Seven Social Media Lessons Learned in 2013

I believe one of the keys to being successful in social media is taking the time to measure, evaluate and tweak. In an industry that is constantly evolving, we have to sit back and reflect. As 2013 comes to a close, now is the perfect opportunity to put all the pieces to your social media puzzle together—what worked, what didn’t work, what stays, what goes, etc.

Instead of reflecting on my lessons learned, I thought it would be good to get perspective from people across different organizations in sports business.  The contributors, ranging from those in professional sports to agency work, provided valuable insight for us all. Without further ado, here are seven social media lessons learned from some very bright minds in sports:

1. It’s important to tell a cohesive brand story.

Josh Tucker, Social Media Coordinator for LA Dodgers

In 2013 it really hit me how important it is to tell a cohesive brand story on social — add value and communicate engaging stories that evoke emotional responses from fans. This applies to any personality, non-profit, brand, etc. What is your story? Define it, share it, and allow fans to contribute to your story. For a sports team in the digital age, there are so many important initiatives and messages to convey — sales, sponsorship, community, marketing, stadium operations, tune-in messages, and so on. It’s imperative that you find your narrative; otherwise it’s easy to drown in the fire hose.

Also, I thought this quote by Verne Lundquist was beyond brilliant: “The most destructive four-letter word in social media isn’t a cuss word, it’s ‘send.’ I think we’ve all learned this one way or another.

Connect with Josh: @joshbtucker
Follow the LA Dodgers: Facebook / Twitter
Josh helped lead the LA Dodgers to a big year in social media. Read about it here.

2.  Flexibility is key.

Julie Dolak, Manager of Digital of Social Media for Tampa Bay Sports & Entertainment

I think the biggest takeaway for social media in 2013 was establishing the flexibility within your company to mare timing and opportunity for maximum social marketing success. Big brands like adidas stole the show on social media by preparing for major news regarding their sponsored athletes, such as Derrick Rose, with a complete social content strategy to stay top of mind as consumers discussed the athlete on social media. It’s imperative to establish flexible marketing dollars to elevate well timed, branded content to engage in conversations with consumers around your brand on social platforms.

Connect with Julia on Twitter: @JulieDolak
Follow The Tampa Bay Lightning: Facebook / Twitter

3. Positivity goes a long way.

Mark Hodgkin, Senior Director of Digital Media for American Athletic Conference

This year was a difficult one for our conference – there has been a lot of negativity, skepticism and bitterness related to the breakup of the BIG EAST and reconstitution as the American Athletic Conference. For a long time, we have been extra careful in social not to elicit snark and negativity from our fans. This year we decided to be unrelentingly positive on social. The results were a pleasant surprise – the typical negativity did not completely disappear but we saw a new wave of strong influencers take our back and it has been great for our social presence.

Connect with Mark: @Mark_Hodgkin
Follow the American Athletic Conference: Facebook / Twitter

4.  Branding matters, so find your garnish.

Jim Delaney, President at Activate Sports & Entertainment

My ‘ah-ha moment’ this year actually had nothing to do with social or sports biz, but nonetheless has further influenced my approach to both.  It was an article in AdAge about Keith Villa, the founding brewmaster of my favorite beer, Blue Moon.  In it, Villa talked about how Coors was on the verge of shuttering the brand entirely, until his breakthrough of serving his beer with an orange… and sales took off from there.  The story reminded me once again that branding matters and the garnish — your extra little touches, how you serve up and deliver your product — can actually have the biggest impact on your business.

We’ve taken a brand-first approach to our work with pro teams in social too, with the launch of digital networks for the NJ Devils (Mission Control), Boston Bruins (D.E.N.) and Minnesota Wild (#StateOfHockey Digital Network).  Each of those teams has generated new revenue from their committed efforts, but I’m especially pleased that they will each end this year among the top five in the NHL in terms of Klout score and social fan engagement, No. 1 -3 among U.S. teams. Find your garnish!

Connect with Jim: @activate
Learn more about Activate Sports & Entertainment here.

5. Take the time to listen and learn.

Derrick Docket, Assistant Commissioner of New Media and Technology for Missouri Valley Conference

In social media, people spend a lot of time reacting and broadcasting. It’s easy to get into a habit and stick with it. But what about listening? We always hear that social media is meant to be interactive and conversational. Well, you can’t have a conversation if you’re not listening, right? Take a second to listen to what your fans are saying. You just might hear something worthwhile. After all, that’s your audience.

Also, it doesn’t hurt to listen to the experiences of others. I’ve learned that the best resources for learning are people in the same boat as you. Social media has given everyone the opportunity to network like we’ve never seen before – in real time. Sharing ideas and getting different perspectives has become a valuable learning tool that can assist in everyone’s education. Don’t miss out.

And finally, by no means do I consider myself an expert at social. But I continue to be amazed at the levels of engagement that the Missouri Valley Conference receives in the summer months with #MVCMascotMadness. For the past 3 summers, we’ve allowed fans to vote for their favorite mascot in the conference in a tournament-style vote. Sounds like nothing, but it has quickly become a fan favorite and has become a fun way for our fans to engage in the summer, a time frame that is normally quiet for us. What started as a light-hearted conversation in the office has become a summer tradition.

Connect with Derrick: @ddocket
Follow the Missouri Valley Conference: Twitter / Facebook

6. Don’t assume fans are receiving your message.

Andrew Lentz, Assistant Director of Digital Media for U of Oklahoma

During a campaign we ran earlier in the year, I was blown away by how many of our fans that were actively participating with our hashtag but weren’t actually following us on Twitter. Whether certain fans are unaware of your social media presence or had just unfollowed you at some point, you can’t assume that they’re automatically following you and seeing your messages. It’s easy to get caught up in creating content for your platforms and executing your social media plan, but it’s ultimately only half the battle. Engaging with your fans has to go beyond the ones that show up in your mentions. Proactively join the conversations that are happening about your teams and don’t underestimate the impact that can have for your brand.

Connect with Andrew: @ALentzOU
Follow the Sooners: Facebook / Twitter

7.  There is value in meaningful content.

Kevin DeShazo, Owner of Fieldhouse Media

I think the biggest moment for me was to see how significant sports are to social media. A stat came out that 50 percent of tweets about TV programs are about sports, while less than 2 percent of TV programming is sports. My social media world revolves around sports so it’s easy to live in that vacuum, but those numbers show that social media truly is the second screen of choice for sports fans. I think the takeaway is that, from the perspective of a brand (pro or college team/athletic department), we have to get better at providing engaging, meaningful content that goes far beyond play-by-play or general updates. I feel like I just rattled off a bunch of cliché buzzwords, but they still hold weight. The more valuable content we give them (for free), the more attached they get and the more we can then follow-up with an ask (tickets, apparel, voting for contests, etc).

Connect with Kevin:  @KevinDeShazo
Learn more about Fieldhouse Media here.

 

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Now it’s your time to share… what was your biggest social media lesson learned in 2013?

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