Okay, so maybe it’s not quite time to put away the cold calling lists forever, but we might be getting close. Let’s explore the alternative.
Social media has a powerful way of putting a face to a name, a person behind a brand, and information from around the world at your fingertips. With the click of a Like, Follow, or making someone a 1st Connection, you’ve turned a cold lead into a warm one. Through the digital universe you are able to skip the company receptionist and have quick access to the communicator at the company of your choice.
In the sport business anyone can be a future client. There are those who like the sport personally, others who enjoy your entertainment for clients, or even those who help facilitate large group outings in a sport setting. If everyone you meet has the power of being your next client, how do you decide where it’s best to spend your time?
The information we need to find quality leads most often can’t be found on the front page of a company’s website. Facebook announced they have over 500 million users, Twitter claims over 190 million registered accounts, and LinkedIN rounds out its professional users to well over 50 million. This all sounds overwhelming to most, so where do you start? [click to continue…]
Kristen Sonsma has spent most of her sports career in ticket sales with experience in the AFL, MLS, and NHL. Connect with her on LinkedIn or on Twitter
A while back I talked about how using social networks focused on exclusivity like Path and Facebook Groups can give less social media savvy athletes an outlet in case they want to blow off some steam or share things with their intimate family and friends. This week, I want to talk about how exclusivity can help elevate the brand of athletes who are already doing a good job with social media and want to take it to the next level.
Before I begin, I want to make something clear. I am in no way suggesting that athletes ought to focus on using exclusive networks in lieu of mainstream public social networks, but rather as a complement networks like Twitter and Facebook in order to grow their brand in more creative ways. [click to continue…]
Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.
It is the third week of the Overtime Post, and both Lewis and I are on the road this week. Ironically, he went from the east coast to the west, and I’m going from the west to the east. Twitter is great, but nothing beats real hi-fives, fist pumps, and sharing stories in person. If you’re in New York for the week, I’d love to meet you, just shoot me a mail, and don’t get left behind in the offline networking shift!
I took Virgin America for the first time and they have this neat feature of being able to chat with other passengers on the plane according to seat number. Much props to them for trying to make the flight experience more social. It could be a cool tool for networking in the future. I’m literally writing this on a plane so I’m going to keep it short.
Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.
Whenever I get a chance to watch my Buckeyes crush opponents on television these days, I always catch myself checking my Twitter stream or Facebook feed in between plays and during commercial breaks. I may catch a commercial here or there, but for the most part, I am too busy socializing online about the game to pay attention.
Social media has become a regular part in my sports-watching experience. For kids growing up now, it’s a whole new ballgame than the one we grew up where we had to bear through every single advertisement impatiently wondering if there will be another first down. The geniuses at Espresso’s Infiltrators capture this essence perfectly in the deck below. They go through the age of sports that us ‘old folks’ went through and compare it with the new age of social media: sports 2.0. [click to continue…]
Being that I’m a huge sports fan and an avid social media user, I always wonder why there are no good sports-themed social networks. Many have tried, but none have succeeded.
In my opinion, sports and social media are a perfect marriage. Sports fans love to talk about sports. We spend hours of every day watching, reading, and talking about the teams and players that matter to us. Sports fans also love to show and demonstrate our pride. We want to show the world our allegiances. And most importantly, there are plenty of instances where sports and social media have succeeded!
I spoke to my boss and great friend AJ Vaynerchuk about it. He brought up a valid question: “is there really a problem there that needs to be fixed?”
I’m not sure of the answer, but I’m going to talk it through right now:
Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.
When talking to people about their social media plans, most will talk about Facebook and Twitter. Yes, these are the most popular platforms and we are all aware that Facebook has recently topped the 500 million mark.
But is this the right audience for your team?
Taking a step back from the technology and looking at who your target audience is and where they hanging out is the first step that any organization should take. You may be surprised with the results and it will certainly impact on your plans. [click to continue…]
We’re now starting to see more and more teams getting involved with social media. This is great, but I think it’s time they start to look beyond only utilizing the major platforms (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook) and really start to embrace more emerging and niche platforms (Ustream, Tumblr, Flickr).
Every platform offers something different and therefore appeals to different types of people. Facebook and Twitter are (currently) more popular than others and should demand more time and resources, but surely the fans that use these emerging platforms deserve some love too? And surely there is value in these platforms for teams?
Ash is the co-founder of FundSport.com a grassroots sports community providing sports clubs and athletes from around the world with professional, easy-to-understand advice and articles on all aspects of grassroots sport including sponsorship, fundraising, the Internet, social media, club management, PR and marketing. As well as being passionate about the development of grassroots sport Ash also has a keen involvement in the sports social media industry. You can follow Ash on Twitter at @ashread14
As the old saying goes, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” and this can’t ring more true than in the wide world of sports, specifically sponsorships sales. We are out there everyday trying to get in the door somehow and we have all heard the phrase, “Oh, I know someone I can call or email”.
Well, speaking from the trenches, it’s best to build on that network as much as possible. Networking now isn’t always about hitting the latest local networking event, which we all know is filled with the same sales people trying to sell each other and vying for the for real buyers in the room. It’s more about reaching out to our peers on a national level trying to develop a bond there that will someday pay off. Let’s face it we got into sponsorships because we want to get paid. So however you can achieve that should be your goal.
This is a video with my top ways to use social media. To be honest with you, I don’t talk about how this relates to the sports industry at all. However, all of these principles apply to your sports industry and social media marketing online. They also apply to helping you build your personal brand and get a job within the sports industry.
Did you have anything to add to the conversation? Did I leave anything important out? If so, please share them in the comments section below, and feel free to share this video with your friends.
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We’re now starting to see more and more teams getting involved with social media. This is great, but I think it’s time they start to look beyond only utilizing the major platforms (
(This is a guest article by Cabe Flesher)
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