March 2009

Get A Job In The Sports Industry Without Being “in” The Industry

by |March 25th, 2009

Ron Shapiro sheds his light on how he because one of the most influential figures in sports… and it wasn’t because he initially wanted to work in sports.

Thanks right.  You don’t have to set out with a ton of work experience “in” the sports industry.  You can be an expert at a certain skill in another industry, and then break in after you make your moves.

In theory, this could actually give you more of an advantage getting a job in the industry.  You don’t have to worry about being labeled as “that guy moving up” from an entry level job.  You don’t have to deal with the drama from a pro team or organization either.  You simply dominate your market from another industry, and apply as the expert at your skill.

Ron did this, and look where it took him.  What do you think?  Do you have to start in the sports industry to get a good job or should you get some experience elsewhere and come in with brass knuckles and taking names as they fall?  Share your thoughts in the comments section and feel free to add this video to your site by going to www.youtube.com/lewishowes and embedding the code from the video.

For those interested, this video was taken during the Princeton Sports Symposium.

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The Powerful Lesson of 3:59.4

by |March 24th, 2009

This article is part of “The Huddle” series by Frank Agin

On May 6th, 1954, an unidentified announcer gave the results for the recently completed race in a track and field meet being held at Oxford University. As he uttered “In the one-mile run, with a first place winning time of three-minutes …,” the crowd interrupted him, cheering in sheer excitement.

The winner of the race, the new world record holder and the first person to finish a mile in less than four minutes was Dr. Roger Bannister – a young medical student from Oxford University.  His official time, once the crowd permitted the announcer to continue, was 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds.

In the years following Dr. Bannister’s May 6, 1954 feat, hundreds of runners have run sub-four-minute miles (and some runners have achieved the feat hundreds of times themselves). In fact, later in May 1954, John Landy, a miler from Australia, also ran the mile in less than four minutes – lowering the world record for the mile to 3:58.0.

As of today, men over the age of 30 have run miles in less than four minutes as well as men over the age of 40. There are even women within striking distance of the sub-four-minute milestone. Currently, the world record is more than 15 seconds under four minutes.

However, prior to Dr. Bannister’s accomplishment, few believed that a human would ever break the four-minute-mile barrier. Experts from the athletic, medical and scientific community regarded running a sub-four-minute mile as an insurmountable limitation of the human body. After all, the previous world record of 4:01.3 had stood unchanged for nine years.

Despite what the experts said, Bannister thought otherwise. In his mind, it was not a question of whether or not someone could run a sub-four-minute mile. For Bannister the questions to be answered were “who” and “when.”

Bannister believed that someone would break the four-minute barrier. He believed that he was capable of doing it. He believed that his unique training methods would enable him to do it. And, in the end, his convictions and confidence carried him to world-renowned prominence.

The story of Dr. Roger Bannister’s sub-four-minute mile has a simple lesson for us in business and life. That lesson is that what others believe to be our abilities and limitations has absolutely no bearing on how high we can take ourselves. What does matter ultimately (and primarily), however, is what we believe to be our abilities and limitations.

Each of us needs to believe that within us is a “sub-four-minute type” performance regarding our personal or professional achievement. We need to believe that we have that performance where we cast aside all self-doubt and are feeling a “not if, but when” sort of confidence.  We need to endeavor to amaze those around us who do not believe – that population of so-called naysayers.

The lesson that Dr. Roger Bannister gave us in a particular 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds span of his life, is that for us to be as successful as we can be, the starting point is that we simply need to BELIEVE.

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Frank Agin writes a monthly sports themed networking series for SportsNetworker.com entitled “The Huddle“.  Frank is the founder and president of AmSpirit Business Connections and consults with individuals

and businesses on how to become more successful through networking. He is the author of two sports related novels,  Out of the Comfort Zone., and his latest hit, Rival.

 

 

 

Did you like this article?  Please write your comments below on your own sub 4-minute miles in your life and check out the other articles from “The Huddle”:

 

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How to Create Content Sports Fans Will Care About

by |March 15th, 2009

Blogging For Dummies

Image by SomewhatFrank

Using the framework set forth by Gary Hayes and Laurel Papworth (and expanded on by Valeria Maltoni) I’d like to continue the mini-series on using social media for sports marketing. Last time we talked about how to involve, and for this post I’d like to discuss how to begin the second phase, creation.

Creation boils down to making relevant content for communities of interest. Re-read that line, it doesn’t say make relevant content for your own interest, though I suspect the most successful bloggers are certainly interested in their niche and the value they can bring to the community.

If you take one thing away from this post, it should be that it is about your fans, and your customers, not about you. Read the Cluetrain manifesto to help you understand what the market wants.

So where does creation start?

There are so many different communication channels, and different mediums to produce content on that sometimes it is tough to know where you should start. Personally, I think a blog is the best place to start because it is a great hub from which you can branch off to other platforms. My friend Andy Drish likes to say that your blog is your home, and Twitter is happy hour, and I like that analogy.

Twitter is certainly the hot tool right now, but there’s only so much you can convey in 140 characters. Why not create content via your blog (or video i.e. YouTube), and then connect with people, promote your content, etc. via Twitter, social networks, Digg, etc.

Starting Your Blog:

Determine what you’re passionate about and where you can contribute the most value. See if there’s a hungry audience (or a market) for the kind of content you want to create. Start writing. If you’ve been taking the time to get acquainted with what is already out there via the involve stage, than you probably already have a good grasp of these things.

If you’re reading this blog, then chances are you’re very passionate about Sports. That’s great, but the chance of starting a really successful general sports blog is tough because there are already so many out there. You really have to find your unique value proposition and do something innovative.
Look at what Lewis has done with Sports Networker. He found a niche and has done a tremendous job exploiting it and providing value where there was a gap in the content currently being produced. Nobody was talking about sports networking, just like nobody was talking about Awful Announcing before that blog came along.

Pumping Out Content:

I know this sounds silly, but don’t sweat the quality of your content right at first. Start pumping out content as often as you can and let your readership grow, and then react. React to the kinds of things people are responding about, leaving comments to, and extending the conversation about.

For example, the first post I wrote on this blog about Twitter, and there was a huge response. I get it, I know people love Twitter, but remember that Twitter is a lot like Happy Hour. It’s a lot of fun, and you can go to it quickly and connect with a lot of people. After quite a few interactions you can start building real business relationships, but at some point you have to go home, and that’s your blog. Twitter should be a compliment to your other social media initiatives, not your one stop shop.

I know all of this, which is why I have tried to steer the conversation a bit, but I will inevitably go back to Twitter (most likely in my next post), because I know that’s what you guys want, and that’s invariably what is most important.

Re-Evaluation and Refinement:

After a few months, you will probably be a lot more comfortable with the content you’re creating via your blog. You will know what appeals to your audience, and where you can provide the most value. Hopefully, you’ll have a well-defined unique selling proposition that you can use to market your content to others moving forward.

This is the perfect time to take a step back and determine which route you want to go next? What is working? What isn’t? Do you want to keep writing about this particular topic? Do you want to quickly accelerate your readership?

It is important to periodically include this step in your content creation process because it enables you to hone in on what your goals are, and what steps you can take to achieve them.

 

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Are you thinking of starting your own blog about sports, sports marketing, etc.? Have you used this approach or some of these techniques to develop your blog? How do you use Twitter as a compliment to your blog?

Feel free to reach out to me in the comments section about any questions you might have about creating content to build your sports brand. I will do my best to answer every single one. And stay tuned for our next installment when I talk about the 3rd phase of using social media to build your sports brand, discussion.

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Ryan is an Associate Media Analyst at Sports Media Challenge where he helps champion social media strategies for sports, lifestyle and entertainment brands. In his spare time he serves as a social media consultant who is passionate about the power of web 2.0 and its ability to cultivate conversations, build relationships and spread of ideas. Feel free to leave your thoughts on his article in the comments section below, connect with him on his blog at Ryan Stephens Marketing or on Twitter @ryanstephens, and read the rest of his bio here.

About Ryan Stephens

Ryan is an Associate Media Analyst at Sports Media Challenge where he helps champion social media strategies for sports, lifestyle and entertainment brands. In his spare time he serves as a social media consultant who is passionate about the power of web 2.0 and its ability to cultivate conversations, build relationships and spread of ideas. Feel free to leave your thoughts on his article in the comments section below, connect with him on his blog at Ryan Stephens Marketing or on Twitter @ryanstephens, and read the rest of his bio here.

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The Ultimate Headphones for Athletes: Going Wireless!

by |March 6th, 2009

The new headphones by JayBird are a product sent from the heavens made specifically for athletes.  These headphones do just about everything except workout for you.  They are wireless which means you don’t have to string a chord up the back of your shirt or get it caught in your arm when you are out for a tough workout.

They also have Bluetooth built in so you can attach it to your phone and take calls in the middle of listening to your music.  Built in mic allows you to continue your workout with ease and transition back to your music.

Check out the JayBird in action at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio all weekend long!

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