Using Social Media and Content for
Effective Communications and
Marketing in Sport
Alana Fisher-Chejoski
Connect with me:
@aussiegoldy
http://linkedin.com/in/alana1
1. What social media is and is not.
2. The importance of content in social media.
3. How to develop and use social media
channels.
4. How to develop and use content.
5. Common mistakes in use of social media and
content .
6. Best practice case studies in sport and
elsewhere.
7. What you should do tomorrow.
On social media
• Social media is not going away and is not a fad. Social media is about
people and relationships, not technologies.
• Social media is a long-term relationship between your stakeholders
(incl. fans) and your organisation, not a short-term promotional
campaign.
 No one strategy will work for all organisations and/or brands. Your
social media strategy MUST link to your business objectives in order to
be successful.
• Listen (monitor/observe)  Plan  Participate
Participate  Listen  Re-plan
• Don’t write off social media because of risks - there is risk in everything
you do. You can minimise the risks of communicating on social media
channels by getting good advice in the beginning.
Elements of a basic social media
strategy
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Goals
Audience
Platforms
Tone of voice and persona
Measurement metrics
Message
Roles
Scenarios
Content
Governance
Risk is part of doing business and part
of doing social media
 If you wouldn’t say it to your grandma or put it on a billboard, don’t
say it!
 Numerous examples of athletes behaving badly in Australia and
overseas – not an issue with social media
o Stephanie Rice gay slur
o David Warner fined $5750 for breaching Cricket Australia's behavioural
guidelines following
o Greek triple jumper Voula Papachristo ejected from maiden Olympics in
London for Twitter comments on African immigrants and supporting a far-right
party
o Canberra Raiders fullback Josh sacked for a series of misdemeanors, including
a tweet allegedly suggesting a fan should "end" himself
 Minimise risk by setting out policy and putting processes in place 
educate staff and athletes on correct code of conduct and the possible
pitfalls of social media
Social media blunders
 Mistakes happen. Say sorry. Learn.
Ensuring social media channels are
safe and nurturing
 Set out participation /
community guidelines that
specifically cover appropriate
conduct and ramifications.
 Monitor what is being said
about your organisation and
members
Social media can help you with…
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Marketing
Communications
PR
Customer service
Sales / membership
Do your fans and potential fans know
you exist?
• The 3 Os of social media channels: Promote your social media channels
online, offline and often.
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Website
Athlete social media accounts
eDM (e-newsletter)
Email signatures
Event signage and flyers
Office signage
Clothing
Direct mail
Sporting venues such as signage, ground branding
Advertising such as TVCs, radio, online display advertising
Social media is
part of your digital
solution, not a
department in
itself
Case Study: Tough Mudder on Facebook
 Great tone of voice.
 Regular posting.
 Asking for engagement
with questions and polls.
 Many quality photos of
participation – different
demographics.
When someone tells you, you need a
social media strategy, make sure you
understand that content is at the core of
it, so first you need a content strategy.
What is content strategy?
 Planning, development and management of
content for all media types.
 “…content strategy is to copywriting as
information architecture is to design” – Rachel
Lovinger, 2007.
What is content marketing?
 Not a new strategy or tactic.
o First CM initiative was The Furrow by
farming technology co. John Deere: since
1895; 1.5 million distro; 40 countries.
 Content that is actionable
o Leads to a transaction eg sales of
products/services; memberships; data
capture.
 In a nutshell…A way of communicating
with your current and prospective
participants and/or stakeholders without
overtly selling or ‘pitching’
Brand benefits of content marketing
 Trust  Loyalty
 Authenticity  Credibility
 Authority  Brand (or sport) recognition
Goals of content marketing
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Provides a reason for meaningful engagement
Brand/sport awareness or brand reinforcement
Lead capture and nurturing for membership
Customer/player retention
Product/service upsell/x-sell
Customer servicing
Expanding digital footprint
It’s not (about) me, it’s (about) you.
Types of content marketing
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Blogs
Whitepapers
E-books
Social media
Case studies
Videos
Podcasts
Webinars/webcasts
Microsites
Website articles
eDMs
+ many more
Finding content:
raid your archives
Finding content:
repackage
Finding content:
ask colleagues and/or players
Finding content:
set up a content committee and meet
regularly
Finding content:
news + current events
Finding content:
events
Simplified content marketing roadmap
1. Undertake existing content audit .
2. Define editorial strategy – brand personality, TOV,
style etc.
3. Research customer challenges - needs, wants.
4. Define content strategy – audience, types, channels,
distribution, promotion, objective.
5. Define social media strategy – you won’t succeed
unless you have something interesting/entertaining to
say!
6. Create editorial/content calendar.
7. Produce content in advance – 4 week content bank is
good practice.
8. Measure and assess/reassess.
4 things to do now with content
1.
Audit your existing content.
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Find out what content participants in your
target market want.
3.
Get executive buy-in.
4.
If needed, reassign budget from traditional
marketing that isn’t as successful as it used to
be.
5.
Repackage existing content for new channels.
6.
Create a home for your content.
Case Study – The AFL
 Over 100 staff working on
producing content – now
seen as threat by
mainstream media’s
reporting of game.
 Images and videos + copy.
 About people, the game
and the environment
around the game, not about
the organisation.
Case Study – Fisher-Price
 Sign up for eDM
newsletter.
 Games for kids on
Family Playtime section.
 Use of milestones for
content.
 Subject-matter experts.
Case Study – The Mint
 Financial literacy content for
parents and kids.
 Uses milestones for content
topics.
 Encourages engagement
through tools and games.
Case Study – Huggies Australia
 Content for parents and
kids.
 Uses milestones for content
topics.
 Encourages website
registration (data capture)
with promotions.
 Online community
engagement.
5 things to do tomorrow
 Get some equipment to create great content
o DSLR (video and stills).
 Enrol team members in video/photography
classes.
 Create a digital home for stories and start
telling your story.
Questions?
Alana Fisher-Chejoski
Connect with me:
@aussiegoldy
http://linkedin.com/in/alana1