Episode 63 of the DSMSports Podcast w/ Chris Dion with NCAA Social Strategy

Best Of...Chris Dion on the
Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast
Chris Dion, Assistant Director of Championships and Alliances for Digital
and Social Media with the NCAA (and leading social strategy for
NCAA March Madness), was the featured guest on episode 54 of the
DSMSports Podcast.
What follows are some snippets from the interview. Hear the full episode
on www.DSMSports.net or download it on iTunes and Stitcher.
Enjoy...
@njh287
DSMSports.net

Chris's Career Path
Went to school for creative design/photography/marketing →
Started working at a grocery store chain [Big Y Foods, based in
New England] designing circular flyers
“As I worked my way through the system...I kept seeing Facebook
was around, Twitter was on the rise and I kept saying this was a
real opportunity for us to grow something, so I launched our digital
presence....It wasa big opportunity to have a brand at my
fingertips with social launching.
We launched a Facebook before (brand Pages existed)...it was more
of a personality where we answered customer questions and
looked for problems to solve...
@njh287
DSMSports.net

Then...I jumped into Pages (after they launched) and started doing
more with that – offers, coupons...I take off our branding
initiative...launched Twitter. Foursquare was hot back
then...Then ,I end up at a conference...and someone with the
NCAA (approached) me (and offered him a position)...So I was
recruited to the NCAA on the PR side...I couldn't pass up the
opportunity to move to the NCAA.”
Chris then moved into NCAA Championships and Alliances as they
were looking to build out their social strategy and he now
oversees strategy for 92 championships
@njh287
DSMSports.net

(Back to Big Y when they were just a “personal” page)
“We would solicit people to become friends with us...It was
so grass roots...A customer would (post) about their Big Y
experience...and we would friend them...and (interact) with
them as friends in the Facebook environment...It is a
customer-focus first company...Social was kind of a new
world and were just trying to feel it out...(On Twitter) We
were helping people...It was cutting-edge social, then...We
were the Southwest of grocery stores.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

On the creative skills he applied at the NCAA to help with
messaging
“Creativity is really important to me...When I get bogged
down...escaping into some creative work brings me back to
life...The NCAA had been so on-point with messaging and
crafting their messaging...A lot of my positioning was 'Are
we we displaying that correctly? Are we communicating the
right message to the right fan?...Are trying to display the
right message that we create?”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

On where his position lies within the NCAA
“When I transitioned to our Championships department...I started
to take a look at what we were saying socially around our sport
visually...I am not a sports (savant)...So, for me, talking about
sports was 'can we make it look so good, anyone will want to
talk about it, anyway?'...What if we just show a great moment?
Or talk about a great moment? Or what if we can just make this
great moment more beautiful?...We do a lot of great things, we
say a lot of great things. Let's pull it all together and make it
beautiful and (present it) to the broad audience and start trying
to hone who is interested in our content.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

The NCAA is full of awesome stories. Not to mention what
happens on the field...There is so much emotion...For a lot
of student athletes, this is farthest they'll achieve in their
sport and what they put into it deserves to be
(hyped)...Our strategy was 'let's carry people in this
journey from the start of the season, all the way to the
championship and then celebrate the championship like no
other.'
Previously, we would jump in on the championship story
(late)...and we didn't give people enough time to become
invested in the story.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

Helpful Tool: Daycap, a free app to create quick videos,
showing photos and videos with the user able to provide
voice-over
@njh287
DSMSports.net

On day-to-day strategy for his role / department
“You have nearly 350 different schools (in division
one)...They've got goals to tell the story o their athletes
and their team and coach...So from our perspective, we've
got to figure out what part of the story are we going to
tell?...So we look at what will be the most consumable
storyline for that day, for that moment...it comes down to
content curation and creation...”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

“A lot of our media is tied up...to partners, but we don't have our
own network to show content live like we do in the regular
season...Once a game is over, then we're able to tell that
story to the finish. A lot of it is coming up with a cadence for
the storyline, finding out what assets you have...and then
packaging it up with a NCAA bow and brand and then putting
it back out to consumers and ans where they exist.”
[Chris describes how each platform has a unique audience]
@njh287
DSMSports.net

On balancing traffic and attention or NCAA properties vs.
pushing it to the schools' digital and social outlets
“I'm not trying to convert a UNC Tar Heel fan into an NCAA fan
directly, by putting more UNC content on the feed...What I'm
trying to do is tell the UNC story in the mix o the overall
NCAA story. We don't reach out to target specific fan (bases),
we reach out to tell the best part of the day...We're all about
telling the biggest part of the day.
A lot of that relates to (national rankings)...a lot of it is those
standard stories, but we try to tell it in a one-stop shop
place.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

On tracking the nationally prominent teams more closely
“Being the official voice of the NCAA, we have to be very
conscious about what we say about teams. We don;'t do
bubble predictions. We don't talk about which teams could or
should be n the tournament...That is for the NCAA Basketball
Selection Committee...So we have to walk a really fine line,
because we don't want to speculate anything...”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

“We love the conversation (about bubble teams, et al.)...the
more people that talk about our sports, the better...We know
we're not going to change a rabid fan's mind...we welcome
the conversation...We also do some interesting things, too,
where we...try and do the best job we can why or why not
their team may or may not be in a good (place for a bubble
team)...We'll display team sheets and let them look at the
official resume of their team and let them decide.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

“We don't poke certain fans. We poke certain story lines...Last
year, Kentucky was making a run, we're going to talk about
Kentucky fans love it and every other team hated it..This
year, with the volatility of (the top MBB rankings)...it almost
feels like you poke any team that lost, every other team is
excited about it...We do it all the same. We carry the same
cadence across all our teams...Our strategy (really) is pretty
fair.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

On the NCAA brand
“The NCAA brand is really about the student athlete...It's not
about hoisting the trophy. It's not about being a national
champion. It's really about hard work...and what the student
athlete has to achieve to get there...We really try and make
sure that ans know that these athletes are more than just
dunking the ball or scoring touchdowns. It's about what they
go through and their experiences...Part of our strategy is
reaching pout to all these institutions and bubbling up stories
they're telling at their school...”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

“We usually bubble up a lot of that content to national platforms.
For a bunch of schools, it's rally important that we're able to
offer this broad swath of broadcast media for what their student
athletes are doing on and off the court / field...
Everyone is telling thee story what the final score was...we pride
ourselves on helping our member institutions tell the best story
that they possibly can around the student athletes and what the
student athlete experience is like being a NCAA member.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

On communicating with NCAA member institutions
“We're working on a monthly call now...We're working on a social
and digital group...Currently, our leads on the social team
usually reach out via email...very simple strategy...Some of the
top tier programs have enough distribution of their stories...so
we don't hear from those guys so often...Your smaller programs
seem to really appreciate and they want their stories to be told
on the larger platform...And the public seems to respond very
well to those smaller schools...It's really a cool opportunity to
bring that to life.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

On balancing who the NCAA works with
“We take it as it comes. We try to get to it (all) as fast as we
can...Folks know where to send their stories (and) know how to
communicate with us...Our team here on the championships
side is in daily contact with the membership...(Our team) works
to triage those stories...it's a team effort here. It's not just our
social staff...[and] we always seem to get the right information
on our social channels.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

Tracking which schools they're talking about
“For off-the-court stories, we (take) what comes to us...We don't have
enough time to reach out to every school and foster each
relationship individually...It's a lot of reaching out and then hoping
for a response...but most of the things that come to us, we find a
home for them in NCAA social or digital...”
“We have a lot of touch points with the membership...talk to the
membership daily...People know where to send the good stuff. If
you follow our @NCAA (Twitter handle), it's a great look at what the
NCAA is all about. It's a mix of statistics, it' a mix of the best
basketball scores, the best field hockey plays...the best stories
from NCAA division one, two, and three.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

'Then you look at the March Madness account and it's probably
80% basketball and 20% off-the-court brand stories...that is not
because we choose to not put (off-the-court stories) there, it is
that there seems to be more of a desire to talk just about
basketball...One of the ways we pride ourselves about the
brand is we try to mix as much messaging in there, so that the
casual fan starts to consume NCAA branding and messaging,
without really knowing that they're doing it...We present them a
nice story and, before they know it, they're consuming NCAA
brand content.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

On the growth of dedicated digital roles in the NCAA athletics
departments
“Across the board....it's so awesome to see the work of some of
these schools...the investment they've made in student resources,
the investment they've made in equipment and hires – it makes
me excited. There's more people who get to touch the brand.
There's more people who to get touch the messaging of these
institutions' messaging. There's more people that get to be
creators.”
The more who get to be involved – a) their skill sets get stronger, b)
their content gets better. Fans get more informed...I love where
we're at right now in college athletics, especially in digital and
social. People are [creating] amazing things.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

Tracking the success of digital and social
“We live and die by analytics...I use analytics to help guide my
team [and] guide my choices. If something is not working and
the numbers show that, there is no reason we shouldn't
continue doing it. If it's a resources discussion...we have to
make better choices, based on analytics.
It's kind of give and take – we put things out there and wait for
things to react...We might craft content a little differently
(based on the audience and platform)...
@njh287
DSMSports.net

“Fans and teams just want to be a part of the content we put out
there (referring specifically to the baseball audience and the
College World Series)...each one of our audiences are totally
different and when we put together strategies every year, we
treat each one of our strategies differently...We tell strategic
stories or each and every one of our sports. We're not trying to
force everyone into the same box.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

“The fans are part of it, the other part of it is what story are we
trying to tell. What is the story o the year What is the
cadence of the story? Then what do the fans best react
to?...We start with goals...and then we build measurable
goals. If you can't measure the success of a good
feeling...let's not put good feeling as goals. Let's put things
that are measurable...Then we've got an opportunity to say if
we've had success or not...”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

“Then we work on a strategic story for the year...Then we start
to talk about a content mix. What is our content going to look
like? What are going to try and find later? Then what are we
going to try and innovate? We always try to innovate
something new every year...to the best of our ability...
Lastly, our strategy comes down to platform...the last thing we
think about it platforms. Goals lead the conversation and
platforms comes last.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

“Our measurable goals are really simple. It comes down to
audience growth. It's important for us to understand that
year-over-year, we're growing....Followers should never be
a key goal, but it should be a good barometer of the health
of the community...Engagement is number two...What are
our video view content engagement?...link engagement,
standard engagement...Then, lastly is reach. “
@njh287
DSMSports.net

“Reach is something that allows us to compare ourselves to TV or
other media. It's one of the ways that allows us to comparatively
have conversations that don't understand social...Reach allows
us to have a metric that allows to compare it to print, to out-of-
home, TV, to radio...It's not a true measure, but it's close
enough that we can help people understand what we're trying to
do.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

Preparing for March Madness
“We spend so much time planning...one of the ways we do that
is with content calendars...shot lists...and daily production
content...We don't know (daily results)...what we do know is
we have to be ready or every single outcome...The way we
do that is we go over a game...and we throw it all on a sheet
o paper and then make sure we have (all assets sand
content we need)...our March Madness prep started
in...September. We turn that dial up to eight or nine in
January...Now (February), we're at about ten...
@njh287
DSMSports.net

“We're planning with our broadcast partners, with all our corporate
champions partners..our media coordination and statistics
team...We're not just telling the story from the days the brackets
are released, we're telling the story from the first conference
tournament...I think you have to be a planner in social...and you
have to be prepared to throw that plan out the window.
When you throw that plan out the window, that is when you become a
better person in social. Because then at least you have that
remembrance of the road you were trying to travel down.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

Share-able Stat: 84% increase in brand tweets during the event for
fans not watching the live event/game vs. a 779% increase in
brand tweets in the live window for those that are watching the live
game/event
@njh287
DSMSports.net

The best part about living in New England and the best part about
living in Indianapolis
Rhode Island (where he went to school) → “The ocean, which I miss
tremendously”
Indianapolis –> “The exploding craft beer scene”
Connecticut (where he from) –? “My UConn Huskies.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

The school[s] with the most ardent fan bases on social
“Kentucky basketball, any Power Five school in College
Football, and the Vanderbilt baseball fans are pretty
ravage.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

The sport besides basketball and football with the most socially active
fan bases
“I'm going to say college baseball, but ice hockey is right behind it.”
[Chris talks about connecting the college hockey story to the NHL has
helped college hockey]
@njh287
DSMSports.net

The most exciting NCAA championship event that Chris has attended
in person
The 2013 Final Four when the UConn Huskies won. That was on my
bucket list to watch my Huskies in the Final Four and it just so
happened I was working at it, so that was surreal.
If you take that out, I would say my first championship – the women's
volleyball championship...I had no idea what I was doing. I had no
idea what a championship was like. It was baptism by fire [and] it
was so much fun.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

Chris's favorite social media platform for the NCAA and why
“Twitter, no doubt. I love it because of the fans' quick reaction. I think
there's definitely a place or Facebook and Instagram...I love the
quick reactions (from Twitter). I know if something is work or not in
one second.”
“We're trying to figure out the best way to do (Snapchat)...We're trying
to see if we can work with our institutions to see if we can get
(content)...we're dipping our toes into Snapchat.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

The best venue in college athletics and why
“I went to Assembly Hall at IU a few weeks ago...That place is
absolutely amazing. It's built or basketball...”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

The Division II and Division III schools with the most active fan bases
on social
Chris politely declines as his role with championships and alliances
doesn't touch D2 and D3 much
@njh287
DSMSports.net

The best school athletics name and the best mascot in the NCAA
“I love the UC Irvine Anteaters...Or, as they cheer 'Go Eaters.'
And I am a huge fan of the Oregon State Beavers logo...I absolutely
love that orange and black beaver logo; that is just top notch.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

Which Boston team will win more titles in the next ten years – the
Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, or Celtics
“The Patriots. We're not done yet...There is definitely another
Lombardi Trophy (in Tom Brady's career).”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

Chris's food to get in Rhode Island
“Steamers and clam cakes. No doubt...Steamed clams (with) a bunch
of melted butter and clam cakes on a summer day. You can't beat
it.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

Chris's Social Media All-Star to Follow
Jessica Smith (@WarJessEagle) → “She is top notch. She gets the
overall cause of why we do what we do and she's definitely worth
the follow...She is a great friend of mine and...she does great
work.”
@njh287
DSMSports.net

Where to find Chris and the NCAA on social media
Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisMDion
For NCAA, visit NCAA.com/social
All platforms → NCAA March Madness and most any sport on all
platforms, where NCAA profiles are verified and present
@njh287
DSMSports.net

Thanks so much to Chris Dion forjoining the
Digital & Social Media Sports podcast!
For more info on the podcast, check out
DSMSports.net and follow me @njh287
@njh287
DSMSports.net

Episode 63 of the DSMSports Podcast w/ Chris Dion with NCAA Social Strategy

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Episode 63 of the DSMSports Podcast w/ Chris Dion with NCAA Social Strategy