bobmckamey

[bobmckamey]

Sports & Licensed Music

It started yesterday with Texas having their Football program account suspended on Twitter, and continued today with Missouri, South Florida and Georgia all getting tagged. Rumors flew about possible causes, and it turned out the issue was with using unlicensed music.

Every program wants to look cool to recruits so it makes sense to use cuts from popular music in videos posted on social media. At the end of the day it looks like the only punishment was removal of the offending videos and having the Twitter account suspended for an hour or two. Nobody likes to be showcased in a bad light on social media (especially so close to, and on, NSD), and looking through comments rival fans did have some fun, but big picture programs didn’t get hit that hard.

For reference you can use this site to search your program’s handle to see what notices have been applied - https://www.lumendatabase.org/

The issue isn’t just with college programs on social media, we dealt with it back in the early 00′s working on athlete official websites. Today the solution is to purchase a license with BMI to use popular music, or if that fee is too big for your budget there are multiple sites that offer access to music/effects clips for as little as $200 per year. Even Facebook has a library of music creators can use for free on their platform.

Our answer back in the day with the websites? Seeking out labels and artist management for partnerships. Examples of deals we made:

-Def Jam: use of their clips by keeping them under a certain length, crediting the artist, and in some cases creating a Flash-based music player with Def Jam branding. Even our agency site had a player with Ja Rule, DMX, LL Cool J, and Ludacris.

-Metallica: For Dale Jr’s site we reached out to their management about use of the song “Fuel” as the intro when the site opened.

-Katy Perry: Before Katy hit it big, her songs we’re on Danica Patrick’s site via a deal with Java Records.

-Paul Oakenfold: Daniela Hantuchova was an upcoming tennis star at the time, and we partnered with his reps to use “Starry Eyed Surprise” on her official site.

This can easily be done by programs today too, it just takes a little creativity and effort. The only difference is back then we could plug 3-4 songs in and keep them for months at a time. The distribution of programs today on social media is daily, so a partnership with a label and various artists makes more sense than the one-offs we were able to do. It should also be noted that NONE of our deals involved payments, we just outlined the benefits for each side.

So when you’re approaching the labels today, here’s a few things to keep in mind:

-Reach: most programs post their videos to Twitter, FB, and IG accounts, some even to a dedicated YouTube channel. So add up the total following, and outline the added exposure you can provide the label and artist.

-Credit: adding a simple credit line in your video is very simple to do. Don’t expect to ever do a deal w/out giving musical credit to the label and artist. An association with your average joe on social, not very attractive. The chance to be associated with a sports program, much more attractive. Can even agree to include their info in the post description for added exposure.

-Spotify: making a weekly or monthly promoted playlist of all the songs you used in that time-frame from said label provides them even more exposure.

-New Artist Promotion: many times the label may only be willing to offer music from up-and-coming artists, and that’s fine. Like with our site for Danica, you never know when the next Katy Perry could be debuting in one of your videos. Up-and-comers are the next stars so gives your program a chance to be on the cutting edge as well.

-Website: few programs have dedicated sites these days, but if you do that’s an easy opportunity to create a branded page for the label and showcase their music with direct links to purchase the music.

Lyric vs. Instrumental: perfect world you can do a deal for the lyric versions, but don’t be upset if you’re only able to use instrumental versions. Recruits and fans will know the beat, that’s what counts - instrumental cuts of popular music can be a HUGE advantage to helping your videos bring the right impression.

If you have the budget to pay for a full BMI license then you’re set, no worries. For the other programs with budget constraints, it will be interesting to see which becomes the first to form a creative partnership with a label.

[bobmckamey]

NFL Preseason Sponsor Posts on Instagram

In this quick review I take a look at how NFL teams have been integrating sponsors into their posts on Instagram (graphic and post text) during the Preseason. Graphics reviewed as of Aug. 30th.

 Takeaways:

Somewhat surprising the following teams didn’t have any sponsor-related posts in the last few weeks: Dolphins, Browns, Steelers, Chargers, Raiders, Lions, Packers, Seahawks.

Far too many teams still just randomly throw logos on a graphic with no qualifier (ie presented/sponsored by) and no description/tag within the post text. Especially troublesome when the sponsor has no noticeable tie or synergy to the photo.

Only two teams integrated a sponsor to their video posts (Jets – Gatorade, Chiefs – HyVee). Expect to see that number increase. By the way, really nice job by the Jets with their Gatorade branding integration with those videos.

No mention of the sponsor in most of the post’s text, not that hard to hit the return button after your main description text and provide a simple qualifier to help promote your partner.

Saw inconsistency in posting way too often (ie X of the Game should be posted for each game, not just one). Must be preseason testing...

Credit to teams that posted graphic concepts tied to a believable sponsor partner (ie Jets – On the Road with Toyota, Texans - On the Road with Hyundai, Panthers – Ford Drive of the Game, Cardinals – Home Field Advantage & Shea Homes, etc.).

 Team Samples:

Bills: Labatt Blue Presents “Fun Fact Friday” graphic. No mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYOOHTgFgwT/

#Bills Selfie Presented by Aeshetic Associates Centre graphic. Collage with feature logo and Presented by logo. No mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX5o-46Fct3/

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Patriots: Had three GameDay graphics – two had jetBlue and one with Dunkin Donuts random logos placed top left. No real rhyme or reason for the branding, and no mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYN0f4sArUF/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BXnZbIeghBO/

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Jets: Posted a few videos with the “Fueled by Gatorade (logo)” stamp – videos showed action from training camp and players using the product and other branding integration (ie towels, bottles). Good example of product use by the players. Post text also includes the known Gatorade branded tag: #WinFromWithin https://www.instagram.com/p/BYJqCSHAf16/

They tied a few posts tagged #MondayMotivation with the Municipal Credit Union branding on an action shot. Not a real strong synergistic fit. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYDgceIAcgA/

Much better fit here – using three bus boarding images integrated with “On The Road Presented by Toyota” branding. No mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX8x7b5gQ_U/

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Ravens:

Fan photo and sponsor logo for the “Fearless Fans of the Week” presented by @CareFirstBCBS. Sponsor logo includes the Live Fearless tag on the photo and full description in the post text. Feel like this could warrant a border to better house the sponsor branding and also go ahead and include a “Fearless Fans of the Week” header. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYN55tJHQsE/

#ThrowbackThursday presented by @MillerLite – includes lower right housing around the ML logo, and has a full description in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYLa8-ZnhS0/

Bose Photo of the Week – includes lower right branding, and full description in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYGfZd0n50J/

Happy Birthday (Name) script on player photo with Pandora logo top right. No sponsor mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYGLjzMHou3/

*Ravens also include Pandora Jewelry as a presenting sponsor of their overall IG Account.

On their Final Score graphics include a random Jeep logo. No sponsor mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXow83YHZ4E/

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Bengals: End of game graphic includes a Toyota logo – different size and location depending on the photo. Post text describes how they did in “the @ToyotaUSA Redzone”. Feel this could be better executed as a custom graphic, post text is also not consistent across graphics. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX_44_HllRt/

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Texans: Similar to Jets post, include a plane boarding photo with “On the Road presented by Hyundai” branding. Good sponsor match. No sponsor mentioned in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYJnCOvjwHV/

Photos during training camp include the “Training Camp presented by Xfinity” logo – natural fit for training camp jersey sponsors with solid repetitive branding when you post a lot of TC photos. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX8xjK4jKxq/

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Colts: On Final Score graphics integrate a random McDonald’s logo between the scores. No mention in the post text. Just has an odd feel. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX_4gmYAuHj/

They post several in-game photos, but one includes the “In Game Photos – Verizon” logo. Possibly better to make this a carousel post with multiple photos for more effect. No mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX_ohPDg21_/

Happy Birthday posts include Diamond Direct branding in bottom right.  No mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX_JlStgU6c/

Day before games include Verizon lower right branding. GameDay includes Toyota lower right branding. No mentions in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX9EW7UAwAF/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BX-rkSFgPna/

Bud Light sponsored graphics for “Teammates of the Game” https://www.instagram.com/p/BXv2Q8jgLHL/

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Jaguars: Promo for hosting your fantasy draft with Bud Light branding and product placement. Tagged in the post text as well. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXy5pgegjnk/

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Titans: Pre-game matchup stats with Papa John’s branding. This example includes a tag in the post text, but others do not. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX83fB3hS6K/

Game photo with “Microsoft Surface Snap Shot” bottom border branding. Partial mention in the post text. Appears to be a one-off though, as this is the only Surface post and they’ve played three games so far. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXt5B60h6cH/

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Broncos: Similar to Colts with Bud Light sponsored graphics for “Teammates of the Game” https://www.instagram.com/p/BYAYBIzFzOU/

GameDay infographic with King Soopers logo top right. No mention in the post text. Logos on islands with no qualifier text on the graphic or in the post text…see it way too often https://www.instagram.com/p/BX_iB6Yl7A6/

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Chiefs: Papa John’s Chiefs Win You Win promo graphic with logo and full description in post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX_9iiblHJi/

Pre-Game and Half-Time video with HyVee logo top right. A little random as it only shows in transition static graphics after the initial animation. No mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX9AGktFzlQ/

Game-related static images (Final, Halftime, GameDay, 24hrs) all include a Garmin logo, with no mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXol2MMlKMW/

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Cowboys: Photo of the week series with housed New Era logo top right, also qualifier and tag in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYCPNGdgGMw/

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Giants: GameDay graphic with NRG logo and hashtag top right corner. Tagged in post text as well, but noticed another GameDay graphic without the branding. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYDwPwhgDBM/

Aquafina All Access branding top right to showcase the “All-Access” locker room shot – also tagged in the post text. Noted the logo on a Final Score graphic as well, but no mention in the post text for that one. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYSB5r8Atbt/

24hr to kickoff motion graphic with Hubolt branding top center. Tagged and a hashtag included in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYCPMRVAmjC/

Travel shot with United plane in background and logo, also tagged in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYBvn4PA5zF/

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Eagles: Would be surprised if Nike pays for it, but noticed the Eagles randomly include the Swoosh on some graphics – no consistent branding, located anywhere and changes from black to white. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXqtQ0OFGtD/

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Redskins: GameDay graphic includes Pepsi logo bottom left on an island, with no mention in the post text. Other Preseason GameDay graphics did not include a sponsor logo. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYS_6FQgy8z/

Bud Light teammates edition here with the BL logo and NFL logo boxed top right. Tagged in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYBNKpXgjJX/

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Vikings: Happy Birthday post tagged with HyVee logo, no mention in post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYGpkfgD5Ym/

Wanted to note that the Vikings Instagram Group is sponsored by PrimeSport (sports travel company so natural fit) and the photos included, albeit very hard to read, Presented by PrimeSport text. No mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX8XGEjjK71/

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Bears: Caption Contest graphic with qualifier and Dunkin Donuts logo, also full description and tag in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXia3dHHYhm/

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Falcons: Countdown to Kickoff series with player jersey numbers and Coca-Cola logo bottom right. No mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYJLNs5hW6S/

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Panthers: Ford “Drive of the Game” branded graphic – good sponsor match, feel this could be expanded as a motion graphic or carousel feature with photos from the drive. No mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYOQUuTF3BP/

Top Performance stat graphic with Bud Light branding bottom right. No mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYM9HJrFO26/

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Saints: Similar to Texans with photos during training camp include the “Training Camp presented by Verizon” logo. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYLfHumAk3B/

Bud Light teammates edition with the BL logo and NFL logo boxed top right. Tagged in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYVz2FIgef6/

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Buccaneers: Promo for the Geico Social Wall with mascot and logo, also full description and tag in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYRhHmmDgOB/

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Cardinals: Finals Stats graphic with qualifier and Ford logo. No mention in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYAPU_flkd0/

Feature a weekly #FitzFridays post with Desert Schools Federal Credit Union logo. No mention in post text. Really like the Larry Fitzgerald play, but would like to see more depth to the sponsor tie. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX8TuXklk_Q/

Feature a series of “Home Field Advantage” stat graphics with qualifier and Shea Homes logo. Creative content tie. No mention in post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX3MinBFXq3/

Similar to Falcons Countdown to Kickoff series using player jersey numbers and “Road to the Regular Season Presented By Tire Pros of Arizona” logo. No mention in post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYYwgnKFrqQ

Power Performer stat graphic with SRP logo placement. Detailed description and tag in the post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXvc_3dFMDk/

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Rams: Similar to other teams with photos during training camp include the “Training Camp presented by AT&T” logo. No mention in post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX63Ok2gziv/

My City My Team My Rams user-content art submission promo with Corona Extra logo placement. No mention in post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX5wU48gtZF/

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49ers: 49ers Invasion post for road games with logo and presented by VividSeats mark. No mention in post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYG1mW2jFvG/

Similar to other teams with photos during training camp include the “Training Camp presented by SAP” logo. No mention in post text. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX3t8ORjJ6u/

[bobmckamey]

WNBA Draft - Twitter Insights

In doing prep for the upcoming NBA Draft (June 22nd), I did a quick rundown on how college and pro teams handled the WNBA Draft that went down last Thursday night.  Insights and observations are from Twitter only as I didn’t have time to do a full SM breakdown, and are primarily based only around the pick graphics, not any follow-up tweets (numbers as of 04.18 – 11:30AM CT)

 Engagement Leaders (Reply, RT, Like): As expected the #1 pics led the way in engagement. Interesting to note the power of UConn’s following helping Dallas to the second position on the pro side and taking third on the college side – strong showing for 3rd Round pick.

WNBA

San Antonio Stars – Pick 1, Rd 1 – 2,345

Dallas Wings – Pick 26, Rd 3 – 925

Seattle Storm – Pick 15, Rd 2 – 813

College

Washington Huskies – Pick 1, Rd 1 – 2,475

South Carolina Gamecocks – Pick 2, Rd 1 – 1,216

Connecticut Huskies – Pick 26, Rd 3 – 937

* Kentucky was 4th with the 33rd Pick in Rd 3 at 838. Along with UConn impressive showing for a 3rd Round pick.

 Overall

WNBA – 15,551

College – 18,563

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Design Insights: I’ve created a Pinterest board where all the pro and college pick graphics can be reviewed - https://www.pinterest.com/bobmckamey/2017-wnba-draft-picks.  Teams on the pro and college side used templates so I only included the highest pick (ie the Indiana Fever had four pics and you’ll only see #17 included).

#1 Pick The #1 pick is going to be the most looked at graphic of any draft so it makes sense to go the extra step and make this completely unique. On the pro side San Antonio did this and followed with a template for their 2nd and 3rd pics, so props to their creative team for realizing the stakes.

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Pinned Tweets Four teams used the pinned tweet feature (ND, ODU, KSU, WGB) to showcase their draftees, makes sense when you only have one pick in the draft and is a good way to keep the spotlight on them for any users that might hit the profile.

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RT’ing the Pick Found it interesting that on the pro side only 9 of 34 picks, and on the college side only 22 of 34 picks were RT’d. When the pro team Tweets out their pick with an image of your player and your brand why the hell wouldn’t you RT it, and vice versa on the college side.

It would seem obvious, but common sense doesn’t always prevail in marketing, so let’s take a deeper dive:

NBA vs. WNBA: Without a one-and-done situation in women’s college basketball it follows that fans form a deeper relationship with players that stick around for four years. As a pro team you want that college following/fandom to come along for the ride during the player’s pro years. So if you’re the Chicago Sky or Dallas Wings, etc., why not RT out South Carolina’s or Kentucky’s Tweet/Graphic – let your fans (maybe one is an alum from SC or UK) know who will be coming to town. WNBA ticket sales are no gimmie, so use all the help and tricks you can at your disposal.

Relationship Builder: On the college side, a relationship with the player’s pro team can start right from RT’ing the pick graphic. Get off to a good start, you never know when down the line you’ll be in need of assets of your former player in the pros and want to reach out to counterpart on the pro level.  Along the same lines – when you do tweet out picks, include the pro/college teams handle and tag them on the photo. For example on the pro side makes no sense for the Stars to not include the college program handles in the pick tweets.

Player Promotion/Recruiting: Also on the college side, why not promote your player being drafted from the team that picked her.  It’s their day, do all you can to put and keep the spotlight on them – plus you’re sending one more piece of content out to recruits that follow your timeline about how you just put a player in pros. Never stop recruiting.

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Chicago Sky: The Sky decided to Tweet out their Draft picks in all text, but they did post custom graphics on IG. You can’t afford to miss on marketing opportunities like Draft night, and this is a big miss.

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Jersey Swaps: Interesting to not see any pro or college teams use a jersey swap (full or partial) in the graphics. Simple enough to do and could have helped your program and player standout from the crowd (also another missed opportunity for recruiting content).

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Design Quality: If you quickly browse the images on the Pinterest board there are some definite quality/creative designs (Stanford), and some (college and pro) that I just can’t understand how they were ever approved. Not the place to call-out individual teams and programs for their design standards and creative acumen, but again Draft night is a marketing opportunity you can’t afford to miss on.

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The 3P’s – Program Pro Promotion: You see this all the time for college football and men’s college basketball touting how many overall picks a coach or program has had; program comparative graphics; how many #1’s, Top-3, Top-5, 1st Round, Lottery, etc. picks a program/coach has had. You see it in the lead up, day of, and day after. For example UConn has had a record five #1 picks since the WNBA draft began, doesn’t matter if they didn’t have a pick until the 3rd Rd this year would have been a great Draft lead-up graphic. Just a lot of impressive recruiting content left on the table by a lot of programs.  

A few I saw that did promote the 3P’s:

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[bobmckamey]

CFB Recruiting - College to Pro

In college recruiting it doesn’t matter what the sport is, potential recruits want to hear about who the coach/program has helped develop into a pro. Now that the NFL season has kicked off, it provides a great opportunity for programs to promote their pro alums on weekly basis.

This is no-brainer content for football programs to produce on a weekly basis (much easier than basketball/baseball programs that have longer pro seasons), so if your program has alums in the league be sure this is on your weekly content calendar.

Here’s a few samples after week one that can provide inspiration for your program. *The Noles also include graphics for Defense and Special Teams, and also take note of Washington showcasing a stats graphic.

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[bobmckamey]

2016 | NFL GameDay Graphics

The long wait for regular season NFL games is finally over, and with that comes a new batch (or so I thought) of GameDay graphics from the teams.

Below you’ll find a couple notes of interest, but you can browse the graphics all at once via Pinterest boards I’ve setup:

2016 Graphics

2015 Graphics

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Notes of Interest:

2016 Rams vs. 2015 Rams - the team is now in a different city, but interesting to look back.

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NY Giants 2016-2015 Template - templates, especially for GameDay bring up an interesting dilemma. On one hand they make it easy to update, and they allow you to check off marks for consistency and branding. On the other hand they really don’t generate any emotion from fans (ie they see the same thing every couple days or weekly), and they become nothing more than a general reminder.  The vast majority of college/pro football fans know when their teams play, so if you’re giving them a reminder give one that generates some emotion.

In football GameDay’s only come around 12 (college) to 16 (pro) times a year so it can be worth it to put in the extra time to generate unique graphics. If you are going the template route, which most NFL teams do, then at least change it up year to year. A new season brings on new hope for every team that didn’t win the SB, so just reusing last year’s template (sadly the Giants aren’t the only team) doesn’t cater at all to that feeling of new hope.

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Sponsorship - GameDay graphics seem like a no-brainer choice as part of a sponsor package, and we had a few teams integrate them:

The Broncos actually removed Bud Light from the 2016 graphic.

The Falcons and Chiefs included sponsor logos.

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Jags B/W - interesting to see the Jaguars use a white-out approach to their graphic, big contrast from last year’s, and will be interesting to see if they carry this through for the rest of their games.

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Most Improved - quick look at the most improved graphics from last year.

The Bucs made a huge improvement this year with a really well done collage graphic. (Also included a 12 image splice of the graphic on IG)

The Steelers and Lions had really bad graphics last year, so good to see some improvement this year.

The Browns didn’t have a graphic last year, so good to see them finally catching up.

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The Worst - somebody has to claim it, and unfortunately the Bengals didn’t want to give away their crown from last year, so they went with the Giants’ method and also used last year’s template. Sorry but an NFL team has to do better.

[bobmckamey]

Sample of the graphics our team produced for the 2016 NBA Draft.

[bobmckamey]

2016 Final Four - Social Snapshot

The Final Four tips off tonight, so it’s time for another quick review of the program’s social media efforts (2015 Review - 2014 Review).  Reminder that the review is on the program’s efforts, not the athletic departments. (All info & stats as of 2:00PM CST on April 1, 2016)

Program Directory

Oklahoma Sooners Athletic Department Website: http://www.soonersports.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31000&SPID=127260&SPSID=750395&DB_OEM_ID=31000

Program Website: NA

Coach Website: NA

Social Media Channels: https://twitter.com/OU_MBBall https://twitter.com/LonKruger https://www.facebook.com/OUMensBasketball https://www.instagram.com/ou_mbball/  https://www.periscope.tv/OU_MBBall https://vine.co/u/1166848213211619328 AD Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0863BEA46A20E61C Snapchat: OU_MBBall

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Villanova Wildcats Athletic Department Website: http://www.villanova.com/sports/m-baskbl/nova-m-baskbl-body.html

Program Website: NA

Coach Website: NA

Social Media Channels https://twitter.com/NovaMBB https://twitter.com/VUCoachJWright https://www.facebook.com/NovaBasketball https://www.instagram.com/novambb/ AD Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKP4bpxML-IGK6fZjUz2xq_7HaNzKWTz6

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Syracuse Orange Athletic Department Website: http://cuse.com/index.aspx?path=mbasket

Program Website: NA

Coach Website: http://www.jimboeheim.com/

Social Media Channels https://twitter.com/Cuse_MBB https://twitter.com/therealboeheim https://www.instagram.com/cuse_mbb/ AD Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL6iqvau07lWuItCE2IdtgGt8pFWNAw7T

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North Carolina Tar Heels Athletic Department Website: http://www.goheels.com/menshoops

Program Website: NA

Coach Website: NA

Social Media Channels https://twitter.com/UNC_Basketball https://www.instagram.com/uncbb/ https://www.pinterest.com/unchoops https://www.periscope.tv/unc_basketball AD Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ZfOcjA86neIz8G5eM1ysCYgC-Io3hY_

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Program Social Media Following:

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Program Social Media Breakdown:

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Instagram Spotlight: Quick look at what the programs have done on Instagram since Selection Sunday on March 13th. (Data as of 7PM CST on April 1, 2016)

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Top Level Findings:

Within the basketball sections on the AD websites, Syracuse does the best job of social media integration – including a main Social Media navigational tab with links for the Twitter and Instagram accounts, along with Coach Boeheim and his three assistant’s Twitter accounts. They also include a banner ad promoting the program’s social accounts: http://cuse.com/index.aspx?path=mbasket

None of the programs have a dedicated website, and only Coach Boeheim has an official website – but it is 100% self-promotion focused and does nothing to really help showcase the program: http://www.jimboeheim.com

Surprising to see UNC and Syracuse choose not to have official program Facebook pages. From a recruiting and overall social media & marketing strategy point of view it just makes no sense. Last year we saw Michigan State enter the Final Four with only a Twitter account, and they quickly caught on added official program Instagram and Facebook accounts for this season. Fully expect to see UNC and Syracuse to get with the program before the start of next season.

UNC’s Roy Williams is the only HC without a Twitter account. Jay Wright is the clear leader in properly using the platform.  He’s the most active with almost 3x as many tweets as Lon Kruger, and scrolling his timeline he’s the only coach to actively promote the program and the Final Four run. Coach Kruger has been inactive since Feb. 11th, and Coach Boeheim has only made 5 tweets since last November. Amazingly Boeheim’s is the most followed account (believe it was setup and hyped as part of his recent book launch – hence his web link goes to Harper Collins).

Interesting that of the “new” platforms on the block since last year (Vine, Periscope, Snapchat), only UNC and Oklahoma have dedicated program Periscope accounts, and only Oklahoma has a dedicated program Snapchat account (Syracuse does promote following CusePics on Snapchat), and Vine account (no posts since October 30, 2015 though).

None of the programs have a dedicated YouTube channel, but all except Oklahoma have updated playlists. OU last updated their Men’s Basketball playlist on June 16, 2014. For reference if you’re wondering about the advantages of having your own dedicated program channel, Duke Men’s Basketball’s channel has 47,391 subscribers and over 27 million views.

Surprising to see UNC have their own dedicated Pinterest account, and that they also promote it on their AD website Social Media Directory page. The account hasn’t been updated in over a year, and none of the boards are shopping focused or targeted to the platform’s main demo – females.

UNC and Villanova do a good job promoting the FF with the Twitter cover photos, while Oklahoma does a better job than Villanova promoting the FF with their Facebook cover photo.

All the programs do a good job with cross promotion of social accounts in their platform descriptions.

UNC (#HeelsLockIn), Syracuse (#CuseMode) and Villanova (LetsMarchNova) have done a good job promoting a consistent hashtag throughout March Madness, while Oklahoma’s use has been more random.

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Reference Articles:

Social Times – March Madness: UNC Dominates 2016 Final Four Buzz

Social Times – Syracuse Stuns College Basketball Fans, Social Networks

Twitter – The March Madness journey to the #FinalFour

Kyle Babson - #MarchMadness in Social Media: The Most Engaged College Basketball Programs – Sweet 16 Update

[bobmckamey]

Built-In Content: The Starting Lineup

If you’ve been following college basketball teams on social media this season you’re probably noticing more custom graphics showcasing the starting lineups. It’s a great built-in content topic for teams to create templates for, and below I’ll showcase a few.

If your team is lucky enough to have the same starting lineup for all, or a majority of the season, then this type of graphic won’t provide a lot of continued wow factor, but if done right it can still provide value: 1. It’s always good to promote your players, recruits like to see that a program will promote them in as many ways as possible - whenever possible put the spotlight on the players. 2. Most teams will post a GameDay graphic in the morning, so the Starting Lineup graphic posted closer to the opening tip can serve as a game reminder to fans.

Here’s a few examples I’ve noticed so far this season:

Arizona:

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Arkansas:

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Florida St.:

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Kansas - Gif:

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Kentucky:

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LSU:

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Marquette:

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Miami:

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Michigan St.:

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Notre Dame:

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Oklahoma St. - Gif:

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Purdue:

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Tennessee:

[bobmckamey]

Custom Graphics Showcase

Proud of the work we’ve done for some great partners:

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[bobmckamey]

NBA - Social Media Integration

The 2015-16 season tips tonight, so it’s time for another look at how teams are integrating social media on their team websites:

Team Key Findings:

Total # of SM Channels by Year:

Oct. 27, 2015 -178

Oct. 28, 2014 - 175

Nov. 21, 2013 - 181

May 10, 2012 - 143

Team Activation by Channel:

Green boxes mark additions, Red X’s mark removals, and Orange represents icons that Utah promotes but don’t link anywhere.

It should be noted that for this year’s review i removed channels such as SoundCloud and RebelMouse from consideration.

Foursquare has the honor this year of being removed league-wide, last year Flickr and SocailCam joined the ranks.

Interesting to note YouTube had four additions and removals to mark the most volatile channel.

Snapchat moved up five to a total of nine teams, and Vine moved up by four teams.

Milwaukee was the big team mover this year, after dropping five channels last year they added promotion of six to move up to eleven overall.

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Notes:

The Hornets included a universal icon link for Socialtopias - here’s hoping they promote it to their fans somewhere because they would have no idea what it’s for, or how it adds value to them as Hornets fans.

The Bulls did a good job of not only promoting players’ Twitter accounts, but including their other channels as well:

Pinterest - I’ve done several detailed reviews on Sports Teams and Pinterest, and what I’ve found is a significant number of teams promote it, but don’t update it. For example these teams promote it on their site, but they’ve left it inactive: Boston, Denver, Detroit, Indiana. Is there still value in promoting a channel that you haven’t updated in one year or for some teams up to two years? Google+ is another channel that you see promoted, but inactive - for example the Rockets promote it, but have only updated it once in the last year and half.

Back to the Rockets, they included a hashtag (#Pursuit) in their header, and when i checked their channels they carried it through which was nice to see. Their FB cover image included it, their Twitter cover image included it and they used it in Tweets, and it was also clearly visible on their Instagram posts.

In checking the NBA’s website, I noticed they were promoting the “Milq” channel, which allows you to build video playlists (NBA must not be big fans of YouTube):

The Lakers were one of the few teams to have a sponsored social media section. Surprised more teams don’t integrate this, a lot of opportunities if done correctly:

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Site Sponsorship: Another stat I wanted to point out, is that the number of teams integrating an overall site sponsorship only went up 3 from last year to 16 (out of 30 total). That’s still a pretty low number, and one has to wonder if it’s because the people doing the selling just don’t have experience in doing website-specific deals. Website strategy and sponsor integration strategy is becoming a lost skill in sports, especially with leagues going to overall templated formats and wanting more and more control (ie MLB, and joined by the NBA last year.)

A “site sponsorship” doesn’t have to be limited to a logo placement in the header, done right a deal can be worked out that benefits the team and more importantly their fans (value-add branded content, promotions, etc.).

Teams with sponsors:

http://www.nba.com/nets/ - SW24

http://www.nba.com/bulls/ - AT&T

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/ - Mountain Dew

http://www.nba.com/warriors/ - Kaiser Permanente

http://www.nba.com/pacers/ - Fan Duel

http://www.nba.com/lakers/ - Toyota

http://www.nba.com/bucks/ - Pick’n Save

http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/ - US Bank

http://www.nba.com/knicks/ - Chase

http://www.nba.com/sixers/ - DraftKings

http://www.nba.com/suns/ - Casino Arizona

http://www.nba.com/blazers/ - Moda

http://www.nba.com/kings/ - Kaiser Permanente

http://www.nba.com/spurs/ - HEB

http://www.nba.com/raptors/ - Bell

http://www.nba.com/jazz/ - Zions Bank

[bobmckamey]

NHL - Snapchat Integration

The NHL season is right around the corner, and this year’s breakout social channel is Snapchat. At the start of last season only three teams (Montreal, Tampa Bay, Washington) promoted the channel in some form on their team website. A quick review of team sites now shows 11 teams promoting the channel, and here’s a quick review of how they’re doing it:

Sharks –The Sharks include a universal icon, and link out to a Tweet promoting the account. Perhaps they’re just looking to cross-promote their Twitter account, but I’d recommend keeping users within the site when a channel doesn’t have branded web-based pages (ie like until recently Periscope): https://twitter.com/sanjosesharks/status/618970740730126340

Predators –The Preds include an icon on their main Social Media page, but it doesn’t link anywhere and there’s no info on the username. Not much value in this solution: http://predators.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=106848

Blackhawks –The Hawks include a universal icon, and link to a promotional graphic. Like the custom theme they’ve integrated on the logo, but a snap code integration could have been more beneficial, and also question why this needs to link to a page outside the website: http://1.cdn.nhle.com/blackhawks/images/upload/2015/01/snapchat-promo.jpg

Jets –The Jets include a universal icon, and link to a promotional graphic, but in contrast to the Hawks it’s within the site and also includes the snap code. On their main social page they also include a snap code icon and include their username. http://jets.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=107474

Blue Jackets –Columbus includes a universal icon, but the link just reloads the splash page. Not much value in this solution: http://bluejackets.nhl.com/index.html

Canadiens –Montreal includes an icon on their main Social page, but there’s no link. They include their @ username on the graphic so a social-savvy user could make the connection, but I’d still go a step further and link to an informational page on the channel. http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=106910

Red Wings –Detroit includes a universal icon, and links to a promotional graphic. They include the custom icon graphic and the snap code graphic with instructions: http://redwings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=106194

Rangers –The Rangers include a callout on their main Social Media page with details: http://rangers.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=79511

Penguins –The Pens include a universal icon, a sub-link on their Interactive section, and a icon on the main Social Media page that all links to a promotional page. The promo page includes a themed icon, snap code, and preview snaps. Nice job: http://penguins.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=99740&cmpid=bnb

Lightning –Tampa includes a sub link from their Social section under the ��Quick Social Connect” link. They include an icon and username, but no link. Interesting that they don’t include it on their universal icons, or the icon row on their main Social Media Page: http://lightning.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=83328

Capitals –The Caps include a universal icon, and link to their main Social Media page which includes their username and details on following: http://capitals.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=73655

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Notes:

The recommended play here would be to include a universal icon and then link it to an individual page within the site that includes: a custom-themed icon, snap code graphic, username, and provide details on how to follow the account. If you’re looking to go one step further, then include a preview of some of your more popular snaps (and remember to change them out periodically).

From our review of the NHL team sites, the Pens have provided a good sample, and for reference here’s a sample we created for NUFB: http://www.thewildcatway.com/snapchat

*In our team sites review it was interesting to see only the Red Wings promoting the Periscope channel - they include the icon, but link out to the general Periscope site instead of their own channel.

[bobmckamey]

NFL - Website Social Integration

An often overlooked aspect of a social media strategy is how you integrate and promote channels on your website. In the past I’ve reviewed NFL team integration in more detail, but in this post I provide a quick snapshot:

Team Key Findings

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Total # of SM Channels Integrated by year: • Sept. 15, 2915 - 168 • Sept. 03, 2014 – 161 • Sept. 05, 2013 – 155 • Oct. 31, 2012 - 126

Team Activation by Channel:

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Teams Promoting the Most Activations: 8 – Baltimore, Jacksonville, New England, Washington 7 – Atlanta, Denver, Philadelphia, San Diego 6 – Arizona, Carolina, Dallas, San Francisco, Tampa Bay

Teams Promoting the Least Activations: 3 – Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Minnesota, NYG, Oakland, St. Louis

Notes: • Snapchat goes from two (Saints, Eagles) to nine teams. • Vine goes from three (Patriots, Falcons, Eagles) to eight teams. • LinkedIn makes its first appearance with the Jags and Chiefs. • The Redskins are now the only team to include promotion of Reddit. • Foursquare is down from a high of eleven in 2012, to six teams. • Tumblr is now only promoted by the Saints (but it hasn’t been updated in 6 months). • Pinterest drops two and a total of 16. • Google+ still has 19 teams promoting the channel. • The 49ers are the only team to promote Flickr, but interestingly don’t promote their top-notch Vine account. • The 49ers still promote Tout and YouTube activations, but both are still  inactive as they haven’t posted a Tout since February 2, 2013 (http://www.tout.com/u/49ers), and a video since August 23, 2012 (www.youtube.com/user/sanfrancisco49ers).  

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Snapchat Integration Overview: Snapchat is the current flavor of the month for a lot of teams in hopes of reaching a younger audience (@JeffWMason notes as of July 19th that 24 of the 32 league teams have accounts), yet only nine teams promote it on their team website.

Here’s a quick look at how those teams integrate SC on their team website:

Ravens: Promote it in their “The Flock” social directory, and also via graphical callouts that include the scan-able image:

Broncos: Social Directory icon listing link (scan-able graphic)

Patriots: Link internally to old (01.25.15) promotional article:

Chargers: Link internally to promotional page (scan-able graphic):

Titans: Link internally to promotional article:

Cowboys: Link internally to old (07.22.14) promotional article:

Saints: Link internally to old (10.09.13) promotional article (includes video):

Eagles: Directory page icon listing (no link).

Lions: Have to be lucky to find it, as there is no icon or directory listing promotion, but they include a gallery in the Photos section – “Best Snaps of Week 1” – that fans sent their account.

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For reference, a great way to showcase and promote your account is with a teaser feature, and here’s an example that we created for Northwestern - include the QR code image so fans can quickly add your account, and then provide a sample of the snaps:

[bobmckamey]

Preseason Coaches Poll | “Built-in” Content Example

The preseason Amway Coaches Poll was released yesterday with the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes leading the way. In social media you often have to manufacture content, but the initial Coaches Poll provides a great example of “built-in” content that can easily be capitalized on by teams.

“Built-in” content is a social media manager’s best friend, because the given sport just serves you up the content on a silver platter - it’s just a matter of how creative you can get with it. In terms of college football other examples of built-in content would be Signing Day, the NFL Draft, Pre/Post-Season Awards, 100/50 Days to Kickoff, new uniforms, start of the NFL season, etc...there’s a list of around 50 if you just look.

Every sport provides built-in content, and every program has built-in content that it is completely unique - you just have to look.

Unfortunately in reviewing all of the Top-25 team’s Instagram accounts, only six teams correctly capitalized on the preseason rankings opportunity:

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Notes:

- Nice job by Clemson and FSU with the messaging on their graphics, and Tennessee on their post comment - that little extra by each gives the story more depth.

- In regard to Alabama - they didn’t post anything in relation to their #3 ranking, but when you’ve had as much success as they have and the standard is so high, then the #3 ranking was probably almost seen as a negative, and if they purposely chose not to promote it for that reason - then props to them.

[bobmckamey]

NBA Draft - College 1st Post Twitter Engagement

With the NBA Draft taking place last night, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the engagement from each college program on their first post once the pick had been made:

*All college team data as of June 26, 2015 at 8:30AM CST

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Notes:

Kentucky did post custom graphics, just not with their first post (2nd, 3rd, 2nd, 4th after the pick was made). Their highest engaged CG post was for Towns with 1,172.

Amazingly the Louisville program doesn’t have an official Twitter account. They posted a quote graphic on Instagram, and a short video (gif) on Facebook. The AD account did post a custom graphic on Twitter.

UNLV, Utah, and Wyoming first posts were RTs from other accounts. Utah made 10 RTs before making their own pick post.

LSU posted a video - interesting to note they also posted a CG three posts later that had a higher engagement # by almost double.

Props to Georgia State for posting a custom graphic - smaller programs need to take full advantage of having a 1st Round Draft Pick. Murray State should have done the same.

I’ve created a Pinterest Board to showcase some of the graphics college programs posted on social to promote the NBA Draft: https://www.pinterest.com/bobmckamey/custom-graphics-nba-draft/

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I’ve also created a Pinterest Board to showcase some of the graphics that NBA teams posted on social to promote their 1st Round picks: https://www.pinterest.com/bobmckamey/nba-draft-pick-graphics/

Notes:

On Instagram the following NBA teams did not make a custom graphic post, instead they chose to use traditional images:

7. Nuggets https://instagram.com/p/4X3KdDjA3s/?taken-by=nuggets

9. Hornets https://instagram.com/p/4X17lOLwFc/?taken-by=hornets

10. Heat https://instagram.com/p/4X34KtEMqw/?taken-by=miamiheat

11. Pacers https://instagram.com/p/4YAnvdmYe9/?taken-by=pacers

18. Rockets https://instagram.com/p/4X-UxaCEP1/?taken-by=houstonrockets

22. Bulls https://instagram.com/p/4YA9mtIWi2/?taken-by=chicagobulls

25. Memphis https://instagram.com/p/4YDIiBOjJ7/?taken-by=memgrizz

27. Lakers Did not promote the pick.

[bobmckamey]

#SMSports Notes

Couple social media and sports topics that caught my interest this past week:

1. Blackhawks & Bolts Facebook/Instagram In-Game Strategy:

Watching Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final as it got close to the final horn and the Hawks winning their 3rd Cup in 6 years I started checking their posts on FB and IG. One thing that really stuck out was no in-game updates (ie letting fans know they had gone up 1-0 and 2-0).  Taking a closer look it wasn’t just for Game 6, but how they managed both channels throughout the Final - all in-game updates were handled on Twitter and only GameDay and Final Score graphics were shared on FB and IG. 

Interesting to note the Bolts used a similar strategy: no in-game updates on FB, and only a few goal updates (no custom graphics) on IG. Common sense that Twitter is the goto platform for game update posts, but custom goal or period update graphics during the Cup Final is an opportunity i would not have passed up.

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2. USOpen.com Social Media Integration:

Normally I would do a detailed review of how the US Open is handling social media prior to the event start date (2014 Review), but I can pretty much sum up all their 2015 SM integration with this photo - really nothing throughout the site but a footer icon links list:

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3. Graeme McDowell on Periscope:

Great example of individual athlete promotion using the Periscope platform. This article will give you all the details, but thought this was great:

Graeme McDowell, the 2010 U.S. Open champion, also used the app to give a glimpse into one of his practice rounds, then positioned his cellphone on the lectern Tuesday afternoon and live-streamed his own press conference.

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4. Michigan Launches All-Sports Recruiting Site:

The University of Michigan Athletics Dept launched an all-sports recruiting site this week (full details) - www.ThisIsMichigan.com The concept has been done before in varying concepts by other schools (top of mind ones include Baylor, Kentucky, VA Tech, Stanford, and St. John’s), and for sports other than Football and Men’s Basketball it’s a solid solution because usually they are not willing (or don’t have the budget) to spend on a dedicated program solution.

But if I’m leading the recruiting efforts for UMich Football or Men’s Basketball, I’m still looking at dedicated program solutions. The main issues: - the same template (content and design) is used for every sport (Team, Coaches, Facilities, Experience). - there is very little to no frequently updated content. - there is very little to no social content integration.

At the end of the day it becomes like what so many other recruiting sites today (and for the last 8 years) have been: an annual visit, a one-and-done. Check it out one time and wait for the opening video, the photos and the roster to be updated next year to come back for your second visit.

Again not to diminish what this type of concept could mean for sports other than the big two revenue earners, but in today’s competitive recruiting environment those two sports need a dedicated program site. Bottom-line too many athletic departments officials, and program recruiting staff still don’t understand what a dedicated recruiting site should do, and can do.

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5. CDW’s creative use of their suite at Lightning games:

Really good read on how CDW is changing the way they use their suite during Tampa Bay Lightning games. This got me thinking about how teams can better integrate social and digital into their suites perhaps with a tech sponsor basically outfitting every suite with a social/digital hub toed to how the team and fans use them during a game. Lots of possibilities.

- 6. Dale Jr takes fans along on his trip to Germany via Twitter:

Great example this week of an athlete bringing fans along for the journey as Dale Jr. has been sharing his trip to Germany with fans via his Twitter account.

From the flight over, to announcing his engagement, to giving German Travel Tips - he may be close to 5,000 miles away, but via social media he can allow fans to feel like they’re right there with him.

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[bobmckamey]

Stanley Cup Final - Social Media Snapshot

The puck drops on the Stanley Cup Final tomorrow night, so with this post I’ll provide a primer on the Blackhawks and Lightning’s social media activities. (all  stats as of 2:30PM CST on June 1, 2015)

Directory Links

Chicago Blackhawks: http://blackhawks.nhl.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nhlblackhawks

Twitter - https://twitter.com/NHLBlackhawks

Instagram - https://instagram.com/NHLBlackhawks/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/bhtv

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/NHLBlackhawks/

Google+ - https://plus.google.com/+chicagoblackhawks/posts

Vine - https://vine.co/u/914977551473065984

Snapchat - NHLBlackhawks

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/chicago-blackhawks

Foursquare - https://foursquare.com/nhlblackhawks

Tampa Bay Lighnting: http://lightning.nhl.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Lightning.NHL

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tblightning

Instagram - https://instagram.com/tblightning

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/TBLightningNHL

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/tblightning/

Google+ - https://plus.google.com/108528497142054433254/posts

Vine - https://vine.co/u/911305857772425216

Snapchat - LightningNHL

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/tampa-bay-lightning

Tumblr - http://tblightning.tumblr.com/

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Channel Stats

Followers:

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Breakout:

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Website Integration

Chicago Blackhawks:

Universal icon links for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat. They also include footer icons for: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. All link out except for Snapchat which goes to this graphical link.

Under “Multimedia” they include a Fan Mosaic feature.

Under “Fan Zone” - Contests they include a Divvy #Blackhawks Bike promotion. - Beard-a-thon includes a #HawksBeardathon social contest. - #WhatsYourGoalCampaign page via OfferPop is dead.

Also under “Fan Zone” is a Social Media sub with links for Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, and Foursquare. Twitter (NHLBlackhawks) link goes to overview page, and (Current Players) goes to Discover Page on Twitter.

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Tampa Bay Lightning:

Universal icon links for: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Vine. They also include a footer link for #BoltSocial which goes to their Social Hub page.

Tabbed module includes Twitter with a feed, and this is carried throughout the site in the right ad column. Also include a graphical callout for Twitter in ad rotation module.

Include a main nav “Social” section. The main page includes a Twitter feed module (@Lightning, #TBLightning, #BoltsSocial); Twitter Accounts listings (Players, Prospects, Personalities); and a Links listing for Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Digital Fan Pack page includes downloads for:Twitter Avatar, Twitter Header, and Facebook Cover. They also include a “Quick Social Connect” sub with links for: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, Vine, and YouTube.

Under “Fan Zone” - Promotions the include: #LexusTopPerformance, Malektronic #SoundsGreat, #LightningStrikes, #Boltsand47Brand.

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Social Notes

Facebook:

Lightning feature a Stanley Cup Final related cover image (including Florida Hospital as presenting sponsor), while Hawks feature their One Goal tag. Hawks don’t integrate any other channels, while the Lightning include a Instagram feed.

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Twitter:

Throughout the playoffs, the Lightning have been counting down games until winning the Cup in their profile name (ie 4 - @TBLightning), and they have also updated their description: Official Twitter of the 2015 Eastern Conference Champs. #GoBolts ⚡️

Their header image doesn’t mention the Stanley Cup Final, but does include mention of the playoffs and integrates Florida Hospital again as presenting sponsor.  Hawks remain consistent with the One Goal message.

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Instagram:

Activity since the Playoff started (Hawks - 4.15 | Bolts - 4.16)

Custom Image samples from each team:

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YouTube:

The channel is more a priority to the Hawks, as Bolts have uploaded 14 videos in the last year, and the Hawks have uploaded 36 in the last six month. Hawks also take advantage of the Featured Video option and creation of multiple playlists.

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Pinterest:

Hawks have an active channel with frequent pins, while the Bolts have been in-active for the last 51 weeks. 

Hawks have three boards related to commerce - one related to the their physical retail location, one promoting their NHL.com shop (hasn’t been updated in a year), and the remaining one is a Holiday Gift Guide (also no updates in over a year). 

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Google+:

Hawks have a large audience, but nothing unique related to content going on here. Mostly countdown graphics and nothing since before the playoffs started. Somewhat of missed opportunity with that large of a following (700K+).

The Bolts have an incorrect link from their team website (missing h in the address), but their strategy is to post videos from their YouTube channel (one post this year).

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Vine:

Bolts posted 7 times in January, but only 7 times since. 

Amazingly the Hawks had no posts from from June 28, 2013 until May 2, 2015. They have since posted 29 times.

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Snapchat:

Both are active on the channel:

. LinkedIn:

Hawks have the basic profile setup, while the Bolts have made posts every couple months (most recently 4 months ago). Their most recent post wasn’t really business related, but previous ones have been around tickets.

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Foursquare - Tumblr:

Hawks promote Foursquare on their website, but their last “Tip” post is from February 23, 2013. 

Bolts promote Tumblr on their website, but their last post is from October 9, 2014.

[bobmckamey]

NASCAR Drivers - 2015 Social Snapshot

This weekend at Dover marks the halfway point of the NASCAR season before the Chase starts, so lets take a look at the channel activations and follower numbers of the top drivers:

All numbers as of May 27, 2015 - 10PM CST.

Color Code: Green = new from last year; Yellow = in-active for over one month; Red = removed from last year.

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Notes:

Pinterest & Tumblr - Danica is once again the only drive with an active account on either channel (JJ’s Tumblr has been inactive for two years, and JG’s Pinterest has been inactive for one year). - Definitely get why drivers and their reps might not want to add Tumblr, but Pinterest would seem a good choice to help push merchandise and target the female fan category.

Google+ - Roush was a big first mover on the platform and helped build the follower numbers for their drivers at the time (Edwards, Biffle, Kenseth), but Biffle and Kenseth’s accounts are gone (losing 700,145 and 288,323 followers respectively). Edwards still has a huge following at 504,878, but the account has been dormant for two years. - Jimmie also has a huge follower # at 556,946, but he’s only had one update in the last six months. - Danica grew her follower # by 242,751 (4th largest platform gain) over the past year and remains active with weekly updates.

Vine - Eight of the nine drivers with accounts are in-active, only Kevin Harvick has properly maintained his account. 

Periscope & Snapchat - Jimmie and Joey Logano have been active on Snapchat, while Dale Jr. has taken to Periscope. Between the two platforms, Periscope seems the more likely to gain more driver adoption going forward.

Carl Edwards - The social media marketing of Carl is definitely interesting. He’s the last big-name driver not on Twitter, and his accounts on Facebook and Google+ are both in-active while still promoting him as a Roush & Ford driver. On top of it, his official website still is “under construction”. He moved to Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota this season, and has a new main sponsor in Arris - you’d think Carl, his reps, JGR, Toyota, Arris (and other sponsors Subway, Stanley, and Sports Clips) would want to capitalize on the power of social media marketing. 760K+ followers are waiting to hear from you Carl.

Chase Elliott - It will be interesting to follow Chase and how he manages social media over the next year. He’s the reigning Xfinity Series Champion, and will be moving up to Cup full-time next season with Hendrick Motorsports with full sponsor backing from NAPA. Along with Kyle Larson he truly represents the future of NASCAR, and is the right age (19) to truly capitalize on social media. 

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Numbers comparison to 05.08.14:

Largest Total Follower Gain: 1. Danica = 832,893; 2. Dale Jr = 832,719; 3. Jeff Gordon = 674,718

Largest Platform Follower Gain: 1. Dale Jr. Facebook = 441,612; 2. Dale Jr. Twitter = 351,532; 3. Danica Facebook = 346,856