Episode 120 Snippets: Tyler Moorehead of FOX Sports

Best of the Digital and Social
Media Sports Podcast
Episode 120: Tyler Moorehead
On episode 120, Neil chatted with Tyler Moorehead, Director
of Social Media for FOX Sports
What follows are select snippets from the episode. To hear the
full interview, check out the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, and at
www.dsmsports.net.
You can also follow me on Twitter @njh287.
@njh287; www.dsmsports.net

Tyler’s career path
Tyler attended Notre Dame and got involved in ND Athletics  Doing
marketing, creating cheer cards for games, handing out promo items,
and eventually working their social media platforms
He took courses in Photoshop and Final Cut Pro courses, while majoring
in English where he developed writing skills. His experience on the
social platforms for ND helped prepare him for a career in digital/social

“I can never encourage students…enough to just reach out and see what
the opportunities are, especially when they’re in school, because there
are s many on college campuses and so many in sports and for me that
was my great start.”
While in school, Tyler co-founded a website/sports that focused on
college basketball and football – then called College Spun, now The
Spun (this was 2012) – “We were on the forefront of social news, which
was embedding tweets and embedding Instagrams in short-form
articles…We really wanted to approach sports coverage from everything
that was going with the athletes online and turning those into really
consumable stories. I remember our first company tagline was ‘Social,
Local, Consumable…’

“Its core was really what made social media take off that local fan
bases were really powerful…I think about how sports were
consumed 15 years ago. Everyone recognized the stars…now so
many fan favorites are the best personalities on social media. So
we took the followings that got behind and all of the content that
they would put out on social and turned those into short-form,
consumable articles.”
Tyler talks about how much he and his cofounders enjoyed Twitter
and the community, but lamented Twitter’s small audience
compared to Facebook and linear TV –

“Even though sometimes it can feel like everyone’s on Twitter,
especially in the sports media field…and then you realize that it’s
actually a very small population there. So the utility we came up
with is we need to take everything we love about Twitter and
make that consumable as a website or a publication or get that on
apps, and that’s what we did…What that came down to was just
scrolling through feed at the time, making lists, just paying
attention to everything that was out there and making quick hit
content.”

“We always approached it from a business model, but you certainly, after
months and months of success (doubling every month in traffic and
content)…so we always had signs that things were going to take off…but we
had a few breaks that really worked out. [Tyler talks about the Manti Te’o
catfishing story Tyler wrote that took off for the site and helped them ‘get on
the radar’ for many] “Once you get a few key follows on Twitter that can
carry you a lot more than you anticipated. [They also got a content
partnership with Bleacher Report for their Team Stream app]…
“I can’t speak enough to relationships in the business and trying everything
you can to grow as a startup…”

On moving to the Oakland Raiders
“There may not be in my career as valuable an experience as The Spun. We
had to learn trial by fire…that experience I wouldn’t trade for anything…It
was hard to leave The Spun…
“But obviously there’s some big branding around the NFL and the chance to
work directly with NFL athletes and a NFL team on Sundays was really
exciting…I connected a lot with the Vice President of Digital there and asked
them what they’re looking for there…They were looking to totally rebrand.
They were definitely behind in the social area…they weren’t a particularly
innovative brand, they ahd been transitioning from the previous Al
Davis…they weren’t risky, they weren’t innovative in those years. But they
knew that…

‘“We have a lot of good video access, especially with Jack Del Rio
coming in as (new) head coach. We have people who are open to
change and us kind of experimenting with brand voice and being riskier
than ever before. We really have a blank canvas for Raiders social
media and we want someone to take it and have a vision and grow it…’
“Our mission was ‘how do we show all of the work that goes on here day
in, day out, and how do we make people understand what goes in a NFL
organization like they never have before? It wasn’t just about Sundays
for us, it was about every day – the work, the grind, and I was really
proud of some of the things we did to showcase that.”

Getting buy-in and early success
“It really comes down to buy-in up top and…trust. We had a new
coach…and I cannot speak highly enough of Coach Del Rio from
a digital standpoint; he was wonderful to us. It’s not easy,
especially at the NFL level. There are so many coaches who
would rather keep everything wrapped tight for strategy reasons,
just really believing it’s a big advantage to show very little about
how they’re practicing, their nutrition, their time in the weight
room, the film room…But Jack really embraced our digital
department, our video department, and that was a huge win for
us.

“But even once the doors are open, you get a little bit of
access, the first thing that you really to prove is they can
trust you; that you’re not there to show the team in a bad
light. If someone makes a mistake lifting, that can never see
the light of day. If someone slips on a route in practice…I
think you know working for a team that you have to slant
upward. And I think if you can, early on in your access time,
show that you’re only there for the benefit of the brand, it’ll
really go a long way.”

Justifying the access from a ROI perspective
“We had some really unique circumstances – the Raiders, for better or
worse, have always had this very scary brand image…and one of the
things that we were trying to do was shift it to a softer brand image,
especially because at the time the Raiders were trying to relocate to Los
Angeles…So we knew we had to have a softer, fan-friendlier image for
fans. That was from very top down in the organization to the coach to
way down to the social media coordinator. We knew that we had to be
aligned in creating a friendly team environment, showcase the
personalities on the team, all of the community work that we do…and I
think since we were aligned there, that helped…

“If we can show all of this feel-good stuff that happens around the team, if we can show
them being light and friendly instead of just intimidating, that goes a long way in terms of
how the organization is perceived…And I think we saw that pay off…it differed our content
from what a lot of the other teams were doing at the time…We really showcased
personality and community involvement, and I think that those are stories fans want to see
as much as they want to see the action on the field.”

On the emergence of new social platforms and short-form, quick content
“Those platforms changed the game for us. Vine was a huge thing at the
time – making videos six second or less…picking out those very best
moments…Snapchat and access…eye contact was something we felt was
really important. We wanted to not just shoot everything us pointing a phone
at a player, but getting the phone in their hands. They’re all very digitally
savvy now…more than ever, they’re understanding building their brands on
those platforms. No longer do you have to sell players on the benefits of
social…I think that is a huge game changer now, the buy-in is already there
from the players. So as soon as Jack was willing to let us do that…it really
just grew from there really fast.

“I think you also have to pick and choose your moments. You know
there’s going to be ten minutes of warm-ups before practice – that’s
when we have to get our guys. We have to stay away once the work
starts. Those pregame sessions on the field – those are great times
when they’re accessible. But once you get down to business…knowing
when not to force the issue and step back and let them work, coaches
appreciate that…Sometimes there’s a push to (ask for) more access
once practice starts…But I think that we found at least from the start just
really maximizing the times that maybe other people take for
granted…and getting those cameras directly in the hands of the players
to see what they can do.”

“I think you’re always evaluating the new opportunities that
platforms provide…There really wasn’t a huge blueprint for what
great Snapchat coverage looks like. So we…wanted to show fans
what it’s like every day as a Raider and all the work that goes in,
but how can we account for seven days a week or at least five
days a week on the feeds. What access can we have every day
and how can we mix up the content, so it doesn’t get
repetitive?...So we had to think how can we break up the access
points that we have?

“How are we gonna differentiate our content each time, what are we gonna focus on
each time that’s different? We kind of just laid it out…we’re gonna spend so many
days with the linebackers, defensive backs…Maybe instead of (practice), it’s twice a
week practice, one weight room ,and one casual Q&A session. For us, maybe
capturing content at practice every day, but spacing that out because fans don’t
know what’s live and what’s played back as live – that was a big thing, knowing
when you can hold content and space it, as opposed to feeling like you have to rush
stuff out…That was a really big lesson for us in terms of planning…

“Working for a team, you’ll have inside access that no other media does, and when
you see something and you capture gold, you really wanna get it out there fast, but I
think taking a second to pause and think ‘How can we get the most out of this
content? is really important…I tend to think good content is good content. And while
sometimes it can feel right to leave something as a Snapchat exclusive, an
Instagram Stories exclusive, a Facebook Live exclusive – you’re there for the brand
more than the partner {platform}…if you have a great clip…you’re gonna try and put
that out everywhere for your fans; your fan base is priority #1. So I think you just
find all the different ways to cut it, to shape it…find what kind of shoulder
programming you have…I think stretching your content is really important, as well.”

On joining FOX Sports
“I think they’ve provided me with an opportunity to grow…Career growth in social and digital
is (at) a curious time. If you look at the tops of organizations, there aren’t many CMO’s with a
digital background…That C-suite is not very filled with digitally savvy folks…It’s hard to
envision what those top careers are in digital right now…So I think when you have the
chance to elevate and add more than just social to workload, I’d encourage anyone running
social at a brand…to think more than just Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and how can you
affect apps, how can you affect the website…how can you liaison with TV and get your
product there? And FOX was able to provide me with that experience.

“My role at FOX Sports – I oversee the social content teams
for a variety of sports – college football, college basketball,
NFL, MLB, UFC, NASCAR, Soccer…So really excited to
basically just tell stories around sports. We have a ton of
rights, and that’s really exciting from a standpoint that I didn’t
have at a team. Being able to use TV and our
personalities…and work with those talent to create
content…”

On the FOX Sports POV and content strategy for sports with FOX rights vs. those
they don’t own
“I think you definitely hone in on the sports that you have the most rights around, the
most broadcasts around, and the most talent around…You focus where you have the
most talent. We certainly want to own football at FOX, we believe we do with
America’s Game of the Week [and] the addition of Thursday Night Football this
year…so you certainly will give more attention to those sports than maybe some
others. But we also, if you look at our daytime show, Skip and Shannon talk NBA
every single day. We know what fans are interested in, and we try to create
programming around that, as well. So it’s a balance, but you definitely want to utilize
your rights as a broadcaster and focus in on those sports. It’s a good challenge, you
need to understand what your audience is about…As many priorities as FOX Sports
has, we want to be seen as a comprehensive leader in sports, and sometimes that
means talking about events not on your air…”

On the FOX Sports talent
“Each talent is a little bit different, some are more involved on their own social channels
than others…They love interacting with fans. The one thing I would say about our talent
is…they’re really authentic…It’s not shtick, it’s not orchestrated. They speak what they
believe and a lot of fans take interest in it. Certainly there are controversial opinions or hot
takes – we’re definitely not in the orchestrating hot takes game. I think it’s good when
there’s debate around sports and conversations that have people on both sides…When
you have a competitive debate…I think that’s exciting…

“LeBron, for example, he’s polarizing – people love or hate
LeBron. Skip [Bayless] loves to criticize LeBron because he
believes there are times when he can be better. We love to
see where that debate goes, but we don’t push Skip in any
way…

Helpful Tool: DesignWizard.com’

On how they use the ‘hot takes’
“We’re always looking at the analytics and what’s trending…so if we see a piece
of content that’s engaging we’ll certainly look to see how we can stretch that
conversation, how we can repurpose it, or maybe next time they’re on the
air…allow the talent to talk for themselves. I think sometimes when you put up a
quote graphic, you’ve presented one short quote and then people go from there
and control the narrative. We like to put our talent in positions to defend their
takes, to explain their takes. We’re a very video-heavy organization, there’s no
secret about that. So using one good quote to build into more content and more
discussions, we love doing that.”

How FOX Sports uses video on social media
“We certainly have a ton of Facebook Live programming. We’ve been using
Facebook Watch recently [their three main shows have dedicated Watch channels],
we have a new Facebook Watch show called The Daily Brief (which recaps their main
shows)…We certainly pull a ton of clips from our linear broadcasts and put those
natively on our social channels, on FSGO (app, on FSCom (website). We really try to
get our content everywhere we can.

“I think sometimes you are taking linear stuff and putting it
directly on digital, and a lot of times you’re creating very
unique digital content and using that to support and drive
back to linear broadcasts, as well…
[Tyler talks about their NFL officiating analysts doing live
digital video during their linear game broadcasts, which
helps drive tune-in]
“We want to support linear with very original programming,
as well.”

The goals of social media for FOX Sports and Tyler’s
position
“Some things that are really important for us is how do we
showcase our talent, how we promote our A-list talent and
make them extend beyond the broadcast?”
[Tyler talks about building digital content around Gus
Johnson and his boisterous calls]

“We like to take our talent and showcase them in a good light. We always look to drive
tune-in around our events. Branded content is certainly always a goal, monetizing your
platforms is always a goal. And also just creating engaging content – whether that’s just
shoulder programming like player art and tune-in graphics…We do a lot of poll-style
executions…We really have tried to get more and more visual in everything that we do, we
employ a ton of After Effects editors, Premier editors, Photoshop editors – people who are
really good at design. We think that visual stands out on social.
“So I think it’s a combination – you want to make money, but really more important than
that, you want to create engaging content around your programming, and then you want to
promote your broadcast and your talent…and just put them in the best light.”

Preparing for the upcoming World Cup in summer 2018
“In our minds (this year) will be the first-ever truly digital
World Cup. Or at least the first World Cup where native
highlights are allowed by FIFA. We will have live instant
highlights from every game on Twitter…they’ll be on
Instagram, they’ll be on YouTube, they’ll be on FSCom. We
can stream it from the FOX Sports app, as well on FOX
Sports dot com. Digital is going to be front and center during
this World Cup.

“We’ll have a team based in Moscow and a team based in
LA, where run 27 Twitter Live shows straight from Red
Square in Moscow…Years in the making of scouting the
right location and getting the right set, the right talent…We
have all kinds of programming from those Twitter Live shows
to Snapchat publisher stories for 32 days throughout the
tournament. We’re gonna have a huge variety of content on
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat – across the
board.

Share-able Stat:
WNBA player vs. team
Skylar Diggins IG: 1M followers vs. Dallas Wings 25k
followers
Angel Mccoughtry 556k followers vs. Atlanta Dream 23k
followers

The most popular story or piece of content at The Spun
The Manti Te’o catfishing story – Tyler wrote a long narrative
piece about being in the same dorm as him and defended
him and his character. It led to appearances on
SportsCenter, Outside the Lines, and Fox & Friends, and got
picked up by online publications, too.

The biggest personality on the Raiders during his time with
the team
“No brainer – punter Marquette King…Unquestionably the
biggest personality – so fun to work around, his dance
moves on the field, he’s a great piano player, he loves
dressing up as a superhero in public, he punts everything
from cakes to pineapples and records video of it, really
friendly guy, super approachable…”

Which social media platform does Tyler spend the most time on
personally and professionally
Personally  Twitter (makes me laugh more and the real-time)
and Instagram (to keep up with family and friends)
Professionally  Facebook [and Twitter]: “If you’re trying to
monetize, if you’re trying to drive traffic, if you’re looking at utility
of a platform, Facebook is king. If you’re looking for relevancy in
the news – Twitter trumps everything. It’s where all the journalists
live, it’s where live conversation happens, I think Twitter is about
relevancy in the moment, Facebook is about utility.”

The #1 skill someone needs to be successful in digital/social in
sports role
“They need to be cool under pressure and they need to be
flexible…You want to have great written and verbal skills, you
want to be a great communicator, any design skills whether it’s
video or graphic design….but really, being flexible and keeping up
with the platforms; especially in live…sometimes your plan gets
blown up from the start and you just have to go and go with the
flow and make something happen…”

The best game Tyler attended while at Notre Dame
Five overtime Men’s Basketball game vs. Louisville, a ND comeback win
[easy choice for Tyler]

The pro athlete with the best social media presence today
and why
Joel Embiid  “He’s just so exciting. He embraces it for all
of the fun. He is not afraid to throw a hot take out there, he’ll
pick on other players. But he does it in a good-natured way. I
don’t know anyone that doesn’t like Embiid. He’s funny, he’s
engaging, he’s all over it.”

The most polarizing storyline in sports and social media (now or
previously)
The National Anthem and kneeling debate in the Trump era and
the Colin Kaepernick story  “They’ve taken the cake when it
comes to controversy – in how you have to shape coverage and
how you have to cover things…”
[Tyler elaborates on the importance of being aligned from the top
down in an organization and how it underscores the structure of
how the communication channels for the organization works]

The FOX Sports talent that does the best job on social
media and why
Alexi Lalas -> “He does not hide behind his opinions…he’s
accessible to fans, he does a weekly #AskAlexi, which is
great…”
Tyler also gives high praise to Rob Stone and Joel Klatt

Tyler’s most memorable meal – for being delicious or very
large
A pizza place in Port Orange, FL  Tyler and a few others
tried to take down a 45-inch pizza and they barely got
through half
Tyler also brought up how much he loved when the Raiders
would have Guy Fieri come to training camp each year to
prepare a meal for the team and staff

Tyler’s pick to win the 2018 World Series
Tyler goes with his Pittsburgh Pirates [he’s a diehard fan]

Where to find Tyler and FOX Sports on digital/social media
Tyler is @TMoorehead627 on Twitter
Find FOX Sports on all major social platforms, as well as the
sport-specific – MLBonFox, CFBonFox, NFLonFox,
UCFonFox

Thanks so much again to Tyler for sharing his time, expertise, and
experience on the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast!
Hear the full episode on iTunes, Stitcher, and at
www.dsmsports.net.

Episode 120 Snippets: Tyler Moorehead of FOX Sports

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Episode 120 Snippets: Tyler Moorehead of FOX Sports