies for mobile app activation in sports, there is a great example from the Colts. In 2015, the Colts became the first sports team on Kik. They launched a promoted chat that takes followers through seven levels of a choose-your-own adventure story about rising through the football ranks from high school player to the pros. You can read more about it here.

 

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If you want to think outside the box and attract a younger audience in 2016, then think about how you can activate with mobile messaging. Here’s a good list of four apps on the rise.

 

8- Build community.

Engagement lands on my list of teams and leagues need to do all too often. Social gives brands a first-hand connection to consumers. Listening and connecting– above anything– is what makes the platforms so special. Community engagement takes a lot of time, but it’s worth it. It builds a stronger relationship with fans. Kelly Mosier of Nebraska makes a great point:

 

 

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When you work in the industry it’s easy to be jaded about what a reply from a team account can mean to a fan. But trust me, there’s a lot of value in it. In 2016 take the time to focus on community. Personal interaction is important– and it’s going to stay that way.

 

9- Focus on the raw moment.

Social media sometimes get a bad rap for the “perfect” picture people portray online. Everything is filtered, censored and edited. There’s another side to social thought: The raw side, and it’s alive and well. Thanks to apps like Snapchat (where people are happiest) and Periscope, teams, fans and leagues can offer a first-hand and unedited version of what’s going on around them. People want that.

In 2016, offer those raw moments that fans are craving. Live and unedited doesn’t make sense for everything, but it certainty has it’s place. Take advantage of all the new apps and functionality out there to offer a first-hand perspective and live content.

 

10- Leverage content creators.

The world is full of creative people, and the Internet helps us find those people quickly and easily. If you’re looking for a way to differentiate your content, enlisting another creative is a great way to do so. Here are a few good examples of teams that have done this.

 

 

 

In 2016, don’t be afraid to leverage people outside your organization/team to tell a unique story. Whether you host a contest, encourage UGC, show the fan’s perspective of hire a creative to produce for a day, there are so many opportunities to tell your story in a unique and different way.

 

11- Respect for each platform.

Please repeat after me: What you put on one platform doesn’t belong on every platform. I still see way too many teams and leagues sharing the sharing the same content across everything.

In 2016, take the time to define a point-of-view and “reason for being” on each platform. Study the way users use each platform and see how you can bring that to life for your account. It’s okay to cross-promote some content across all platforms, but nothing should be an all-out blanketed approach. Map out a way to play to each platform’s strength (like real-time moments on Twitter and raw perspective on Snapchat) and give users a different experience across each of your accounts. You’ll build a stronger community and audience if you do this.

 

12- Not treating content like a billboard.

We saw a lot more sponsored content in 2015. It’s not a bad thing, but all too often the sponsored content is forced or screams advertisement. When content becomes forced, it just adds noise to the community and little value to the sponsor.

In 2016, be smart, strategic and creative with your sponsored content. You should approach sponsored social content like you do every other piece of social content: Focus on creating value. Whether the content is to inform, entertain or educate, the value does not come from logos or brand names; the value comes in the heart of the content. This it ends up being a win-win for the sponsor and fans. Read more about making the most of sponsored content here.

Below are a few examples of good sponsored content. Don’t just slap logo on things. Integrate authentically.

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13- Empowering others.

A lot of industries lean on influencers to help spread the word, so why not do the same in sports? Whether it’s a celebrity fan, influencer or others in your athletic department, don’t be afraid to give influencers within your circle content/tool kits/resources to help spread the word.

Several teams leverage their coaches to push out messages for them with stellar branded content and they get great engagement. It’s an example of what can be done, but I would encourage you to think even broader:

 

 

 

In 2016, take a look at your circle of influencers and find a way to empower them. You don’t have to spread the word and build a community alone.

 

 

 

Now it’s your turn to sound off! What would you like to see in social media + sports in 2016? 

Thanks for reading! 

Chief Kingdom Cards

By Jessica Smith On November 1, 2015 In Social Media

The Kansas City Chiefs wanted to find a way to engage the London fan base and give them a reason to choose and showcase their affinity for the team. So to encourage people to spread red and gold throughout the city, the Chiefs created Kingdom Cards: Scenery-engaging plastic cards. With the cards, fans were encouraged to take bestpainrelievers.net at famous London landmarks and share on social media with the hashtag #KingsdomUnite. The cards came in packs of three and about 500 packs were distributed. The best of the best photos were featured on chiefs.com using Postano.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It feels a bit like a modern day Flat Stanley, doesn’t it? Anyway, I love this campaign from the Chiefs because it empowers fans to share. All too often we get caught up in pushing instead of cultivating a strong community. We don’t have to just tell our story ourselves. In fact, we shouldn’t. We should also empower our biggest advocates to do it for us.

Versions of this could be adopted in many different ways for teams: Distribute them with season ticket holders, include cards with away tickets, seed them with influencers, pass them out at community events, pass one out each game as a limited edition item, etc. The opportunities are endless!

The bottom line is this: Encourage and empower fans to share their passion.

 

 

 

Thanks to @jamesroyer for sharing this campaign with me! Be sure to follow the Chiefs on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

 

Thanks for reading!

Quote Tile Inspiration

By Jessica Smith On October 19, 2015 In Social Media

Emotion is a powerful tool when it comes to social media content. People are more likely to share content that evokes emotion, whether it’s surprise, amusement, hope, happiness, etc. The truth is, emotion works in marketing.

Thankfully, sports are full of emotion. Look beyond the stats to find powerful bursts of emotion and stories. Take the time to tap into the emotions from the players, coaches and fans. When you center the focus on the emotional storylines, you’ll create shareable content that resonates.

Tapping into the emotion doesn’t have to always be labor intensive either. If you want to produce quick content that evokes emotion, look no further than quote tiles/graphics.

Quote graphics/tiles are exactly as they sound: Graphics that highlight a powerful quote, statement, etc. And, you can pull these quotes from a variety of places. Ideas nolvadex-tamoxifen.net press conference transcripts, tweets (from players and fans), articles (a great way to drive back to a .com) and Q&A’s. Think about all the places the voice of your team comes from and leverage those assets you have.

This idea is nothing new in social media or the sports world. The industry has been doing it for a long time. Still, I would challenge you to think about how you can leverage human emotion more. What sources can you tap into? How can you use design to highlight the emotion in a powerful way?

If you’re looking to revamp your quote graphics, I’ve compiled a list of quote graphics/content to serve as inspiration. I would encourage you to make this a part of your regular content mix, because again, emotion wins. Now enjoy the examples!

 


 


 

 

 

 

What other great quote tile examples have you seen from teams and leagues? Be sure to share your links below! 

 

Thanks for reading! 

5 Guidelines for Sponsored Social Content

By Jessica Smith On October 10, 2015 In Social Media

Sponsored social media content is an everyday occurrence these days. Wherever teams and leagues push out content, there’s a good chance there’s a sponsor logo lurking somewhere. All too often though sponsored content is forced or screams advertisement. When content becomes forced, it just adds noise to the med-blog.com and little value to the sponsor.

The good news is you can do sponsored content right with cross-department planning, creativity and a fresh look at things. If you want to do sponsored social content right, then here are some guidelines to get you started:

 

No. 1- Content comes first.

You should approach sponsored social content like you do every other piece of social content: Focus on creating value. Whether the content is to inform, entertain or educate, the value does not come from logos or brand names; the value comes in the heart of the content.

When you approached sponsored pieces with a content-first approach it ends up being a win-win for the sponsor and fans. Why? Because it doesn’t add noise to fans’ timelines and fans wan to pay attention (which has worth to the sponsor).

 

No. 2- Integrate sponsors gracefully.

Repeat after me: Do not create content just so you can slap a sponsor to it. Instead, integrate sponsors with content you would produce anyway. This makes it more valuable to fans and the organization.

Social media is all about being authentic. This philosophy should translate to content, even sponsored content. Find ways to integrate sponsors naturally and authentically with the content and their product.

 

No. 3- Be selective.

Social media content is starting to look like a billboard with logos on anything and everything. Stop the madness because it just cheapens the content. Instead, choose the number of sponsored content series selectively. Spend time ramping up series with a creative and strategic point of view. A few strong/valuable sponsored content franchises beat many lousy ones. It’s about quality over quantity. Trust me.

 

No. 4- Don’t make logos the hero.

Slapping a logo on your graphic or “presented by x” in the copy does not add value to anyone. The logo is not the hero. The sponsor name is not the hero. Don’t annoy your fans by serving your fans what they perceive as ads. Make the content hero, then integrate authentically. That’s how you win.

 

No. 5- Keep it consistent with the brand.

Good sponsored content doesn’t stand out from the rest of your content and scream ad (hat tip to@LynneaPhillips for this great point on Twitter). Instead, it should have a similar, consistent look and feel to everything else. If a fan scrolls through your Instagram feed and can immediately see it’s sponsored, they are going to tune it out. Try to keep your sponsored content consistent with the rest of your content as much as possible. Again, it’s all about being authentic to make people listen.

Now you are probably asking how you put these rules into practice. Below are some good examples of sponsored content.

 

This is a great example of sponsored social content that makes sense. There is a strong tie to the sponsor's product with content theme.

WHY: This is a great example of sponsored social content that makes sense. There is a strong tie to the sponsor’s product with content theme.

 

This snapshot is from the Vikings Instagram page. As you can see, their sponsored content fits in nicely with their look and feel.

WHY: This snapshot is from the Vikings Instagram page. As you can see, their sponsored content fits in nicely with their look and feel.

 

Another example of sponsored content that makes sense. On brand for Cooper + valuable to fans.

WHY: This is another example of sponsored content that makes sense. It’s on brand for Cooper and valuable to fans.

 

WHY: The Dove Real Strength sponsored content for March Madness is how you sell social. It’s probably the strongest piece of sponsored content I’ve seen, period. Dove leveraged their sponsorship to showcase how the men of the tournament demonstrate real strength through uplighting, heartwarming and emotional stories. The content couldn’t be more on brand for Dove, and it was also extremely compelling for fans (just look at the engagement below). Wins all the way around!

 

Another great connection between the content and the sponsor. "Drive" goes hand in hand with Ford.

WHY: This is another great connection between the content and the sponsor. “Drive” goes hand in hand with Ford.

 

The value is in the content here. Fans like to see the players all dressed up; it gives a peak into their off -the-field style. This is a great example of taking a content first approach and integrating a sponsor.

WHY: The value here is in the content. Fans like to see the players all dressed up; it gives a peak into their off -the-field style. This is a great example of taking a content first approach and integrating a sponsor.

 

Who hasn't been to Cold Stone on their birthday? The logo is subtle here and the connection is strong.

WHY: Who hasn’t been to Cold Stone on their birthday? The logo is subtle here and the connection is strong.

 

 

 

These examples skim the surface of good sponsored content. What examples have you seen? Share them below!

Thanks for reading! 

 

Stepping Up the GIF Game

By Jessica Smith On September 28, 2015 In Social Media

Early uses of GIFS for teams and leagues was limited to pop culture GIFS and reaction moments. Teams and leagues didn’t look at GIFS as content to create, but more as an opportunity to pull from existing footage to emphasize reactions. Slowly and surely though, the social media and sports industry is seeing the value of GIFS far beyond reaction content. Teams/leagues are using their own footage and creating unique GIFS that are 100 percent on brand.

I’ve been really impressed with all the different uses of GIFS so far this football season and have compiled some of the best to serve as inspiration. Before we get into examples though, keep these four things in mind when creating GIFS:

 

No. 1- Pick your moments.

While I love great GIFS, I think you can overuse them. Take the time to think through a strategy for your GIFS and figure out the moments where you can use them for the greatest impact. GIFS are a treat and not an every tweet thing.

 

No. 2- Avoid redundancy.

I love how teams have started to use GIFS to enhance their play-by-play coverage. That said, it gets extremely redundant using the exact same GIFS over and over again. If you plan GIFS for certain moments (like touchdowns, interceptions, etc.), consider creating several options to pull from so you can mix it up. GIFS can absolutely be repurposed and used again, but there’s a fine line before the content gets boring.

 

No. 3- Find the humor in YOUR brand/team.

Teams often look to find humorous GIFS outside their team, but humorous GIFS can be really powerful when they teams leverage their own footage to give us a laugh. Need an example of funny, team content that would work great as a GIF? This one will do the trick. Take the time to go through football and find those funny moments you can splice and dice.

 

No. 4- Focus on cadence.

GIFS work well on Twitter because they’re short, sweet and quick. If you go about creating graphic-heavy GIFS, make sure the cadence is quick enough to grab and keep your fan’s attention. The cadence is a bit art and science, but play around with the length and movement to understand what works best.

Now that you have these four tips in mind, it’s time to get inspired. Below is a collection of some of the best GIFS I have seen so far this football (NFL and college) so far this season. Enjoy!

 
UNIFORM GIFS

 
PLAY-BY-PLAY ENHANCERS / STATS

 
TEASE / HYPE

 
FUN / HUMOR / MISC

 
PHOTO GALLERY / SEQUENCE

 

 

 

Have you seen any stellar GIFS this season that I missed? Share them below!

Thanks for reading!