For the record, I am a Sixers fan, and I love Allen Iverson.

The Background

Three years ago, yesterday, Allen Iverson asked for a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers. “As hard as it is to admit,” he said, “a change may be the best thing for everyone.” Eleven days later, Iverson was traded to the Denver Nuggets, seemingly having played his last game as a Sixer.

This September, Iverson signed with the Memphis Grizzlies. He played three games (starting none) and averaged 22 minutes, 12.3 points, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 rebounds. However, the veteran could not accept his role as a bench player, and his relationship with the Grizzlies quickly deteriorated. In early November, he left the team for personal reasons, and on November 25th, he announced his intentions to retire from the National Basketball Association.

Ironically, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Sixers starting point guard Lou Williams broke his jaw. Immediately, the rumors began. Will Allen Iverson rejoin the Sixers? With Williams out for eight weeks, the move actually made some sense for the team. Not only would they generate massive buzz, but they would have the chance to renew a once troubled relationship with one of the greatest players in their team’s history, a player who just wanted a chance to start and prove he still had game. All of the pieces fell into place, and Iverson signed a one year deal with the Sixers in early December, starting his first game two nights ago.

Why the Sixers made the move

Obviously, Allen Iverson is a great player and a future hall of famer. He ranks 6th all-time in points per game with an average of 27, behind NBA legends like Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. He’s a great player and he says he can still play. With the Sixers’ record well below .500, his scoring abilities were definitely a factor.

However, before Iverson signed with the team, the Sixers were having massive problems with ticket and merchandise sales, fan morale, and generating buzz. Without Iverson, they were looking at a half-empty arena for the foreseeable future, unless the young team could turn things around. With Iverson, they could generate immediate buzz (and jersey sales). Obviously, Iverson’s first game back was absolutely packed. Now, for the Sixers, the key is: how do they keep building on that initial buzz?

The Answer: Social Media

A major difference between Iverson’s last tenure with the Sixers and this one is that social media was not prevelant in the sports world back then. Now, the National Basketball Association is leading the way. Both the Sixers and Allen Iverson are on Twitter, so that’s a start.

My advice for the Sixers: make the rest of this season the “Allen Iverson Show.” He’s one of the greatest players in your team’s history, and more importantly, the fans of Philadelphia love him. You can start by taking advantage of all those extra tickets. It’s not like just because Iverson signed, you are going to sell out every game (or come close). So, here’s an idea: give away three (Iverson’s number) pairs of tickets in every section of the arena for three straight home games. Have your Twitter followers submit creative photos of themselves with their Iverson jersey/gear and give the tickets to the followers with the best photos. Then, give anyone who entered a coupon code for a pair of $3 tickets to a home game of their choice. Use Twitter as a place to inform the fans about anything and everything that is Allen Iverson. Post behind-the-scenes videos and photos, promote the Allen Iverson bobblehead giveaway you’ll surely have, and let people know that if they want news about AI, Twitter is their place.

My advice for Allen Iverson: Be you, be real, be honest, and keep showing the fans you care. For most people, you are that selfish bad guy who didn’t want to talk about practice. You say that’s not you anymore, that you’ve grown up and changed. I saw your emotional press conference, and I saw you kiss the floor after you were announced Monday night. We see your passion and your love and your good side, but that has to extend to social media. For starters, your Twitter profile still says you reside in Detroit and play for the Pistons. That needs to be fixed. Also, you need to stop letting other people take control of your account. All they do is link to your fan club and talk about Reebok! I saw, on September 25th, you wrote us a short Twitter novel about your experiences in Spain. It was great, but remember, Twitter is about 140 characters. If you take control of your account, tweet for yourself, and show the fans you care (e.g. film videos, respond to tweets), we will continue to show you love.

Conclusion

Obviously, the team has to have a balance of Allen Iverson and everyone else. They don’t want to create problems within the team because of Iverson’s presence. And clearly, if Iverson is a bust on the court this season or gets into some trouble, it won’t matter much what he’s doing in social media. But social media can provide both the Sixers and Allen Iverson with exactly what they’re looking for.

So, I’ve opened the conversation, and I’d love to continue it in the comment section below. How do you think the Sixers and Allen Iverson can capitalize on his comeback, knowing that the team wants to sell (tickets and merch) and Iverson wants to renew his image? How much of a role will/should social media play in all of this?

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About Sam Taggart

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.

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Ah, baseball. America’s past time. The game has been around, and flourished, for a long, long time. In recent years (since the mid 90′s), baseball has hit a rough patch, with the Steroids Era. However, baseball is trying to change its image, and social media is part of that effort. Social media makes sense for a game that is inherently social for its audience. Going to the ballpark is as much about the hot dogs, peanuts, beer, and conversation with friends, as it is about the action on the field. Let’s see how the MLB does in my final edition of “Social Media Report Card.”

Visibility: B

As expected, the MLB is taking advantage of the Internet’s two biggest social media platforms, and has just about 750,000 followers on Twitter and 45,000 fans on Facebook. The league has also integrated Twitter chat into its MLB.tv streams. Even Minor League Baseball has an account on Twitter, with several hundred followers. However, the MLB does not have an account on YouTube and they are aggressive about removing any of their content that is posted by fans. The MLB has also failed to utilize emerging platforms (e.g. DailyBooth, Ustream). So far, none of the four leagues have taken advantage of those platforms. The first to do so will not regret it.

Content: B-

The MLB posts content to Facebook and Twitter on a consistent basis. They do a decent job of mixing up their content with articles, videos, and promotions. My biggest issue with the MLB is that they are very, very protective of their video content. The NBA has an unbelievable YouTube channel, with over 13 million channel views and 170,000 subscribers. If Major League Baseball were more open with their content, they could see similar results.

Fan Interaction: C

Major League Baseball does engage with its fans to some extent, specifically on Twitter. The league tends to interact with several followers each day, most commonly retweeting people who mention the MLB in a favorable manner. Even though they interact more than the NBA or the NFL, the MLB has a lot more work to do on both Facebook and Twitter if they want to engage with a high percentage of their fans.

Player Involvement: C-

I have been judging this category based on two things: the involvement of each league’s superstars and the number of each league’s athletes engaging in social media. As far as the MLB’s biggest names and best players, very few of them are active. For example, of the two Cy Youngs (Tim Lincecum and Zack Greinke) and the two MVPs (Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer) this year, none are on Twitter. Nick Swisher, of the New York Yankees, is the most popular MLB player on Twitter, with over one million followers. Imagine what a more talented player and a bigger name could do. On its website, the MLB lists 28 players with confirmed Twitter accounts. That’s just three more players than are on one team’s active roster.

Overall: C+

The MLB has a lot of work to do as far as social media goes. The league needs to open up their stance on content, take advantage of YouTube, and begin to utilize emerging platforms. Also, they need to encourage more of their players to get involved. To have Nick Swisher as your best Twitter user signals a need for improvement, and to have only 27 other verified MLBers on Twitter is too low.

My point is, and has been throughout this series, that if the leagues are going to use social media, they need to get more involved as a whole. I understand that large organizations move slowly and the leagues are doing a lot of good things. However, I make a point of being critical because I know how much each of the leagues can do with more effort and a more open, forward-thinking attitude.

Last month, I set out to write “Social Media Report Cards” for each of the four major sports leagues (NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB). The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. I have had requests to continue the series with other leagues (something to look for in the future). Thanks for your support with these articles!

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About Sam Taggart

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.

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In full disclosure, VaynerMedia assists the National Hockey League with their online and social media presence. Therefore, to be fair, I will not be assigning the NHL letter grades as I have done for the NBA and the NFL, rather I will leave it to you, the reader, to decide the league’s grade. Please leave your grades/thoughts in the comment section below.

In recent years, people have argued whether or not the National Hockey League can still be considered one of the four major sports. Compared to football, baseball, and basketball, hockey has suffered considerably in terms of popularity. While hockey has kept its die-hard fan base, the average sports fan doesn’t seem to be interested. Now, through social media, the NHL is finding a way to rebuild themselves and to tell their story. They are trying to get creative and attract a new audience, and regain the visibility they once had. So, how are they doing?

Visibility

The NHL operates powerful Twitter (173,000+ followers and 1,350+ listed) and Facebook (175,000 fans) accounts. Also, the league has a Youtube channel with 3 million channel views and 47,000 subscribers. These numbers are lower for the NHL than they were for either the NBA or the NFL, but hockey is also a less popular sport at the moment. In the end, I would like to see the league utilize emerging platforms, like Ustream and Dailybooth, especially because the other leagues are not. It would help them stand apart.

Content

There is a nice variety of content coming from both the Twitter and Facebook accounts, as well as a steady stream of videos (generally game highlights and plays of the week) coming from the YouTube account. On Twitter, the NHL posts a wide range of content, including promotions, polls, video highlights, NHL.com articles, and most notably, #SaturdayNHLPicks, a popular contest being run by the league right now. The NHL updates each day on Facebook, as well, with a similar variety of content. Further, they have done video interviews and signed item giveaways on Twitter and Facebook with Kevin Smith, Mark Messier, and Alex Ovechkin. The real theme here is consistency. Fans and followers can expect content from the NHL each day, and I commend the league for that.

Interaction

The NHL does a decent job of interaction on Twitter, especially compared to the NBA and NFL (neither engages with followers on Twitter at all), @replying some amount of followers each day. Also, they are taking advantage of Twitter lists by creating a list of fans for each team in the league. That’s a nice way to get followers involved. On Facebook, the league’s engagement is very minimal. Some of the NHL’s statuses do include calls to action for the fans to interact, and the NHL sometimes responds to fans on the wall, but not enough. So, the league can do better with fan interaction.

Player Involvement

The NHL’s two biggest names are Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Crosby is not utilizing social media and Ovechkin’s last tweet was in late January. Ouch! Apart from these two, there are some other big names active on Twitter, including Mike Green, Martin Havlat, and Mike Commodore. However, in general, I don’t see a lot of players on Twitter, Facebook, or any other platform. It’s possible that the NHL’s player are just less intrigued by the spotlight, or more traditional than athletes from other leagues, however, they have to understand that social media is to their benefit, and pretty soon they will be criticized for not being involved.

Overall

It is hard to judge the NHL, especially against the other three major sports. Hockey has taken a tremendous hit in recent years and is finding it tough to compete with the NBA, NFL, or MLB in terms of popularity. However, they are trying to make a comeback, and the utilization of social media is part of that process. They have a tall mountain to climb, but they are already making progress. The NHL is about average in terms of visibility (I would like to see them take it to the next level with emerging platforms), and well above average in terms of content. The league also does a better job of interacting with fans than either the NBA or the NFL. However, their player involvement is low, for whatever reason.

While I cannot grade the NHL on their presence, what grade(s) would you give them? Take a look at my report cards for the NBA and for the NFL (linked at the top of this article) if you need some reference. Leave your thoughts in the comment section, and I will definitely respond with my opinions and feedback. Thanks!

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About Sam Taggart

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.

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Over the next four weeks, I am going to write about the social media presence of the four major sports: the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball. Over the past year or so, each league has adopted social media in its own way, and each league has had varying degrees of success. I will grade each sport on its visibility across social media platforms, as well as content, fan engagement, and player involvement. This week, we’re talking basketball.

Visibility: B

The NBA operates powerful accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, the three largest social media platforms at this time. On Facebook, the NBA has nearly 1.7 million fans. On Twitter, they have over 1.5 million followers. And on YouTube, the league has just under 13 million channel views and 163,000 subscribers. The NBA gets high marks for operating well-known and well-trafficked accounts across these platforms. The reason I’m giving the league a ‘B’ and not an ‘A’ is because they have failed to utilize emerging platforms that can provide incredible value for them (e.g. Ustream.tv, DailyBooth). Imagine if the league embraced live video streaming. What if David Stern did weekly live Q&A’s with fans, or if season ticket holders could talk with their team’s owner once per month? With the massive potential of these lesser-known platforms, the NBA could do wonders.

Content: A

Every day, the NBA posts content across all three of its social media accounts. On Facebook, the league posts everything from links to NBA.com articles, to videos (e.g. highlight reels, behind the scenes with the players), and photo albums. On Twitter, they post similar content, as well as in-game text updates. More importantly, the NBA @reply’s the accounts of its players and teams. By doing this, the NBA is promoting the use of social media within the league. Finally, the NBA posts videos on YouTube almost every day, including highlight dunks, passes, and shots, as well as top 10 plays of the day, week or month. So, by posting exciting content on a regular basis, the NBA gets an ‘A.’

Fan Interaction: F

One of the most important things for any brand (big or small, consumer or personal) to do on social media, is interact with fans and friends. Every day, thousands and thousands of basketball fans send Facebook and YouTube comments, public tweets, and direct messages to the NBA, but the league never responds. Last night, Jerry Rabosa wrote on the NBA’s Facebook fan page, “I LOVE THIS GAME.” And what did the NBA say? Nothing. Here the league had a chance to make the day of one of their fans just by saying thanks. Unfortunately for them, they missed out. The NBA fails at fan interaction.

Player Involvement: A-

For the simple fact that the world’s best Twitter user, @The_Real_Shaq, is an NBA player, they get an ‘A-’ for player involvement. It also helps that a large number of the league’s stars are on Twitter and/or Facebook, including Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, Kevin Durant, Paul Pierce, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Bosh. The NBA definitely encourages the players to use social media and promotes those who do. Once Kobe and Lebron get involved, it’s all over.

Overall: B

The NBA has really embraced social media. They operate powerful accounts on the relevant social networks. They provide engaging and exciting content to their fans on a daily basis. They openly promote the players and teams who have embraced social media on their own. However, the NBA can be doing more. If the league wants to be truly “amazing,” they should look into platforms such as Ustream, DailyBooth, and Tumblr, that are underused but have big upside. They also desperately need to interact with their fans. No excuses. My overall grade might seem harsh, especially because of the four major sports, they have consistently done the best job. They just aren’t pushing the envelope as much as they think they are.

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About Sam Taggart

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.

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Lewis asked me to discuss the benefits of blogging to enhance your sport marketing efforts this week. Being a huge advocate of blogging, this shouldn’t be a problem for me, but when I sat down to write the words didn’t flow.

I suspect because in my mind there’s a logical progression through navigating social media, and it doesn’t start with blogging. Using the framework set forth by Gary Hayes and Laurel Papworth (and expanded on by Valeria Maltoni) I’d like to start a mini-series on engaging social media for sports marketing.

As noted in the aforementioned framework, the first step is to involve.

My interpretation of involve is to completely immerse yourself into the social media stratosphere. Until you do this, and familiarize yourself with what is pertinent to you, your business, your brand, etc. then you are certainly not ready to create content (i.e. blogging).

What follows is a 1-month plan to becoming completely immersed in social media as it relates to sports.

Week 1: Read Relevant and Interesting Information

Go get Google reader. It is one of my favorite online tools, and it allows you to enter RSS feeds by clicking on the add a subscription button, and then pasting the feed to a website in the blank. One you start submitting sites it will even give you recommendations. [In the interest of space, I won’t detail out every step, but if you have any specific questions feel free to e-mail me or utilize the comments section of this post.]

Find some sites that interest you related to both sports and social media. It is important to follow both because being familiar with the current sports trends (and also what works for those websites) is important with respect to sports marketing, but so it your ability to learn from prominent social media blogs. Start big and then trickle down. Try Deadspin, The Big Lead, Sports by Brooks, Chris Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Seth Godin.

Also, consider using Alltop and Technorati to search for other relevant blogs you might be interested in potentially following.

Set up Google alerts for search times you want to monitor and how often you want these alerts sent to either your e-mail or Google reader. This will pull information you are interested in that you are not necessarily getting from the sites you subscribed to.

By the end of the week you should be getting a good feel for current trends in the sports industry, and also becoming relatively familiar with the social media space. During this process just focus on finding content that you find compelling; then towards the end of the week start thinking about how you could use what you’re learning about social media and how you could apply it to your sports marketing efforts.
 

Week 2: Listen to Relevant and Interesting Conversations

Now that you have familiarized yourself with a significant amount of both sports and social media content it is time to start learning about the influencers and thought leaders that are producing this content. More importantly, it is time to learn about the conversations they are having with others in this space.

I suggest using both Twitter and LinkedIn and their respective search features to (Here for Twitter) search for people that you found yourself admiring, learning a lot from, or those that were earning your respect as you delved into their content in week one. Follow them and just get a feel for the kinds of conversations they are having. Remember you’re still learning so that when it’s time to start creating your own content you won’t be fumbling through the forest with a blindfold on.

Lewis has a great article on ways to generate success with Linkedin, and I wrote about ways to use Twitter not too long ago. As you become acclimated to both sites I think it would benefit you to check out both articles to get a better grasp of how you can use the platforms more effectively.

[Note: Until you have something to offer people on LinkedIn, I would seek out people’s profiles and learn from them, but refrain from trying to add them to your network until you have reached out in other ways or have something valuable to offer them.]

Week 3: Learn what content “gets legs”

Two weeks down and you now probably have Google reader stuffed full of engaging feeds and your soaking up valuable content. You have started following influencers in the sports and social media fields and gotten a good grasp of the conversations they are having. In doing so you have familiarized yourself with the Twitter and LinkedIn platforms without rushing to try and do too much too soon.

Week three is about learning the types of content that “gets legs,” “goes viral,” and “becomes a pillar post.” All these phrases are just fancy Internet-speak for content that is very popular, well received, book-marked and passed around.

One of the best ways for determining this is to become familiar with social book-marking sites. I keep an archive of some of my favorite articles on delicious, but digg, stumbleupon, and Reddit are all viable options. By searching these sites for terms and using tabbed features to search (depending on the site you’re on) you can locate articles that have lots of bookmarks, representing the fact that other people found the content valuable.

Throughout the duration of week three pick a handful of these well received posts each day (let’s say 5-7) and read them. Understand the elements that go into making a great post. Are they long? Short? Bulleted Lists? Have great titles? Intriguing sub-headings? Chances are some common themes will begin to emerge. This is important because it will give you an idea of how to create great content when you are ready venture out and begin creating content of your very own.

Week 4: Participate in the conversation

Now that you have spent the last three weeks absorbing a significant amount of content you should have a good grasp on the kind of content that intrigues you, what the experts and thought leaders are talking about, and what elements make up an article or post you could be proud of.

So you think you’re ready to start your own sports marketing blog now?

Not quite. The final week of the month should be spent joining in and participating in the conversations on all the places you have been following for the past three weeks. Now would be a great time to re-visit the articles Lewis and I wrote, and start connecting with people who you want to get to know better.

Reach out on twitter by using the @insertusernamehere feature. Start joining groups on Linkedin and participating in discussions on Linkedin answers. Better yet ask a few questions. Share content that you have really enjoyed via Google reader, and start commenting and weighing in on the blogs that you have become acclimated to.

Following this one month plan to immersing yourself into social media will give you a great feel for this stratosphere, and also give you momentum and credibility once you decide to start creating your own content.

Honestly, I wish someone had given me this advice when I started because I spent the first few months of blogging working out a lot of kinks instead of hitting the ground running. Follow this advice for just one measly month and then enjoy the smooth sailing!

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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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This is a guest post by Ryan Stephens

The last post I did for Sports Networker was a very applicable, step-by-step approach to utilizing social media with respect to sports. It is a formula I will typically use when Lewis gives me the opportunity to share with you all.  However, this week I want to deviate a little bit and provide a call to action.  Call it a mini-manifesto if you want.

Despite Marc Meyer’s recent examples of sites elevating how we use social media with sports, it is no secret that sports in general have been slow to adopt social media.  Fans, now more than ever, are having conversations online with or without your sports brands.  The amount of fans and consumers adopting social media to create fan-generated media continues to increase at exponential rates.

Some sports franchises are even getting it right.  There are even a handful of athletes that “get it,” and in doing so they are elevating their personal brand.  If you are not a mega-superstar chances are you have time to give your fans access.  And what if you are?  Well, when Shaq sends a 140-character tweet empowering a young a fan because he rocked out in a local concert; that resonates with people.

So, why then have sports been so slow to adopt?  Maybe they just do not get it.  I could argue that professional sports have it all wrong these days.  I toured the Orlando Magic’s offices this summer and got to see their plans for their new stadium.  You know what their administration talked about the entire time?  Their luxury suites, that’s what.  We got to walk through them, and I assure you they are amazing, but only a select few people ever get to experience a game that way.

I’m not ignorant.  I get how much revenue those luxury boxes generate, but I also know what it is like to be regular fan that is thankful to get to attend a few games each year. How many people, especially during these current economic conditions fall into that category as opposed to the luxury suite fan?

Chances are those are the fans that are scattered all over the Internet, passionately talking about your sports brand.  It’s expensive to attend professional sporting events (and I don’t want to limit this discussion only to professional teams – there’s a broad spectrum that is guilty as charged).  Is it so wrong for these fans to want these sports brands to interact with them where they are already having conversations?  Where they can afford to be every night, chatting with friends and reading box scores?

So, how then do these entities strengthen their brand affiliation?

* Make their athletes more accessible

* Foster online fan communities

* Sponsor promotions, contests, etc. in their fans’ space

I am purposely leaving this list short because I want you to use the comments section to continue the discussion surrounding this issue and to offer your own suggestions.  Right now, there’s a huge opportunity for sports companies to leverage the power of social media and to learn valuable information from fans through their behaviors, preferences, etc.

As a word of caution do not just jump in without first learning and understanding the social media stratosphere, but start having important conversations.  Start right now talking to other people passionate about the intersection of sports and social media and have the discussion, “How is sports different and why does it matter?”

What questions do you have? Feel free to leave questions for me in the comments section.  I cannot promise I can and/or will answer them all, but I will try to answer as many as I can, and other may spark future post ideas so please don’t hesitate to contribute.

As always if you have any questions, by all means, I would love to help you anyway I can with respect to Twitter, social media or the intersection of sports and social media/web 2.0.

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You can read more about Ryan’s bio and contact information 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 Princeton Sports Symposium is one of those sports industry events that you just don’t want to miss out on. For those of you who did, its my goal to give you the best highlights from the event.

Although I was not able to cover everything, I did get a number of video interviews with some of the most prominent names in sports, along with some up and coming sports executives and companies.

Check out this video interview with Bill Rasmussen, a man who needs no introduction for the global beast of a brand he created with ESPN!  He breaks down how he got involved with ESPN and where his big break came from getting into the sports industry.

“Bill Rasmussen is truly the George Washington of ESPN.  His accomplishments, however, transcend the boundaries of the sports arena into areas beyond our wildest dreams.”  Chris Berman, 1993

Even though Bill is arguably considered the “President” of the sports, you would not think twice about this due to his genuine soul and humble heart.  It was a pleasure speaking with him, and I urge you to take a look at his latest company, College Fanz, and become involved with what may be the next best thing since ESPN.

I will be featuring other great video interviews from the Princeton Sports Symposium, plus interviews with pro bloggers from NYC who offer amazing advice on how to take your company or personal brand online, and make it famous.

Watch out!

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What are your thoughts on the comments Bill made in this interview?  Do you agree or disagree with him on the future of the sports industry?  Do you have a story that tops his?  If so, I’d love to hear it.

About Lewis Howes

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