Episode 47 of the DSMSports Podcast w/ Jimmy Sanderson of Clemson

Best Of... Professor Jimmy Sanderson
Episode 47 of the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast
featured Jimmy Sanderson, Assistant Professor of
Communication Studies (specializing in sports) at Clemson
and co-author of textbook Developing Successful Social
Media Plans in Sport Organizations.
What follows are some snippets from the episode. Listen to
the full podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or at
www.DSMSports.net
@njh287; DSMSports.net

Jimmy's career path
Went to Arizona State for Undergraduate --> Worked for 11
years in human resource management and then worked on
a graduate degree at ASU, when he connected with a
professor in sports in 2006
→ Jimmy got intrigued by research into Floyd Landis's blog
and the public response (following Landis's major win and
getting caught for PED use)

“People were responding and commenting on his blog posts...I started
to get fascinated with people's behavior and by the way they were
communicating with Floyd Landis; communicating with him a way
that would make it seem like they were intimate friends.”
Jimmy did his Master's thesis on Curt Schilling's blog 38pitches.com:
“He had used his blog to call out media...It was this tool that
athletes had and not many of them were using it...As I went into my
phD program, Twitter was getting more popular among athletes...”
Jimmy got interested in the governance of social media while working
in HR, which pivoted to sports and social media policy and
education

Jimmy earned his phD while working concurrently: “It was a
way for me to satisfy my own curiosity...In addition to social
media being a research interest o mine, it has also done
wonders for me career-wise and networking...I don't know
that that is something that is talked about enough (about
Twitter).”

On deciding to pursue a career in academia
After seeing the Landis study get published, Jimmy realized
how much he enjoyed research and, combined with getting
burned out on HR, saw that sports and social media was an
emerging area that he could carve out a place for himself in.
Now is a professor in social media and has authored a book
on social media policy, strategy, and training (with co-
author Chris Yandle)

“A lot of things we were experiencing with social media in HR, I started
to see them play out in sports. As a fan, I was interested in the fact
that we now had these mediums to engage athletes directly.”
(notes how he conversed with Jonathan Vilma on Twitter in the midst
of BountyGate)
“Here I am sitting in my room...and I'm having this conversation with
this athlete. It was fascinating athletes were making themselves that
accessible...With Twitter, there's that chance that the athlete will
reach out to you. I was interested in the way it was changing
interaction between fans and athletes. And fan behavior, as well, as
fans were sending critical and negative things toward
athletes...Then back toward the teams (and policies and
education).”

On the factors driving the paradigm shift in social media and
communication
“I think you have to look at the early adopters (Shaq, Lance
Armstrong, Curt Schilling)...I think you also look at some of
the Bay Area (pro) teams that were doing engaging things
early on...
College teams that embraced and saw it as a way to promote
the program and engage with fans...Those early adopters
kind of helped show the way...”

On teams buying in
“One thing is you now have a platform to say what you want...to
put out user generated content that says what we want it to
say, to tell our own story...Every single person now has a
platform to publish. That's empowering...and understanding
its strategic value (for disseminating information and run
promotions, focus group insight etc.)...
A lot of them realize this is a branding tool for me. I can control
how I want to be portrayed and how I want my identity to be
expressed and really build a personality we don't traditionally
see...We can really have more autonomy over things we want
to say and do.”

“While there are things that can and do go wrong, it's a space
you have to be in. It's where people are and where information
breaks...
“My message to people is that social media is only useful to the
degree to which it is used to develop relationships. If you
understand it's a relational tool and use it in a way that
demonstrates that, you're going to see ROI...If you're not
going to listen back and engage, then don't have it...
The underlying principle is to see it as a relational tool because,
when you do that, it reconfigures how you (use it).”

On overcoming fears of social media
“Some people are still hesitant in that people can say good
things to you and people can say bad things to you. And we
see that when something unpopular happens. So, for some,
it's 'do we want all these negative messages coming at us?' I
understand that, but, at the same time, that's also a perception
people have of you and that's also feedback. So, how can you
take that and act on it?
“The other things that constrains people a bit is the resource
issue...Social media really just about requires some sort of
24/7 presence...”

“A lot of organizations still view social media as 'something else'
and I don't think they understand it as something that should
underpin the entire organization...when you see it (in a holistic
light)...it's a matter of re-framing it and seeing it as an
organizational tool, rather than just PR.”
“There are still a lot of people that are very intimidated by (social
media)...We forget sometimes that there are still people that
don't what a tweet is. It's making it basic and showing that
relational aspect of it and how you making it an
organizational-wide tool.”

On some of the key points mad in his book on developing a
social media plan for a sports organization
“For us, it's more about looking at it from a 50,000 foot level...It
was 'what is social media, what does it do, why do you need a
plan for it?
“Using it as a relational tool, having goals...We also talk about
strategy decisions (platforms, resource allocation, customer
service)...We also talk about social media use by (coaches and
athletes) [and] you need to account for those individuals, so
you need to have education...We talk about legal issues in
social media – can you ban it, restrict it...(got Michael McCann
from SI to be an expert interview in that legal section)...”

“We talk about return on investment variables...content
management platforms...what kind of resources to devote to
it, staff, money...having contingency plans in place. All that
being said, it's not just (a one day thing)...it's really thinking
strategically about how every aspect of the organization is
going to be affected and utilized. At the end of the day, it's
about what are you trying to accomplish?”

Helpful Tool: VSCO Cam app

On the intended audiences or the book
“The first intended audience is students. We see this as a
resource instructors can use in sport communication and
sport management courses to train the next generation of
professionals about social media. Get them thinking about it
strategically while they're still in school...”

The second primary audience are people who work in
sport...things in there that (pros) aren't thinking about or
aren't sure how to handle. One thing that is rally going to
speak to that industry audience are the industry interviews.
Guys like Craig Pintens from Oregon and Bryan Srabian from
the San Francisco Giants. What are they doing?...
“It's not meant to be the definitive bible on social media in
sports organizations...
“A third audience are people that are just generally interested in
sports and social media...It's more of a minor audience
[though].”

On writing a book that can stand the test of time in social media
“The way you do that is you don't focus on specific platforms,
you focus on underlying concepts. For instance, I would
argue whether it's Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, or the next
iteration of social media platforms ten years from now, you
still want to use them to build relationships. You still want to
think about the return. You still want to think about your goals
and the things you're trying to achieve...
This isn't a book about how to use (each platform)...the
concepts, the principles, the strategy, the questions you want
to ask, that will stay consistent over time.”

On social media strategy applying across sports of different
scope and size
“We account for some of those nuances (of difference)...but, for
the most part, those questions, the goals, the strategy are
consistent; it's just there might be a couple of things different
that others don't have to think about.”

On how the book came about
Jimmy was approached by the publisher at a conference for the
Sport Marketing Association in 2013 → Was approached by FIT
Publishing that was looking to add to its collection of sports
textbooks with one on social media, but wanted to make sure it
was written by both an academic and a practitioner
→ Jimmy recruited Chris Yandle (of Georgia Tech Athletics) who
came on board to co-write the book – They outlined the book and
sent to the publisher to get the go-ahead
→ After going back and forth with drafts and clearing legal
channels on content, the book was completed, recently!

Share-able Stat: 65% of Snapchat's over 100 million users actively
post content to the platform
(Source: Evan Spiegel, Snapchat CEO)
Jimmy's take:
“I have come around to Snapchat...I have recognized it does has
value. There are a lot of younger people that are on the platform,
so I think it makes sense for brands, including sports and
organizations to have a strategy for it. Especially from a news
perspective...I'm still not a big fan of it, but I understand its value
and definitely think you need to put in your repertoire now,
especially if you're in college (athletics).”

Jimmy's favorite social media and sports mantra
“Social media is only useful to the degree to which it's used to
build and develop relationships.”

The most important takeaway from his book and the most
interesting thing Jimmy learned from writing it
An important takeaway – “You got to have a vision for what you
want social media to be. If it's not goal-drive, then why are you
using it? You might as well be a teeny-bopper trying to get One
Direction to retweet their post.”
What he learned – “How many good people there are in sports and
social media. I was amazed at the number of people who said
they would be more than happy to be interviewed, contribute to
the book. The people who have very kindly promoted it...There
are so many good people that work in sports and social media.”

In 90 seconds or less, how do you reconcile the authenticity and
monetization aspects of sports and social media?
“There has to be a balance...We can't have all our posts promoting
sponsors, but I think if you work that in and it's a small part of
who you are...I think most people are okay with it...It's being
genuine in the way you present it...thinking strategically about
the monetization to where it comes off less forced, less market-y,
less gimmicky.”

Jimmy's favorite social media platform to post on and why
“I love Twitter...I think it's a great tool for self-expression, it's a
great place to connect with people...It's a great way to get news
quickly, to interact with people. I absolutely love it.”

The biggest challenge to writing and publishing a book and how
Chris (Yandle) and Jimmy celebrated upon its release
“The biggest challenge was just the time you have to put into
it...You type chapter one and then where do you go from there.
There's a lot of pressure in 'how do I articulate what I want to say
on to the page?' It's making sure you're able to convey what you
want to say...
On celebrating – “Using social media, going out to dinner, those
kinds of things...It was great to finally see and hold (the
book)...No matter what else happens to me, that'll always be
around. That internal satisfaction is how you celebrate most.”

The best food to get near Clemson campus and best food to get
near Arizona State campus
Near Clemson – Smoking Pig,
a BBQ joint only open Thursday-Saturday
Near ASU – The Chuck Box, a hamburger place
where it's cash only and great burgers

The best way to convince a skeptic of the value of social media
“What I would say is 'who do you want telling your story?' Because if
you don't tell your story, someone else is going to tell it for you and
you might not like how they tell it. Do you care about the people you
do business with? Do you care about your stakeholders?
Because, if you do, that' a great way to engage them, interact with
them, be where they are, and collaborate with them. It's a relational
tool. It's a tool to reach out and find new audiences, strengthen your
relationship with existing customers...
“It's a differentiator. It's a way to distinguish yourself as a brand. If
you're really good on social, you can get a lot of good publicity and
press from that just for simply being good and responsive.”

More likely to win a College Football Playoff Title next season:
Clemson or ASU?
Clemson – “Because we bring so many guys back. We bring
quarterback Deshaun Watson at quarterback. Florida State lost
Jameis (Winston), so things are setting up really well for us in the
ACC.”

Jimmy's Social Media All-Star to Follow
Jessica Smith @WarJessEagle – “Consistent with good content, good
strategy, and ideas.”

Where to find Jimmy and Clemson communication studies on social
media
@Jimmy_Sanderson; also hash tag for his classes, currently
#COMM325
Find the book, Developing Successful Social Media Plans in Sport
Organizations, through FIT Publishing and www.fitpublishing.com

Thanks so much to Jimmy for sharing his time, knowledge,
experience, and expertise with the Digital and Social Media
Sports podcast!
Listen to the podcast and find more episodes and content on
iTunes and at www.DSMSports.net.
You can also follow me on Twitter @njh287

Episode 47 of the DSMSports Podcast w/ Jimmy Sanderson of Clemson

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Episode 47 of the DSMSports Podcast w/ Jimmy Sanderson of Clemson