Up today: A wrap up of the 10 Best Digital and Social Media Ideas from the Ivy League.
If you’re joining late, we began our journey with a look at the Pac-12, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, ACC, American, Atlantic 10, WCC, MVC, and MEAC.
Hope you enjoy…
10. Selfies Show Context
Social Media has always been about giving the ability for individuals to share their point of view, in a moment. Sometimes I even wonder if the concept of selfies became popular simply because they could act as visual confirmation that you were there. Or, at their best, they can offer an incredible opportunity: the ability to share context for your point of view, visually.
As you’ll see in this post from Brown Lacrosse, they shared a look into the team as they traveled towards Denver. The image is a glimpse into the program, but it’s also a glimpse into the personality and individuality – a look into the culture of the team… Which is likely why fans followed you in the first place!
9. Harvard Shows Us a Strong Story Is Deep
Training. Teamwork. Competition. Triumph. Injury. Camaraderie. These words are true for any program… but we seldom see them all put together in one piece of content. As you’ll see in the trailer below for Harvard Wrestling, appropriately titled “Harvard Strong”, we see these dimensions of life as a student athlete come together in anticipation of a season. All too often our stories are focused fully on the glamorous side of sports – the big highlights… when the reality is those highlights were only possible because of what happened months before.
Then they led with wrestling. Great stories emerge from where they are the most authentic. Stories from any sport can portray life as a student athlete and values of an athletics department in ways that lift up the other sports. All teams lift up your program.
8. It’s the Scene Before the Scene that Matters
Often times in social media, we are very focused on the moment. Sometimes I wonder if our focus on the moment makes us miss the moment that matters most – that anticipation and anxiety that happens before games, meetings, or workouts. As you’ll see in this Instagram post from Dartmouth, there is a great deal of power in seeing the stage before it becomes a stage. This strategy both gives a visually pristine, insider look to a venue and it reminds followers that graduation will be happening soon.
7. Slow Down. Share What You Learned
Do you share what you are doing or do you share what you learned? As you’ll see in the video here from Harvard Athletics, there is power in sharing learnings. This video takes three graduating seniors and lets them reflect on what they have learned, their “Senior Perspective”, that they can share with others. It’s a story about living in the moment but not realizing it. It’s a story about growth. And, importantly, it’s a story of personal and team success.
The idea positions Harvard as a more connected brand with both their fans and with future recruits for three subtle reasons that often get lost in the realtime world of social media:
- Sharing Is Humanizing: When we share what we learn, it automatically shows that we are works-in-progress. Now, imagine if they applied this idea throughout the season (or careers) rather than simply at the end!
- The Program is Innovative: Ironically, when you share learnings you show your focus is on getting better. Thus, the act of learning is a step towards progress.
- Journeys are Longer Than You Think: It’s hard to reflect without slowing down. When we slow down, we immerse ourselves even more in the journey of our program.
6. Dartmouth’s Video to Incoming Students
What’s it like to be a student-athlete? Well, back up even further… What’s it like to be a student?
That’s the premise behind this fantastic video from Dartmouth Athletics that covers things from the challenges of balancing to the opportunity it unlocks for you. This storytelling works because of its authenticity (telling us the good and bad of life in college) and due to its value (these insights are incredibly valuable not just to student athletes but also to students!) And, importantly, this positions Dartmouth Athletics as a resource that can help the entire university.
Now what if we took it a step further? What if we let prospective students ask questions to the stars of this video? A great story starts the conversation and now social media could take things one key step forward in making the program feel approachable…
5. Cornell Shares Context
When it comes to sports, the scores are always there for the world to see and know if you’ve won or lost. But when it comes to the world away from sports, it seems like we never know.
Maybe that’s why I liked seeing the post below from Cornell. While this post didn’t tell us that their marketing had won or lost, it did give us an interesting starting point: they had roughly 14,000 views to live events last year. This sharing of information creates opportunity – for Cornell to continue on this path and set goals on engagement or viewership. And, importantly, when you reach your goals, celebrate together!
4. Columbia Shares Shares
One of the best signs of success is when a fan shares (or retweets/repins) what you share. They are putting their own personal seal of approval onto your message and passing it along to those who they are personally connected with. But what does this mean for the future of digital in sports? Today, on a visit to GoColumbiaLions.com, we see a step in this direction.
As you’ll note in the upper right-hand corner of their athletics website, Columbia serves up two ways of seeing the news. Most recent or Most recently shared. While this isn’t as visually powerful as we may see on a social network, it is a really interesting concept: bubble up to the surface what fans are interacting with. This does two important things: 1) It Keeps Your Site Current and Updated and 2) It Keeps Your Site Relevant to the Moment. And it does both, automatically…
This is simply the beginning of where things can and should go.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
3. Harvard Makes it a Game
Maybe this comment is biased by the fact that I have a 4-year-old at home… but it seems like no matter what in life if you want others to do something you should consider three things:
- Are your instructions clear?
- Is there a benefit to following? (Or a sense of urgency)?
- Is it fun?
Harvard takes this approach in asking fans to explore GoCrimson.com. As you’ll see in the series of posts below, they are very specific – asking fans to locate a teal shield. They create a sense of urgency through the timeline. And, of course they make it fun through tips.
Ironically, they don’t even tell us what the prize is, which is fine — if the reward is fun this time, more fans will be a part of the next round. And the result of this experience is a more personal connection between the Harvard brand and fans.
2. Harvard Elevates a Program through Visuals
Visuals don’t just tell a story — they tell your story. That’s a key thought to keep in mind when you develop a content strategy for your program. Harvard Athletics is seeking to show that they are not simply an Academics institution in New England. They are hoping to draw talent to their program from across the country. Visuals can reinforce this story.
Harvard Athletics created a powerful visual, “The United States of Harvard Football,” that shows us at a glance that this is a national program. Texas, Florida, and California are represented – showing that football hotbeds end up at Harvard. And, importantly, this post is aspirational – showing that the best athletes come together as one program to create an impact that goes beyond themselves.
The takeaway, ironically, shifts from “Harvard is a regional program” to “I wonder why there aren’t any players at Harvard from Missouri or Mississippi?” And that is a great example of the power of the right visual!
1. Why Brown Wednesdays
Why should an athletics program even be on social media? Social media for a program is first and foremost about building a brand… in a way that can draw others to you. Brown Football takes this to heart by introducing a format to share the reasons for choosing Brown. As you’ll see below, the reasons are personal, visual, and add up to something over time. When you drop this idea into social media, the potential to grow not just their program but their brand is explosive.
“Why Brown Wednesday?” #1-Winning 15 of 20 seasons of 3rd place or higher under Phil Estes including 3 rings! #wbw pic.twitter.com/NhM6nDW9TE
— Brown Bears Football (@BrownUFootball) June 11, 2014
Why Brown Wednesday reason #3: Facilities! New weight room, practice fields and more to come! Check it out! #wbw pic.twitter.com/Mce0UrBDl6
— Brown Bears Football (@BrownUFootball) June 25, 2014
Why Brown Wednesday reason #8-Providence! TheRenaissance City has so much to offer. #WBW http://t.co/p61W1eDp9b pic.twitter.com/5lQfcu8tUn
— Brown Bears Football (@BrownUFootball) July 30, 2014
Stay tuned to this blog for more best practices. If you like what you see, you can also follow along on Twitter (I’m @andypawlowski).
Up Next: America East Conference.
Thanks for reading,
Andy