As some of you may know I’m a huge basketball fan and I live in the UK. A few years ago this meant following the NBA could be difficult at times. It often resulted in struggling to stay awake at work or school after staying up until 4 a.m. the previous night to watch a…
Tag Archives | Social Media
Sports Debate: What Athletes Should Be Using Social Media?
Question: Who can benefit more from social media: small-time or big-time athletes? Ryan: My initial reaction is small time athletes and big-time athletes once their career is in a decline. I will start with the argument for small-time athletes. Upper echelon and mainstream athletes already have significant followings. Many have endorsement deals, sell tons of…
How Athletes Can Build Their Personal Brand
It’s no surprise professional athletes are using social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and even Ustream everyday. Being an ex pro athlete myself (even on a smaller scale than the NFL) I loved connecting with my fans before and after games. I had my regular group of fans that would come down by the field…
Social Media as Sponsorship Street Cred
Fact: blue chip brands receive thousands of sponsorship proposals every year. Estimate: there are some 300,000 properties seeking sponsorship (depending on the way you define it). How do you break through the relentless clutter to get the ear and sincere consideration of a sponsorship decision maker? A well researched and tailored proposal may increase your…
What Happened to the Old Gilbert Arenas?
Update: Today, Gilbert Arenas was suspended indefinitely and without pay from the National Basketball Association. Keep in mind that this article was published before the suspension was announced. A couple of months ago, I wrote a post about Gilbert Arenas, calling him the true pioneer of social media. Far before Shaq had 2.7 million followers…
For Iverson and the Sixers, the Answer is Social Media
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…
7 Social Media Tips for Sponsorship Sales
Marketers, and especially sports marketers, in my opinion are vastly more educated in social media than the majority of other professions. Â 99% of the talk about social media, however, is on how it can be used to market to consumers. Are there social media tips and tricks sponsorship pros can use to better support their…
Social Media Report Card – The MLB
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…
Social Media Report Card – The NHL
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…
The Bowl Conundrum Structure Needs Public Relations Help
BCS. Sometimes that’s all you have to say to launch a storm of criticism about today’s way to select the best team in college football. Just ask Bill Hancock, last week’s newly named executive director of the Bowl Championship Series. To be sure, Hancock is no Johnny-come-lately. He was the first director of the Final…
Social Media Report Card – The NBA
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…
Top 100 Ways to Build Your Sports Career Using Social Media
Though I am already lucky enough to have a job in sports that I love, I never stop trying to accumulate industry knowledge or competitive intelligence, if you will. Below are the top 100 ways I’ve found and/or witnessed others using to help further develop their career in sports. The first 90 have are all…