Why A Social Media Strategy Matters More Than Ever

Working in social media means working in an environment that is fast-paced, always-on and continually evolving. It’s easy to get caught up in the daily churn of the day-to-day without breathing and stepping away to look at the bigger picture. We “go, go, go” and “do, do, do” without even blinking.

We often use the fast-paced nature of social media as a reason not to have a firm strategy in place. If part of our job requires flexibility, why would we put a strategic plan together?

The madness without method in social media has to stop. Just because our world is continually evolving does not mean there’s no strategy involved in our work. A plan gives a POV on “the why” and “the how” of how you’ll support the business. It does not mean you can’t be agile and fluid — nor does it require you to stick to a content calendar. We shouldn’t confuse being nimble with not having a strategy, and I believe approaching it that way discredits the role social can play.

Putting a strategy to paper is not easy work. It takes time and is something that will continue to evolve. It’s important work, though, and one that all social teams should take the time to pen. Here’s why:

We’re no longer just “figuring it out”.

I started working in social media before this industry was even a thing. Early on, no one understood what social meant for the business. The channels were a real experiment. And while there will always be some level of “figuring it out” in our work, we’re a point where we understand the role social can play in business.

If you work in social media, it’s your job to map social media back to the organizational goals. And doing so requires some sort of strategy and plan in place.

If we want organizations to take social media seriously and have a seat at the table, we can’t always resort to the “this is an experiment” excuse. Yes, there are a lot of things that are an experiment in social. Yes, there will be many times when we have to pivot. But no, that does not mean we can’t have a plan for how and why we work.

We’re no longer just figuring social media out, and it’s time we own the fact that yes, we’ve learned a lot about this channel and what it can mean for business.

Social media is not just tactical.

One of the arguments against having a strategy in place is how quickly our world evolves. And as stated before, there’s always going to be some level of nimbleness required in our industry.

The need to be flexible in social media is less about strategy and more about tactics, though. There are foundational aspects of our work that does not change day-to-day — and it’s those things like goals, audience, channel purpose, etc. — that a plan should embrace.

A great social media strategy helps articulate the why and reason for being without restricting a team. It should actually empower a team to pivot, build and act quickly on the things that matter versus restricting.

Don’t use tactics as a crutch to not put in the time to do the foundational work.

A strategy gives teams focus.

Years of working in social media have taught me the power of real focus for teams. Just because social can technically “service” many areas of the business, doesn’t mean it’s moving the needle across every touchpoint.

Social isn’t everything to everyone, and that rhetoric has to stop. But changing that mentality within organizations requires education and buy-in. And those two things cannot happen without a plan.

When a social media team has a strategy in place, it articulates “the why” behind what they do. It gives clear and distinct vision on the most important work that matters, and that helps teams focus on where social and content can have an impact on business goals.

When you fly by the seats of your pants, it’s much harder to pushback on why it doesn’t make sense to just “put it up on social.” And when social because the default for everything, it takes away meaningful work from the team.

A strategy empowers teams. It enables them to do the work that matters and focus on quality over quantity. And in an industry where it’s easy to overwhelm and overburden teams, we need to make sure the work we’re doing matters.

It helps advocate for resourcing needs.

Social media used to be the job of one person. In the early days, you couldn’t share photos on Twitter, Facebook’s innovation was king and Instagram didn’t exist. The work was much less sophisticated and required a lot less resourcing.

Today, if you want to stand out in this space and drive business goals, social media requires a lot more than a one-person team. It requires strategists, community managers, creators, etc. As expectations on social increase, so do the resourcing needs.

It’s nearly impossible to advocate for more resources if people don’t understand the why, though. How can you expect an organization to invest in more talent if they don’t know how it’s going to drive back to the business?

Putting a strategy to paper helps create a vision for not just what you do and why — but what you’ll need to get it done. You can’t show “the how” if you don’t know “the why,” and you can’t ask for more resources without either of those.

It champions the team.

There are a million things you can measure in social media, and it’s easy to get caught up in a data dump. Total engagements to team rankings, what are we measuring and why?

Too often, we measure things in social media without understanding their purpose. And metrics without reason are meaningless.

A strategy helps map back the work to the business and gives a clear distinction on the metrics that matter most. When you have a clear understanding of how social impacts the organization, it’s much easier to champion the work of the team.


If we want our work in social media to be respected, we have to map it back to the business. We cannot fear having a strategy in place because we think it will prevent us from pivoting. When a social media strategy is approached the right way, it actually empowers a team to do the work that matters and allows you to be nimble.

It’s time to do the work that matters and embrace the idea of a mapped out social media strategy.


If you’ve championed a social media strategy within your organization, I would love to hear how it’s benefited your work and team. Share below!

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Lessons On Creating With Limits From The Pause In Sports

While sports were on pause, social teams experienced extreme constraints around content creation. No games. No in-person access. No traditional sport storylines. No ability to capture new footage directly.

Creating under such limits can be a daunting task. Even more daunting, though, is the expectations to produce at a high volume despite the changing landscape. And for the sports industry, one that rarely sleeps in the social space, there is no slowing down even if the games are on pause.

When we have limits, though, we innovate. We find solutions to things because there is no other choice. And throughout the pause in sports, teams found ways to tell their story and connect with fans. 

Yes, sports are back and games to fuel teams, leagues and brands with new content again, but I believe there are critical lessons to learn from the pause in sports that we can take away or the future. Here are a few of those lessons on social and social:


Obsess Over Creative Execution 

Zoom and iPhone footage were the few vehicles of access teams and leagues had to players throughout the pause in sports. And while any access is fantastic, Zoom and talking head fatigue is a very real thing.

It didn’t take me long to realize months of Zoom interviews wasn’t going to work. Audiences were going to disengage quickly. You have about three seconds (if you’re lucky) to convince people to stop and view your video. In those three seconds, your video needs to set the tone and get people interested. And once you have them watching, you have to keep them engaged. Two minutes of someone sitting and talking directly into a camera is rarely going to keep people around. 

What’s a social team to do when they have excellent access to video interviews but don’t want them to fall flat? You focus on taking creative to the next level. 

Sometimes, as in the case of Zoom interviews, the creative execution and details matter a lot. We have to obsess over taking pieces to the next level through dynamic intros, b-roll, graphics, etc. 

Creative execution is what separates the best from the rest. When teams focus on the details of how to bring a piece to life, they are more likely to create something that captures attention, fits the platform and is the best reflection of the brand.

Obsessing over execution does not mean that production value has to be high or overproduced. It merely means that you’ve taken the time to make sure the idea comes to life right. Do your Zoom interviews and everything else right: Focus on packaging the content to make it as compelling as possible. 

Here’s an example of taking a Zoom interview and thinking critically about how it’s packaged to elevate the series:



Let Design Work Hard For You 

One of the toughest things about sports being on pause with no new and natural storylines was making the old feel fresh. Teams, leagues and brands had to dip into the vault of existing content and repackage it in a way that made it feel new, fun and unique. This is where great graphic design can come in. 

Graphic design can play a crucial role when you’re looking to create content with limited access, slow news days or no new assets (like photo or video). First, graphics can make existing photos and videos that you might have already used to feel unique. 

Second, design can help your team create something engaging from moments that don’t have a strong visual attached – a radio interview, media availability, etc. 

Below are a few examples of how teams leveraged design to make the old feel new or take a small audio snippet/quote and make it feel much more elevated and packaged:

Ex of taking a quote from Town Hall on Zoom and turning it into a more dynamic asset.
Ex of taking audio from a podcast and packaging it through design for an elevated asset.
The Ravens used design to package commentary from Bleacher Report.



Makes Fans Active Participants

One of the best trends to come out of the sports pause was the focus on fans. With no games to cover and no original storylines, all of a sudden, fans become a central focus for keeping social channel’s lights on. 

Throughout the pause, teams and leagues emphasized content that brought their fans into the fold. All of a sudden, content wasn’t just a mechanism to push something out; it was a mechanism to pull fans into the brand. 

Simple community tactics go a long way. Fans want to be active participants. It’s the ability to engage that makes social media different from any other channel. When fans feel part of the community, teams build stronger advocates. Focus on the fans. 



Test, Learn & Pivot 

Social media is often the ultimate balancing act. You have to plan, but also be willing to pivot. And in unusual times, there was no better reminder that so much of social media is about leaning testing, learning and pivoting. 

Creating content and publishing during the pause in sports was the ultimate lesson on planning while remaining flexible. With no natural storylines, teams had to plan way ahead to make sure calendars filled up. But how were we supposed to know what was going to resonate with people during a pandemic? We didn’t, so we had to test, try and pivot. 

Sometimes in social, we create things that don’t resonate — and sometimes we hit unexpected home runs. That was the story during the pause in sports. If you work in this space, it’s your job to continually have a pulse on what performs and what doesn’t and push for necessary changes and tweaks. 



While there are a lot of lessons to take away on creating content during the pause, these are the ones that stuck with me the most. So much of working in social media is about getting resourceful, finding ways to look at things differently and never falling into the trap of doing the “same old thing”.

So often limits are looked at as a negative. But when we push ourselves to create in new ways, we innovate. My hope is that we’ll always push to look at things in a fresh and different way and seek to innovate, limits or not.

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Social Media Lessons During An Unprecedented Time

In social media, there are no hard fast rules. How could a rulebook be written for an industry that is continuously changing and evolving? It’s impossible. 

But during this unprecedented time, the idea that there are no rules in social media is only heightened. This pandemic is something we’ve never experienced. All of our emotions, our reactions, our experiences are completely new at some level. 

There is no way to know what consumers want from brands, teams and leagues right now. The best we can do is to test, try, listen and be thoughtful above all else. 

Many weeks into this, I’ve reflected, analyzed and tried to understand what I’ve learned so far. Here’s a highlight of what I’ve taken away to date about social media and our work during this unprecedented time: 

More Isn’t Always Better.

As soon as we entered quarantined, everyone turned to social and thought, “this is the only way for us to keep the lights on.” Social media was the answer for everything during this time. After all, if we’re all home and online, social channels are a great way to be heard right now.

The idea that more is better is one of the most significant social media myths of all time. And, this couldn’t be more true during the pandemic. There are a few reasons why this philosophy is problematic. 

First, just because people are home 24-7 doesn’t mean they want more content. People are feeling all kinds of fatigue and anxiety. Bombarding them with more “stuff” to shift through isn’t ideal. Unless you have content that genuinely adds value, you are just adding more noise to the world. 

Second, brands don’t need to be present 24 -7 to be relevant. And again, I don’t think people want that. Your audience isn’t sitting around waiting for you to tweet, post and TikTok. It’s okay to not be on all the time. 

Pressure To Produce Is Not Productive.

Social media teams are facing an enormous amount of pressure to produce right now — and a lot of it stems from the idea that the more content we produce, the more we’ll be heard. 

Teams feeling pressure to produce without understanding “why” is hugely detrimental. It puts them in a constant cycle of “deliver and survive.” Instead of focusing on work that is meaningful and will move the needle, teams end up merely trying to stay above water.

The pressure to produce is not productive. The daily churn distracts from meaningful work and makes it hard to dig into big ideas and to execute well. 

Think about some of the best brands in the world. None of them have been built by publishing “stuff.” They were built because they had a sharp POV and added value to their audience. 

The volume of output has never been a way to measure strong marketing. And, it’s a reminder to us all that publishing should never be a coping mechanism. We have to resist the urge to produce just to produce and focus on adding value, always.

Social Isn’t Everything To Everyone.

Just because social media is one of the “easier” ways to reach consumers right now does not mean the channels should be a dumping ground. 

Social media serves a unique purpose, like all other communication channels. People hit follow on accounts for a reason — usually to be entertained and informed by brands and people they care about the most. They don’t hit follow to get stuff dumped on them.  

When social media tries to be everything to everyone, the channels become diluted. We flood our audience with so much stuff they don’t care about that they end up tuning us out completely. 

Even if social media seems like the easiest and most efficient way to reach people right now, doesn’t mean there won’t be ramifications if you start to spray and pray. People hold the ability to unfollow, and they will exercise that right.

Protect the platforms and community your teams have been. Even during this pandemic, your channels should serve a particular purpose. 

Listening Is Key. 

With social media, brands get instant feedback. There’s a massive benefit in that because we have a real-time case study on what works and what doesn’t. 

Ignoring the numbers and feedback from your audience is never good — but it’s even more critical to listen now. Why? We’ve never been through anything like this before. Therefore, we have no case studies or proof points on what does and does not work. 

Every brand, team and league made assumptions early on about what content people would like to see during this time. As this pandemic has gone on, we’ve been able to get feedback from our audience. 

We must listen to the feedback we’re getting right now. Throw out the notion of a content calendar that is looking months ahead — the situation we’re living in is fluid, ever-evolving and changing. Our audience is going through fatigue, emotions and anxiety, so what they are looking to consume is changing and evolving. 

Listen to your audience. Be adaptable and fluid. Test, try and learn. That’s the only way we’re going to deliver content that truly engages.  

Things Can’t Be Forced.

Too often, brands look for a way into conversations they have nothing to do with — and this pandemic is no exception. Brands, teams and leagues have been looking for their place in the conversation and often, the result is a sea of sameness. 

While I believe that consumers do like purpose-driven brands, I also think they can see through the phony. Action is purpose, not talking. We have to be careful during this time to understand our place and what value the brands we work for can provide. 

Don’t force your way into the conversation with a half-baked idea. Know your place, know your purpose and focus on championing the ideas that really matter. 


There are a lot more lessons from this pandemic, but for now, these are the ones that have stuck with me most. Now it’s your turn to sound off. What lessons have you learned during this unprecedented time?

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Things To Consider & Remember In Social + Sport In 2020

It’s a new year, which means the annual list of things to consider in the industry.

As always, this isn’t meant to be a forecast of what’s to come, but a list of things to consider focusing on for the year ahead. Everyone’s goals and objectives are different, but hopefully, there is something in here that will spark a new idea, approach or thinking.

So, here’s a list of what to consider in 2020 with some help from Twitter and friends in the industry (note – these are not ranked by importance):

Focus outside the “big three”.

It’s easy in social media to put an emphasis on the “big three”. Twitter, Facebook & Instagram have stood the test of time (by social standards at least), and we know those platforms intimately. In an industry where teams are largely understaffed, it seems less risky to put all our energy there.

Take a look at the growth of teams’ Facebook accounts across leagues though and you might start thinking about things differently. The majority of teams are losing vs gaining an audience there:

The reality is social media teams spend their days investing in channels where their audience is not “owned”. That fact, along with all the noise on TW, FB & IG, and teams would benefit from a more diverse and balanced platform approach.

In 2020 the brands that think about distribution, community and reach differently will reap rewards. There’s a huge opportunity to connect with fans outside of Twitter, Facebook & Instagram. GIPHY, YouTube, Reddit or TikTok are all viable options to start.


Impact over output.

The volume of content teams are turning out across channels is extremely high these days. Everywhere you turn teams are cranking out piece after piece.

The focus on output has created a serious problem. It’s created a mentality that more is better and leaves social and creative teams barely treading above water day after day. Not only does it create an endless cycle of work, but the constant pressure to create leaves the internet a crowded place. Eventually, fans start tuning things out.

If teams are cranking on total output, but engagement rate keeps tanking, is that the end result we want? What’s an audience of 3M actually worth if you’re engagement rate isn’t even about 1%? That’s a serious question we all need to ask ourselves.

Here’s the reality: Total output is not an indication of the quality of work. Too often I see teams caught in the rat race of “totals”, but totals don’t point to the quality of work.

In 2020, it times to put less pressure on teams when it comes to output. Even though it’s “easy” to hit send, doesn’t mean there aren’t ramifications. The more we bombard our audience with “stuff” the more they tune us out.

Just because publishing is at our fingertips today, doesn’t mean we should abuse it. The quality, the output, the totality of everything … it matters.

Focus on impact over output in 2020.


Empower fans.

There’s too much focus today on what brands/teams push out themselves and not enough focus on empowering fans. The real magic in social is not broadcasting to people. The real magic lies in building a community of advocates who share on behalf of the brand.

From channels like GIPHY to amazing amazing platform innovations like AR lenses, there are so many ways to build tools for fans to share their love of the team and brand. More teams need to take advantage of it.

In 2020, it’s time to remember that word of mouth is still one of the most powerful tools if you’re looking to engage and build a new audience. Don’t take for granted the magic of building an online community of advocates.


Be the eyes & ears for fans.

In the early days of social, people relied heavily on their team’s own Twitter account to provide the play-by-play. Team accounts were used as as source of information before anything else.

Today though, access to game information & broadcast footage is much more readily available. From media to publishers to fans themselves, there is no shortage of information around the game. This presents both a challenge and opportunity for teams’ social media.

The access to information means that a team’s approach to coverage around games and practices must change. It’s less about informing and more focused on entertaining, engaging and providing access fans can’t get anywhere else.

The strongest social teams today make fans feel more intimately part of the journey. They give a peek behind the curtain. They capture candid, simple moments. They capture video that brings to life the team’s personality. They provide an angle to a play no one else has. They’re constantly in search of that unique clip that no one else has.

In 2020, it’s time to commit to being the eyes and ears of your fans. Access doesn’t have to be intrusive. It doesn’t mean that you have to be with the team 24 – 7. It means that you look for those subtle, candid and unique moments that no one else can provide.


Invest in creative talent.

In the early days of social, you couldn’t even share a photo on Twitter. This meant the focus was more about being present — engaging with your audience and creating a 1:1 connection — versus anything else.

The times have changed. Today, there’s no such thing as a good social presence without strong creative. The best strategy in the world is nearly impossible to execute without the creative arm power to support it.

Standing out on the crowded internet requires creative thinking and the ability to capture attention (& that’s a hot commodity today). Teams that are serious about building a “best-in-class” digital presence must focus on hiring talent and building a culture that allows them to work their magic.
Looking at some of the strongest teams on social today – the Lakers, the Carolina Panthers, the LA Clippers, the Kansas City Royals, Ohio State Football – and I would bet they’ve invested in creative talent.

In 2020, it’s time to invest and understand that the investment does pay off. An investment in creative talent, paired with a strong strategy, will equate to success across the board. You’ll build a stronger community, bring in a new audience, drive value for sponsors and in bring in revenue. Win, win, win.


Disrupt through creative.

In the early days of social, people were obsessed with platform updates. How can we be the first to do x? How can we know the latest updates right away? How can we experiment with the latest and greatest?

It’s time to take that same mentality and apply it to content. If you aren’t obsessed with how you can bring your brand to life in innovative ways then you’ll get lost in the noise. Innovation through strong creative and content is key.

The teams, leagues and brands that stand out on social are the ones that obsess over how they can tell their story in unique and different ways. So much of what we do today is driven by creative. How can your brand offer something different than everybody else?

In 2020 it’s time to focus on disruption through content. Test, try, learn, evolve.

A few examples of content that stood out in 2019:


Realize not every piece is precious.

It’s time some realism is applied to the social space. When it comes to content production and revisions, we need to ask the hard questions that help keep our teams grounded and sane.

Does the creative effort match the distibrution, the reach earned, the engagement rate? The shelf life on social is way too short to spend hours of back and forth on non-hero pieces.

We should of course tweak pieces as necessary, but also need to remember not every piece is precious. Create, distribute, learn, refine.

So much of what we create is fleeting. The shelf life of content dies quickly. In 2020 perspective, and some realism, matters.


But for the precious pieces, invest in paid.

Not every social media piece is precious, but for the ones that are, the content needs to get its due. Any piece of hero creative that is important to the brand should have paid dollars to support it.

Thanks to algorithms, it’s much harder to reach consumers organically these days. Yes, in a lot of cases organic reach is a dismal 1 to 2% on brand accounts these days (yikes). To ensure the distribution matches the production effort, content needs a boost.

This quote from this GREAT article in Adage says it best:

In 2020, it’s time for teams to be realistic about the state of organic reach and invest in boosting content where and when it makes sense. The days of free exposure are long gone. Invest in pay-to-play.


Understand social is not the savior.

Sometimes it feels like all other marketing channels don’t exist. There’s an immense amount of pressure on social teams to be everything to everyone. They have to inform, entertain, engage, sell tickets, support sponsorships, drive community, etc, etc, etc.

As someone who has built a career in social it pains me to say this, but social is not the savior. These channels alone can not carry the weight of an organization’s marketing priorities — not even close.

In 2020 it’s time to remember that social media is a tool in the toolbox. And while powerful they may be, these expectations the they can be “everything” are diluting the real power of the platforms.

Social media is a piece of the puzzle, but it’s not the answer to everything. Just because you can put anything up online & “easily”, doesn’t mean it moves the needle.

Know the purpose of the puzzle piece.


Apply the filter of emotion.

This makes the list every year in every year in some form or fashion, but content needs to elicit some kind of feeling.

Emotion is one of the most powerful tools we have as marketers. Whether it is thrill, awe, empathy or humor, content that evokes emotions connects with the fan in a way that compels them to pay attention. It’s the most important component in creating valuable content.

In 2020, it’s time to apply the filter of “emotion” to content online. I’ve never seen a video take off that didn’t evoke something in people. When looking to create, understand the feeling you want people to walk away with.

Jonah Berger said it best in his book Contagious: When we care, we share. Emotion is the most powerful tool in getting people to share. Tap into it.
If you want some inspiration on content that evokes emotion, below are a few standout pieces:

https://twitter.com/LSUfootball/status/1216715940609523712?s=20


Find partners that elevate.

For the most part, it seems like the industry understands the fundamental need to not just slap a logo on things. We know that the best digital partnerships are the ones that make sense for our brand and the partner. Synergy in the content wins. 

In 2020, it’s time to take digital sponsorships to the next level and invest in partners that invest in your big ideas and objectives. How can we partner with brands that will help us reach a new audience? Drive home our core brand messaging? Support an initiative we couldn’t get off the ground without their support? 

Digital partnerships shouldn’t just be about a partner’s goals; they should also be about an organization’s goals. It’s time to find partnerships that go beyond a simple content series.  

In 2020, invest in partners and digital partnership ideas that elevate your presence … we can call digital partnerships 2.0.


Take creative cues from TikTok.

TikTok is the new kid on the block that has taken the social world by storm. According to App Annie’s annual report, time spent in the short-form video app grew 210% year-over-year in 2019 globally.

The wildly popular allows people to create 15-second videos using a strong library of songs, Snapchat-style filters and other interesting visual effects.

Memes. Challenges. Humor. Rawness. All of that lives on this platform. And, we should be paying attention to the trends.

In 2020, teams should take creative cues from TikTok on what makes video content so successful. Short, raw, funny, relatable. While these trends might not work across all platforms (and TikTok might not be right for your brand), it certainly give us cues for where content consumption is going. Keep a pulse on it.

For all the fuss about long form, TikTok proves the appetite for short-form is alive and well. Don’t ignore the trends surfacing here.

@philadelphiaeagles

Not much has changed? #baby #fyp #foryou #eagles #flyeaglesfly

♬ bAbY – smoltammy


Build a culture that doesn’t burnout.

Too often social media is a thankless job. Teams work around the clock, nonstop. It’s a true grind that very little people understand. Sadly, the environment often leads to burnout.

In 2020, it’s time for organizations to truly invest in building a culture that helps prevent burnout. Structure teams the right way. Invest in growth for employees. Make sure salaries reflect the work put in. Offer autonomy. Celebrate balance.

If the sports industry doesn’t take balance and compensation seriously it will continue to lose really good and talented people. Focus on your people and their well-being.

https://twitter.com/JRGStreet/status/1206621452625047552


Owned & operated matters.

It’s a little ironic that we put so much emphasis on platforms we have zero control over. Algorithms change. Consumers leave. Reach diminishes. There’s little we can do about it.


We’ve shifted so much focus to social platforms that we’ve lost sight of a really important key: owned channels and first-party data. Social media is a shiny, public-facing and fun tool that’s a huge and important part of your digital strategy. But, social is a piece of a larger digital ecosystem. In 2020, it’s time to stop putting your eggs in one basket.

First-party data allows us to build smarter and more personalized marketing campaigns. And, more importantly, it allows us to drive long-term loyalty with our fans. It’s time to take back our relationship with our fans and focus on our owned channels and lead gen strategies as much as social. Your relationship with your fans is the most important thing you have. Own it.


More inspiration from #smsports friends:


Now it’s your turn to sound off! What would you like to see in social media + sports in 2020?

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Innovation Through Strong Creative & Content Is Key

In the early days of social media, you couldn’t even upload a photo to Twitter (gasp). Innovation then was linked to platform updates. Every day it seemed like there was a new feature, new rollout and new way to tell your story with the rise of “visual platforms”.

It’s 2019 and we’re no longer experiencing a rise of “visual platforms”.  The internet and social media became visual playground long ago and it’s here to stay.  As a result, innovation on a day-to-day basis is less about platform updates and more about to push the envelope through creative, content and unique executions.

In the early days of social, people were obsessed with platform updates. How can we be the first to do x? How can we know the latest updates right away? How can we experiment with the latest and greatest?

It’s time to take that same mentality and apply it to content. If you aren’t obsessed with how you can bring your brand to life in innovative ways then you’ll get lost in the noise. Innovation through strong creative and content is key.

The teams, leagues and brands that stand out on social are the ones that obsess over how they can tell their story in unique and different ways. So much of what we do today is driven by creative. How can your brand offer something different than everybody else?

There are no hard fast rules when it comes to pushing the limits of creative and content, but a few things to keep in mind:


Start with a content strategy (aka know your why).

Too often in social we throw things at the wall. We test and we try, without understanding the why. This fly-by approach means that teams are creating content that doesn’t necessarily move the needle on the business objectives.

The only work that really matters is work that has the larger picture in mind. The best way to ensure that everything the team is creating has a purpose is to put your plan to paper. Take the time to define what a content strategy looks like and how it maps back to the larger goals.

When you put your plan to paper it gives the the team purpose, permission to focus to what is important and defines a box for creative to play in. More on creating a content strategy here.


Quality > output.

Output for the sake of output is one of the worst things about digital today. It’s caused a seam of sameness and an incredible amount of noise.

Marketing has never been measured by the volume of content though. It’s measured by the quality and effectiveness of the work, and it’s time everyone that works in social media reminds themselves of that.  

Digital leaders today need to give their teams permission to focus less on volume and more on quality. The daily churn of content becomes a toxic cycle that is hard to break. It’s a cycle where teams become burnt out, content becomes stale and consumers start to turn out.

Good content doesn’t happen overnight. There’s a process and it takes time. Say no to content for the sake of content and yes to content that elevates your brand, engages fan and moves the needle on business objectives.


Encourage experimentation.

Sometimes teams get so caught up in chasing likes that they become scared to try something new. Highlights work, so highlights are what is shared all day long.

When we become obsessed with vanity metrics and have no larger vision, then it’s easy to fall into a state of complacency and sameness. We find that “one thing” that works and we keep doing it over and over again.

This sort of routine might work for a little while, but in this fast-changing world of the internet, things will eventually become stale.  

The reality is we don’t know what truly works well unless we try. And, it’s our job in this industry to push new ways of thinking, storytelling and creating.

Leaders must foster an environment where experimentation is encouraged in order to stay ahead of the curve and keep things fresh. Experimentation shouldn’t just be allowed, but celebrated.


Success is multifaceted.

Too often social teams look at success in a one dimensional way. Just because highlights are the best performing piece of content does not mean that’s the only type of content that should be shared. Don’t let engagement metrics pigeon-hold the team to sharing the same thing over and over and over again.

When teams have a clear and defined content strategy, then measuring success should map back to that. Success is not just about engagement alone. Success is also defined by how well the team tells the brand’s story, the content franchises that are brought to life, how the story is executed, etc.  

Social channels are multi-dimensional for teams and leagues allowing them to tell their complete story, engage with fans and drive revenue. And because of that, how we define success should be multifaceted too.


Think like a programmer.

Too often social teams suffer from the fear of missing out. There’s a sense that we have to cover everything, all the time.

Batting practice and pregame warm ups are a good example of this. Before every game, across every league, you are guaranteed to see the same exact pregame pictures and video over and over and over again. It becomes a tired story very quickly.

When teams get in the mindset of covering, we start doing and dumping without understanding why. Think about Instagram on game days. So many posts upwards of 20 times and garner less than a 2% engagement rate. That’s a serious flag that we need to give thought to content volume and distribution. A less than 2 percent engagement rate should show a serious need to pivot (and no, don’t blame it on the algorithm).

Instead of “covering” everything, think about how to “program” everything. Look at the totality of the season and curate a plan that shows every moment, every angle, every storyline over time. The *over time* is key here.

Teams don’t have to dump everything on fans all at once. Consider what has already been covered and offer up something different. With a plan and the focus on curating smartly, the story can unfold in a natural and organic fashion over time– without being intrusive to fans’ feeds.


Obsess over execution & variety.

Execution is where good ideas go to die, so don’t spend all your time obsessing over ideas and forget to emphasize the need to execute right.  How teams produce and package their content has become as critical as the content idea itself.

Creative execution is what separates the best from the rest. When teams focus on the details of the creative execution they are more likely to create something that captures attention, fits the platform and is the best reflection of the brand.

Obsessing over execution does not mean that production value has to be high or overproduced. It simply means that you’ve taken the time to make sure the idea comes to life right.

In addition, there are so many ways to bring a story to life. Whether teams turn stills into moving image, leverage illustrations or tap into a strong video edit it should be a priority for have variety in creative executions. Obsess over all those ways you can bring your story to life and execute right. It matters.


Okay, so are you to push the envelopes of your creative and content? Here’s a wide range of content lately that will provide some inspiration:


Ohio State & Braves– Package Your Assets
I’m a big believer in finding ways to package your assets together. Instead of flooding your feed with a million photos and videos from a practice, game or moment, executions like the below allows teams to leverage multiple assets to piece together a story in an engaging way:


Oklahoma & Mariners– Simple Edit Brings The Fire
When I talk about obsessing over creative execution, it does not mean that everything has to be overdone and complicated. Below are a few examples of simple and clean edits that still bring the fire, whether they offer unique access and perspective or evoke emotion:


Brooklyn Nets – Subtle Motion
Subtle motion helps to capture the eye and pull people in without making them wait for information to unfold (like a long-drawn-out animation can do). Don’t have motion be a nuance. Use motion to pull people in while still making it easy and quick for them to get the information they want and need.


Purdue Basketball – Humanizing Through Stills

Purdue Basketball launched a content series that shares the meaning behind student-athletes’ tattoos. The series is a great example of how to showcase a more human side of players. The best part is they leveraged stills, not video, which could be an easy route to execute if face time is limited with players.


Miami Heat – Split Screen to Engage
Highlights are everywhere these days, so it’s important for teams to think through how they can leverage highlights in different ways. The below from Miami is a great example of a clean split-screen execution used to engage fans:

https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1163561003075985410


Other Unique Edits & Creative Executions That Have Stood Out Recently

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Z2cGInBZB/


In today’s overcrowded landscape, how we push creative and content to new places is key. Invest in a strong vision around content and empower teams to work their magic.

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