In November, CoSIDA partnered with Chris Syme from the
CKSyme Media Group and Kristi Dosh, Esq. of
Reputation Ink on the "Social Media Best Practices In College Athletics Survey." This survey was exclusive to CoSIDA members.
Part two of the survey analysis and takeaways is below;
part one of the results and takeaways are HERE.
The survey takeaways will used in future continuing education webinars and presentations to CoSIDA members so they can better understand the data and assist them in professional development opportunities.
Syme is a former college athletic communications professional whose strategic communications agency works closely with intercollegiate athletic departments. In
conjunction with CoSIDA staff, Syme coordinated and produced the 2012 CoSIDA social media education survey while she chaired the CoSIDA New Media/Technology Committee.
Dosh, Vice President of Reputation Ink, is an attorney, sports business analyst and published author and noted journalist (Forbes, ESPN.com). A year ago, she published a book on the buisness of college football,
Saturday Millionaires.
Both are in-demand for speaking engagements at colleges and universities throughout the U.S. on topics ranging from sports marketing to social media, crisis communications and professional development.
The survey results also will be published in Syme and Dosh's upcoming e-book on social media best practices and engagement.
CoSIDA 2014 Social Media Best Practices Survey Results: Part Two
The State of Social Media in College Athletics
by Chris Syme and Kristi Dosh
College athletics departments are struggling to manage and leverage the department’s social media presence as part of day-to-day business operations, according to the results of the 2014 CoSIDA Social Media Best Practices Survey.
After analyzing the data reported in the first of this two-part series (link), several key points of emphasis emerged. Schools should examine the role of social media beyond the traditional communications/marketing function and seek ways to use social to increase the department’s bottom line in every operation from ticket sales to donor engagement to reputation building.
Social Media Policies and Procedures
The foundation of social media in the department rests on policies that reflect the department mission, are easily understood and implemented, define lines of responsibility, encourage innovation, and promote accountability to the brand. Over half of respondents (56%) indicated their department does not have a social media policy for those who manage or maintain athletic department and team social media accounts. Also a concern was that only 23% require social media training for users who represent the department on social media.
Here are some compelling reasons why you need policies in place:
• Nearly half of respondents (48%) reported allowing
interns or students to post directly to department and team social media accounts. We are not advocating this be prohibited. However they are more likely to have a shorter tenure in your department, which means it will take longer for them to emulate your department’s collective voice and understand your messaging and branding. A minimal amount of training can diffuse this risk.
• There are no people more passionate than college sports fans. It’s not uncommon for that passion to turn into negativity directed toward department or team social media accounts. Does your department respond to
negative comments?
Here are some tips on putting together a social media response system.
• An astounding 27% of respondents say
passwords are never changed on department and team social media accounts. Only two percent indicated passwords are changed at scheduled intervals, with the rest doing so on an as-needed basis. Think about how many people have left your department and moved on to another job in the recent past. For those of you not changing your passwords, these people all still have access to your accounts.
Social Media Management Systems
A large majority of survey respondents maintain at least four department social media accounts. A small percentage have only one administrator while 37% have four to six administrators on a given account. Even though the largest percentage of managers reside is athletics communications, many reported that social media is a collaboration between marketing and communications.
The question of social media success isn’t how many social media channels a school maintains. Those that only use two were just as likely to lack management systems and strategy as those that used six or more.
Cloud applications such as Sprout Social, Buffer, Tweet Deck, and Hootsuite require a minimal investment and help social media teams mange administrative responsibilities. Larger enterprise-level systems by Radian 6, Meltwater Buzz, Mention, Trackur, and others can integrate social media into business practices across the board. At the very minimum, social media management systems should be used to track (monitor) brand conversations and coordinate posts to social media accounts.
Monitoring is essential for keeping track of real-time opportunities that can build or break a reputation.
Social Media Strategy
We get it – social media platforms continue to pop up, and you’re just trying to keep up. However, we were surprised to find nearly 36% of respondents reported their department has no strategy or goals for social media.
Of those 36%, here is how they use social media strategically. Since effective social media posts could look very different depending on whether you’re attempting to increase ticket sales, engage with fans or attract recruits, it’s imperative the department define some goals as a collective.
If you lack a cohesive department marketing strategy, start there. The best social media will not fix a lack of strategic planning across all your business operations. Your social media managers should know how to write measurable goals that propel the department’s mission forward. They should also understand how to plan, execute, and measure a successful short-term campaign, and put together effective real-time initiatives that enrich the fan experience.
Establish Registration For All Department Social Media Accounts
At a minimum, we suggest every department develop a system for registering social media accounts associated with the athletic department. This can be done with a simple database that tracks logins and passwords for all branded accounts. This allows you to develop a consistent message about social media use as well as access accounts for emergency purposes. It does not, however, mean that one social media manager should necessarily control the content for all the accounts. It is basically a way to keep track of all the channels that represent the department.
We also recommend training for anyone who will have access to accounts associated with the athletic department. Depending on the size and capacity of your department, this training could be anything from a handout to a video to bringing in an outside consultant.
Crisis and Public Relations
An issue can become a crisis without the proper social media response (see Policies and Procedures above). The number of departments with crisis policies that include social media is only 57%, up only five percent in the last two years. Even though the number of reported negative social media issues continues to rise, few departments are taking the necessary steps to deal with them, much less prevent them. If you do have a full-blown crisis on your hands,
we suggest that you set up a monitoring system specifically for that issue. Oftentimes, because of the workload associated with a crisis, it is best to bring in outside help to monitor conversations, sentiment, and volume of social media interaction in a crisis.
One of the biggest deterrents to a communications crisis is training. Departments that train student-athletes and staff to use social media responsibly have a lower incidence of crisis than those that do not. Departments that make reputation a priority also have fewer crises.
Altimeter reported that as many as 76% of crises could be averted by social media readiness.
Reputation Ink and
CKSyme Media Group plan to expand all this information and more in an upcoming eBook in 2015 on the strategic use of social media in college athletics.