The NFL season is in full swing, and along with it comes endless amounts of tweets about football. And of course, the league is helping to lead the way in social content. The NFL boasts an impressive audience of more than 22 million combined across Twitter (7.64M), Facebook (11.63M) and Instagram (2M) and has been churning out some great content so far this season. Below is a look at four social media lessons anyone in sports can takeaway from the NFL:
No. 1- Keep it simple.
Infographics have been in the social media and sports scene for a while now. It started with the need to make long game notes more digestible, and since then, has turned into a way to share information and tidbits with fans. Typically the infographics are filled with a ton of information and are extremely busy.
The NFL has taken a slightly different approach to sharing data on social: They’ve thrown out the busy infographic and have been featuring these simple and clean graphics:
The graphics have been getting great engagement across all platforms because they catch people’s attention and are so easy to digest. The graphics are a good reminder that sometimes simple is better. We live in a world where attention spans are limited: Don’t make it hard for your fans to digest and understand the content, otherwise you’ll lose them before they even think about engaging, sharing, etc.
No. 2- Don’t take yourself too seriously.
The words we choose in social media can play a big impact on the engagement we get. When crafting your copy, don’t think of social media as a fancy cocktail party but a backyard barbecue with your closest friends. Be conversational, casual and on brand. The NFL understands this:
You wouldn’t see the word “leggoooo” on a press release, but it absolutely belongs on the post above. As a social media manager, you have the liberty to express your team’s / league’s messaging in a more fun, hip and consumable way. Take advantage of it.
No. 3- Find “those” moments.
If you run social media for a team, athletic department, league, etc., then one of the values you can provide fans is a different perspective. After working in sports for a while, it’s easy to take for granted everything that is going on around you. Here’s my advice: Stop for a moment and take in the world around you. There are pre-game rituals going on, moments between teammates, player quirks been highlighted, crazy fans and so much more. Tell more than the game story.
There’s room for even more focus on “these” moments with the NFL, (they also are at a disadvantaged because they aren’t with a team all the time), but when they do post them, they nail it. Here’s a look at some their out-of-game moments:
As a social media manager, try to find the unusual in the usual. There is so much golden content around you, but it takes looking at an ordinary day for you and your team through a different lens. Find the small and untold stories and tell them. Your fans will appreciate it.
No. 4- Put together a larger story.
Sometimes you need more than one voice to tell a story. Knowing this, the NFL occasionally curates tweets to paint a bigger picture, like this example below:
With programs like Storify, all teams and leagues can replicate this idea easily. Think strategically about times when your fans, athletes, etc. can help you tell a broader story. This type of content is not warranted every week, but during the right moments, can really make a splash.
So there you have it, four social media takeaways from the NFL: keep it simple, don’t take yourself too seriously, find “those” moments and put together a larger story.
Now I would love to hear your thoughts: What’s your biggest take away from the NFL on social media?
Thanks for reading!
