Tag: social media

Creating Quick Content

By Guest On May 19, 2015 In Social Media

I try to live by a golden rule: Thou shall not post to Facebook without a graphic or photo.

Yes, I’m a firm believer  that content is an extremely powerful tool when it’s engaging, shareable and tugs at the consumer. Studies and statistics have proven that visual content is king. Here’s proof— & more here— in case you need it.

As community managers, there are several hurdles we often face when it comes to creating content. Whether we don’t have enough time, the right programs or a background in graphic design, it’s much easier to throw up a link than to go through the hassle of creating a graphic.  Let me tell you a little secret:
You can create great content on a whim, without Photoshop or any background in graphic design.

Yes! The ability to create share-worthy graphics is right at our fingertips, thanks to the smartphone.  See the picture I’ve created a picture below:

I’m sorry the picture isn’t brand related, but is my cute pup, so hopefully that makes up for it. I also went overboard on the editing (know it can look a lot more professional than this) just to give you an idea of the possibilities. So what’s the secret? For me, it’s the apps below:


My essential apps for creating great graphics are Snapseed, PhotoToaster, Instagram, PicFrame & Instafonts. Once you download the apps, just remember:

  1. They all have different capabilities, so I rarely create a graphic using just one app. Multiple filters from multiple apps can make a pretty interesting graphic.
  2. There’s also no exact science or step-by-step process to creating the perfect graphic from your phone.

I challenge you to download the apps, play around and see what you can create.

 

 

 

I have a lot more thoughts about creating content, especially in regards to sports brands, but we will leave that for another day. Until then, let me know what photo editing apps you can’t you live without below. 

Thanks for reading! 

Criticism & Crazy

By Guest On May 19, 2015 In Social Media with 2 Comments

It’s a very slow trend, but a few athletic departments have started promoting personal Twitter accounts of student-athletes on their various communication platforms. At first, I loved the idea. I’m a firm believer student-athletes should be allowed to use social media. It’s about education, not elimination.  So, why not give fans an inside look into what it’s like to be a student-athlete? Why not elevate the student-athletes who engage responsibly on social media?

But I’ve had concerns lately. It’s not about student-athletes saying the wrong thing on social media (though of course, that is a worry)… I’m concerned about promoting student-athlete accounts for two things they can’t control: Criticism & crazy.

 

1. Criticism

Criticism is a part of life, and sooner or later we all have to learn how to deal with it. The criticism student-athletes face on social media though is not the normal, constructive criticism received from a coach, job review, etc. Irrational fans get on social media after a loss and start name-calling, blaming, etc. Criticism on social media is rarely constructive.

If a student-athlete chooses to be on Twitter or any other social media platform, they have to face the reality that criticism will come. People find student-athlete Twitter handles whether or not the school promotes them, no doubt.

The issue: Do schools want to be the avenue for people to find student-athlete accounts, especially if that person only tweets negativity?

 

2. Crazed Fans, Stalkers, etc.

Social media gives fans a peek inside student-athletes lives like they’ve never had before; it also gives fans direct access to communicate with student-athletes.

Unfortunately, this direct access and peek inside personal lives can lead to not-so-good situations- stalkers, people who take advantage, etc. Again, this could happen whether or not the school promotes the student-athlete Twitter accounts.  

The issue: If an athletic department promotes personal Twitter accounts of student-athletes, and one of those student-athletes gets a stalker via social media, is the school accountable?  After all, the stalker saw the Twitter handle on the athletic department website.

It’s something to think about.

 

Bottom Line

Protecting student-athletes should be priority, so for me, it all comes down to accountability with the athletic departments. If a program promotes personal social media accounts, and something goes array (like a stalker), are the schools accountable?  I understand this isn’t something everyone will deal with, but there is always that chance. Schools need to have a plan in place, just in case.

 

 

 

What do you think? Is promoting the personal social media accounts of student-athletes a do or a don’t?

Thanks for reading! 

Numbers Game

By Guest On April 15, 2015 In Social Media

“Social media isn’t a numbers game in terms of quantity; social media is a numbers game in terms of quality. The truth is, it doesn’t matter how many followers your brand has in the social space if they aren’t engaging, listening, seeing. Quality fans are the ones consuming.”

What do you think?

Warning: Sponsored Post

By Guest On January 13, 2013 In Social Media

Oh, Runner’s World Magazine. As a big brand that’s socially savvy, I thought you would know better than to commit a deadly social media sin—screaming marketing messages to your fans.

Screen Shot 2013-01-24 at 3.56.57 PM

The truth is, most people don’t trust advertisements from brands; they trust their peers. Here’s the beauty though– when a brand fosters an online community, they create brand advocates. Brand advocates equal word of mouth advertising, the most valuable kind.

I understand every brand has talking points, sponsor plugs, etc. they have to push out. In order for those “marketing messages”  to have success in the social space, brands have to think outside the box. Create content, not just a billboard. Trust me, shareable content that fans engage with is much more valuable in the long run (no pun intended) to both a brand and their corporate sponsors.

Runner’s World Magazine’s tweet received 13 retweets. Not very engaging for a brand with 500,000 followers (0.0026 percent of their fans). Of course, I don’t know how many people actually clicked on the link, but I know one thing… seeing the tweet did not make we want to click through or check out the product at all.

Yes, the sponsored tweets are a major fail, not only for Runner’s World Magazine, but also for the companies of the products they are plugging. Here’s to no more posts labeled SPONSORED.