Tag: twitter

A Heart-to-Heart

By Guest On September 11, 2015 In Lessons Learned, Social Media

Dear Social Media Mangers,

Let’s have a heart-to-heart about today (September 11). I get it. We’re in an industry where our work is extremely public and any mistakes we make are mistakes made in front of thousands, possibly millions of other people.  We’re scrutinized when there’s a typo, told we need to learn where spellcheck is and anything and everything can be taken out of context. And, there’s no erasing it.

But this is the work we’ve decided to embark on. We know that one simple tweet can have a negative ripple effect- not just on you, your team or department- but also on the entire brand.

So while I get it, I have a plea to you and me and all of us in the industry. Please treat the platforms we’ve been given with a little more tender, loving care. A simple, thoughtful message is okay; product placement, logos everywhere, self-promotion & tackiness is not. Even more, companies need to learn the power of silence. Brands don’t need to stretch their relevance and interject into every conversation. On days like today, it’s up to us to put away our social media hats and focus on being genuine and human. Today is not about adding noise to the conversation, being relevant or about the number of likes. The message should be about the voice of your employees… real, genuine and heartfelt.

I know we’re all human, and yes, mistakes happen. But I’m begging you, let’s be a little more thoughtful with the power we’ve been given.  The more we make the platforms about us, the less we’ll get in return. Let’s get back to what social media is all about. That’s a real, genuine connection with the consumer… it’s not about you.

Jessica­

Tackling Social Media Myths

By Guest On September 8, 2013 In Facebook, Lessons Learned, Social Media, Twitter

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The social media industry is full of misconceptions. For anyone who works in the business, addressing the myths and misconceptions is often the hardest part of our jobs. Below are nine of the biggest myths I think are worth tackling. Be sure to share yours with me, too!

Myth #1- Social media is free.

Signing up for Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and the likes does not cost a dime, we all know that. If you want to do social media the right way though, you need content and manpower behind it. Great photos, graphics and videos do not come without a cost.

If social media is a priority, then you have to put the right resources behind it to generate the content that compels to your consumer. Remember, good content will carry a large load of your social media success.

Myth #2- You just need five minutes everyday.

Social media is about building relationships, understanding your consumers and molding your messages to make them meaningful to your audience.  This, my friends, cannot be done in five minutes. Scheduling any ‘ole tweet once a day, even if you have a million followers, is not social media success.

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Creating Infographics? Keep These Five Things In Mind.

By Guest On September 4, 2013 In Best Practices

There is a trend underway in the digital / social media + sports landscape, and we’ve seen it even more since football has started… data visualization.  Infographics are being used to replace game notes, celebrate wins, compare matchups, highlight student-athlete stats, etc.

I love this trend toward data visualization. It makes sense. Here are just a few reasons why:

  • People are visual by nature. Sixty five percent of us are visual learners, according to the Social Science Research Network.
  • They help increase traffic to your website. Publishers who use infographics grow in traffic an average of 12% more than those who don’t (source here).
  • Infographics are easier to consume. It takes us less than 1/10 of a second to get a sense of a visual scene (Merieb, E. N. & Hoehn, K. Human Anatomy & Physiology).
  • Still not convinced? This should do the trick.

If you decide infographics should be a part of your content plan– or they already are– here are five things you need to consider to make them bigger, better and more meaningful:

1. Make sure you have the basics down.
As with any piece of content, infographics need to have a purpose.  Content without purpose is like driving without a destination (it’s pointless). If you plan to create an infographic, make sure you have a firm understanding of the objectives, audience, goals, etc.  If you need help setting content marketing goals, this can help.

2. Try to find a common theme / story.
The best infographics I’ve seen use data to tell a story. It’s not enough to simply take data and turn it into a pretty picture. Take the time to figure out how you can weave all the data together to tell a story. Storytelling is a powerful mechanism that increases virality, so in the long run, the extra time spent number crunching and analyzing will be well worth it.

3. Create an amplification plan.
You can’t expect to post your infographic on the web and have it take off on it’s own;  it needs a push or two or more.  Make sure you come up with a plan for amplification before your infographic goes live. Figure out how you can slice and dice your infographic into smaller pieces of content for your social media platforms. Find the most tweet-able nuggets to share with a link to the full piece. Know which social media platforms it will do best on. Remember, really great content is worth sharing more than once.

4. Differentiate the content / theme from week-to-week.
If you plan to create an infographic every week (like game notes for football), make sure you have a content plan to differentiate the infographics. If your infographics look the same every week, you’ll eventually lose your audience. You don’t have to share every great nugget all at once.  Pace yourself. 

5. Measure your success.
One of the best things about the social and digital space is the instant access we have to feedback and data. Make sure you take a look at the data available to understand what worked with the infographic and what didn’t. Page views, reach, shares, engagement and sentiment are just a few ways you can measure success depending on your goals.

Now it’s your turn… have you used infographics before? If so, what were your keys to success?

Social Media Opportunities for the 2014 ESPYS

By Guest On July 18, 2013 In Social Media

Since I’m a self-proclaimed social media dork, I can’t help but to watch everything through a social lens. So, when I watched the ESPYS last night (which I love), I analyzed what else could be done.

I jotted down my suggestions and thought I would share them, just for fun. Let’s be real… these suggestions are not ground breaking. In fact, most of these suggestions are “old” in the world of social media. Nevertheless, here are a few easy and simple social integrations / suggestions I think could help the 2014 ESPYS:

 1.    Designate specific team hashtags for fans to use in the ‪#ESPYSBestTeam Twitter voting.

Designating specific team hashtags for fans to vote with seems to help rally the cause. Perhaps it’s because fans need a little more direction or it helps people feel more connected (I’m not really sure). I do know this… if the MLB’s All-Star voting was any indication… specific hashtags work.

2.    Share instant replays of the video montages for each awards category.

The video montages ESPN put together for the ESPYS is the type of content that does well in social media—compelling, powerful, emotional, etc. I would have liked to see ESPN do an “instant replay” with those videos, making them available on Twitter immediately after they were shown on the air.  After all, if you are going to produce that type of content, why not maximize it?

In ESPN’s defense, they did a great job of putting up the powerful speeches through the night… I just wish they hadn’t neglected the great content they produced FOR the show.

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Should Teams & Leagues Actively Engage With Fans on Twitter?

By Guest On July 15, 2013 In Best Practices, Lessons Learned, Twitter with 4 Comments

The other day I watched a wonderful SportsCenter Featured piece on two former high school wrestlers (one of the wrestlers is now a Paralympian) and an unlikely bond they formed with former ESPN producer Lisa Fenn. Since the feature was so compelling, I tweeted out the link. This is what followed:

I was impressed that I got a response from @USParalympics since I didn’t tag or mention them in my tweet. Their social media team knew the SportsCenter Featured piece was bound to get some traction, so they monitored the link (in all forms, long and shortened) and engaged with those who felt compelled to share the story.  Basically, they were capitalizing on a new, captive audience they had at the moment. Smart move.

Their tweet got me thinking about the importance of listening, engaging and building relationships on Twitter. All too often, brands just push on the platform. No longer is Twitter just a platform to inform; it’s a community where teams and leagues need to engage. 

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