The University of Missouri is leaving the Big 12 Conference to join the Southeastern Conference (SEC) on July 1, 2012. This will end MU's affiliation with rivals like Kansas and Nebraska from the Big 12. Though further west than many SEC schools, Missouri will compete in the SEC East division. MU cites the SEC's stability, success and visibility as reasons for the valuable move, despite a $12 million exit fee from the Big 12. Missouri and Texas A&M joining will expand the SEC to 14 schools total. MU currently utilizes social media including Facebook, Twitter, blogs and YouTube, and the transition provides an opportunity to engage new SEC fan bases online.

1.
University
of
Missouri
Joins
the
Southeastern
Conference:
A
Social
Media
Opportunity
Liz
Levine
ADPR891
Summer
2012
1

2. Analysis
Background
of
the
University
of
Missouri
• The
University
of
Missouri
was
established
in
Columbia,
Missouri
in
1839.
• MU
has
8
men’s
varsity
athletic
teams
(Baseball,
Basketball,
Cross
Country,
Football,
Golf,
Swimming
&
Diving,
Track/Field,
Wrestling)
• MU
has
10
women’s
varsity
athletic
teams
(Basketball,
Cross
Country,
Golf,
Gymnastics,
Soccer,
Softball,
Swimming/Diving,
Tennis,
Track/Field,
Volleyball)
• Football
is
one
of
Missouri’s
most
popular
sports
• The
MU
football
team
played
its
first
game
on
Thanksgiving
Day
in
1890
o They
lost
28-­‐0
to
Washington
University
in
front
of
a
crowd
of
3,000
in
St.
Louis,
Missouri
• The
nickname
“Tigers”
comes
from
the
armed
guards
(called
the
“Missouri
Tigers)
who
protected
Columbia
from
Confederate
guerrillas
during
the
Civil
War
• Former
members
of
the
Big
Eight
Conference
(along
with
Colorado,
Iowa
State,
Kansas,
Kansas
State,
Nebraska,
Oklahoma
and
Oklahoma
State)
o Four
teams
from
Texas
joined
the
conference
(Baylor,
Texas,
Texas
Tech
and
Texas
A&M)
and
it
became
the
Big
12
Conference
in
1994.
• On
July
1,
2012,
Missouri
will
leave
the
Big
12
and
join
the
Southeastern
Conference
2

3.
Background
of
the
Southeastern
Conference
• The
Southeastern
Conference
was
founded
in
1932
• The
original
13
members
were:
o University
of
Alabama
o University
of
Florida
o University
of
Georgia
o University
of
Kentucky
o University
of
Mississippi
o University
of
Tennessee
o Auburn
University
o Louisiana
State
University
o Mississippi
State
University
o Vanderbilt
University
o Sewanee
University
o Georgia
Tech
o Tulane
University
• Sewanee
left
in
1940;
Georgia
Tech
left
in
1964;
Tulane
left
in
1966
• University
of
Arkansas
joined
in
1990;
University
of
South
Carolina
joined
in
1992
• Texas
A&M
will
also
leave
the
Big
12
to
join
the
SEC
on
July
1,
2012
• The
addition
of
Missouri
and
Texas
A&M
will
bring
the
SEC
membership
to
14
schools
3

4.
Synopsis
of
the
Situation
The
University
Missouri
is
joining
the
Southeastern
Conference.
The
university
will
no
longer
be
affiliated
with
the
Big
12
Conference.
Leaving
the
Big
12
Conference
will
cost
Missouri
more
than
$12
million,
but
the
university
feels
the
move
is
worth
the
cost.
Missouri
will
be
the
one
of
the
two
newest
members
of
the
Southeastern
Conference,
and
will
no
longer
play
its
in-­‐conference
rivals
from
the
Big
12
on
a
regular
basis.
Despite
being
further
west
than
many
teams
in
the
SEC,
Missouri
will
play
in
the
SEC
East
division.
“The
Southeastern
Conference
is
a
highly
successful,
stable,
premier
athletic
conference
that
offers
exciting
opportunities
for
the
University
of
Missouri,”
said
Chancellor
Brady
J.
Deaton.
“In
joining
the
SEC,
MU
partners
with
universities
distinguished
for
their
academic
programs
and
their
emphasis
on
student
success.
The
SEC
will
provide
our
student-­athletes
with
top
flight
competition
and
unparalleled
visibility.
We
came
to
this
decision
after
careful
consideration
of
the
long-­term
best
interests
of
our
university.
We
believe
the
Southeastern
Conference
is
an
outstanding
home
for
the
Mizzou
Tigers,
and
we
take
great
pride
in
our
association
with
this
distinguished
league.”
4

5. University
of
Missouri’s
Current
Involvement
in
Social
Media
• Facebook
page
with
216,427
“likes”
• Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/coolproducts/university-of-missouri-columbia/
• YouTube
Channel
with
234,447
views
and
216
subscribers
• Multiple
Twitter
accounts
o @MizzouNews
has
13,992
followers
o @Mizzou
has
10,882
followers
o @MizzouNetwork
has
3,354
followers
o @MizzouAlumni
has
7,001
followers
o @Missouribuzztap
has
5,023
followers.
• A
few
blogs:
o Blog
of
Web
Communications:
http://uablogs.missouri.edu/interface/2012/04/responsive-web-design/
o Live
Wire
Blog
http://livewire.missouri.edu/
o Missouri
Alternative
Spring
Break
Blog
http://muasb.blogspot.com/
o Missouri
Sports
blog
http://www.rockmnation.com/
o Mizzou
Rah
Sports
Blog
http://mizzourahblog.com/
o Mizzou
football
blog:
http://blog.wearemizzou.com/
5

6. SEC’s
Involvement
in
Social
Media
• Though
not
recently
updated,
many
podcasts
are
available
at
http://secpodcastnetwork.blogspot.com/
• Facebook
page
with
257,769
“likes”
• YouTube Channel with 224,581 views and 258 subscribers
• Twitter:
@SECSportsUpdate:
70,150
followers
• Blogs about the SEC:
o ESPN.com’s http://espn.go.com/blog/sec
o http://bleacherreport.com/secblog
o http://www.collegefootballresource.com/blogs-­‐sec/
6

7. Current
Topics
Sports
fans
and
analysts
talk
year-­‐round
about
teams
and
conferences.
There
are
many
current
social
media
discussions
about
both
the
University
of
Missouri
and
the
Southeastern
Conference.
In
fact,
there
are
far
too
many
to
list.
More
relevantly,
here
are
topics
relating
to
Missouri
joining
a
new
conference.
Trending
Topics
Pertaining
to
MU’s
Move
to
the
SEC
• Countdown
until
MU
becomes
a
member
of
the
SEC
• General
excitement
about
the
move
to
the
Southeastern
Conference
• Speculation
on
the
Tigers’
success
in
a
new
conference
• Discussion
about
who
will
be
the
newest
rival
of
the
Tigers
in
the
SEC
• The
SEC
teams
have
all
had
to
make
schedule
adjustments
to
accommodate
Missouri
and
Texas
A&M
• Will
the
SEC
Conference
change
its
logo
or
division
names
now
that
they
have
added
new
teams?
• Members
of
the
SEC
have
won
the
national
championship
in
NCAA
the
last
6
seasons.
How
will
this
affect
MU’s
reputation?
Will
they
become
more
respected
in
football?
The
SEC
East
claims
3
of
the
last
7
national
championships
in
men’s
basketball.
Will
this
help
Missouri’s
basketball
reputation?
7

8. Current
Community/Audience
The
main
discussions
about
University
of
Missouri
joining
the
Southeastern
Conference
appear
among:
• University
of
Missouri
students
• University
of
Missouri
alumni
• Sports
media
• SEC
fans
• General
sports
fans
• The
community
of
Columbia,
Missouri.
These
discussions
appear
in
blogs,
on
Facebook,
in
Tweets,
on
YouTube,
in
sports
columns,
on
online
discussion
boards,
in
podcasts
and
on
the
Web
sites
of
the
Southeastern
Conference
and
University
of
Missouri.
While
there
do
not
appear
to
be
any
hashtags
on
Twitter
relating
to
both
the
Missouri
Tigers
and
the
SEC,
many
hashtags
relating
to
one
or
the
other
(#Mizzou,
#MUTigers,
#MU,
#SEC,
#SoutheasternConference)
often
appear
within
the
same
tweet.
The
same
keywords
frequently
appear
together
as
tags
on
blogs
and
YouTube
posts.
8

9. Opportunity
There
is
an
opportunity
to
create
awareness
of
MU’s
move
to
the
Southeastern
Conference,
educate
fans
about
the
conference
itself
and
convince
fans
that
the
move
will
be
beneficial
for
the
university.
The
university
should
implement
an
awareness
and
education
program
to
let
students,
alumni
and
fans
know
about
the
conference
change,
and
it
should
educate
constituents
about
the
SEC
while
educating
the
SEC
about
MU.
The
university
should
excite
fans
about
the
upcoming
change
of
conference
and
put
their
minds
at
rest.
Fans
want
to
be
sure
that
they
will
have
the
same
–
or
better
–
experiences
as
fans
of
a
team
in
the
Southeastern
conference.
Conferences
and
their
traditions
are
very
important
to
college
sports
fans.
Being
part
of
a
certain
conference
brings
about
a
certain
level
of
pride.
Which
conference
a
team
is
part
of
can
determine
how
the
team
is
viewed
by
the
media,
how
poll
voters
see
team
and
which
bowl
game,
if
any,
the
team
will
play
in
at
the
end
of
each
season.
9

10. Fans
will
be
most
interested
to
find
out
more
about
in-­‐conference
opponents.
Because
the
Tigers
are
new
to
the
conference,
the
MU
teams
will
have
had
little,
if
any,
experience
playing
teams
from
the
Southeastern
Conference.
Starting
in
July,
the
Tigers
will
begin
to
play
12
new
teams
regularly.
It
makes
the
most
sense
to
implement
the
social
media
plan
focusing
on
football
because
football
is
the
most
high-­‐profile
sport
in
college,
and
because
football
will
be
one
of
the
first
sports
impacted
by
the
conference
change.
10

11. Social
Media
Communication
Plan
Goal
• Introduce
Missouri
to
the
SEC
and
the
SEC
to
Missouri
Objectives
Organizational
Objectives:
• Make
the
University
of
Missouri
the
more
popular
of
the
two
new
SEC
teams
• Increase
athletic-­‐event
ticket
sales
from
last
year
Social
Media
Communication
Objectives:
• Strengthen
the
relationship
Missouri
has
with
other
members
of
the
SEC
• Build
awareness
that
Missouri
is
no
longer
part
of
the
Big
12
and
is
now
in
the
SEC
• Position
Missouri
as
an
athletic
leader
in
the
Southeastern
Conference
• Improve
understanding
of
the
Tigers’
rich
athletic
history
within
online
communities
of
SEC
and
MU
stakeholders
11

12. Social
Media
Communication
Strategies
• Build
a
dialogue
with
University
of
Missouri’s
social
media
community
to
address
concerns
about
joining
a
new
athletic
conference
• Leverage
existing
social
media
communities
to
bring
in
new
fans
for
Tiger
athletics
• Encourage
current
members
of
Tiger-­‐related
social
media
communities
to
openly
discuss
the
move
to
the
Southeastern
Conference
online
• Capitalize
on
the
popularity
of
football
by
launching
the
social
media
campaign
just
before
the
start
of
football
season
12

13. Audiences/Communities
The
main
audiences
for
social
media
communications
will
be:
• University
of
Missouri
students
• University
of
Missouri
alumni
• Southeastern
Conference
sports
fans.
13

14. Channels
• Facebook
o 10,000
more
“likes”
by
September
9,
2012
o Post
at
least
once
each
day
–
between
noon
and
8:00
p.m.
o Create
calendar
of
upcoming
athletic
events
and
tailgates
for
“Events”
page
o Create
a
“Biggest
Fan
of
MU
in
the
SEC”
Contest
 Fans
will
add
pictures,
videos
and
posts
on
the
Facebook
page
to
prove
why
they
are
the
biggest
fans
of
MU
in
the
SEC
 Biggest
fan
will
be
recognized
at
halftime
of
the
SEC
home
opener
game
on
September
9,
2012
against
Georgia
and
will
receive
a
University
of
Missouri
gift
pack,
including
a
hat,
t-­‐
shirt,
football
and
poster
signed
by
the
team
and
coaches
• Twitter
o 5,000
followers
for
each
new
account
by
the
end
of
2012
o Create
new
@MUTigers
account
and
consistently
tweet
at
least
5
times
each
day
(throughout
all
dayparts)
o Create
@MUTigersSEC
account
 Tweet
the
day
before
and
the
day
of
every
in-­‐conference
sporting
event
to
remind
fans
of
games
for
all
sports
 Provide
score
and
action
updates
during
games
and
results
after
games
• New
Twitter
accounts
are
important
because
the
existing
one,
@Missouribuzztap,
is
hard
to
find.
@MUTigers
and
@MUTigers
SEC
are
more
intuitive
and
easier
to
search
for.
The
school
should
reinvent
itself
on
Twitter
while
it
reinvents
itself
as
an
SEC
school.
o Promote
“Biggest
SEC
Tailgate”
for
the
SEC
home
opener
with
hashtag
#MUSECTailgate
 Encourage
as
many
fans
as
possible
to
check
in
near
the
stadium
on
Foursquare
before
the
game
and
“shout”
the
check
ins
on
Twitter
14

15. • Instagram
o 2,000
followers
by
the
end
of
2012
o Create
an
Instagram
account
for
@MUTigersSEC
and
link
it
to
the
Twitter
account
to
share
photos
of
fans
and
events
 Post
pictures
of
Missouri
fans
tailgating
and
watching
SEC
games
• Frequency:
Post
for
all
MU
SEC
games
• Storify
o 1,500
views
by
September
9,
2012
o Create
one
Storify
page
to
show
why
and
how
MU
joined
the
SEC
• YouTube
o 500
channel
subscribers
by
end
of
2012
o Create
a
contest
for
fans
to
submit
videos
explaining
what
it
means
to
be
part
of
the
SEC
 Best
video
will
win
tickets
to
the
Kentucky
at
Missouri
football
homecoming
game
on
October
27,
2012
 1,200
contest
entries
by
September
9,
2012
o Upload
clips
of
all
in-­‐conference
football
games
to
University
of
Missouri’s
YouTube
channel
• WordPress
o 400
followers
by
September
9,
2012
o Create
an
official
blog
for
general
information
about
Missouri
Tigers
athletics
 Create
a
section
of
the
Blog
specifically
for
SEC
Conference
competition
information
 Add
sports
recap
podcasts
to
blog
page
• Frequency:
two
posts
per
week
15

16. • Pinterest
o 500
followers
by
September
9,
2012
o Create
MU
Tigers
Pinterest
page
with
highlights
of
sports
and
tailgating
in
the
SEC
 Boards
for
tailgating
pictures,
game
pictures,
tailgating
recipes,
mascot
pictures,
campus
pictures
• Frequency:
Every
day
• Google+
o 500
+1s
by
September
9,
2012
o Create
MU
Tigers
Google+
page
to
share
MU
Tigers
pages
 +1
SEC-­‐related
links
 Frequency:
Every
day
• Shazam
o 250
Shazam
tags
by
September
9,
2012
o Create
Shazam
tag
for
the
MU
fight
song
 Picture
of
tag
should
include
the
SEC
logo
 Shazam
tag
should
link
to
Twitter,
Facebook,
YouTube,
Pinterest,
Google+,
WordPress
and
an
option
to
buy
the
fight
song
as
a
ringtone
• Digg
o 500
Digg
shares
by
end
of
2012
o Create
MU
Tigers
Digg
account
to
post
stories
about
MU
in
the
SEC
16

17. Implementation
Implementation
will
require:
• Two
new
Twitter
accounts
&
linked
Instagram
account
• Two
people
to
Tweet
from
the
new
Twitter
accounts
and
promote
SEC
Tailgate
• One
Shazam
tag
• One
person
to
add
all
athletic
events
to
“Events”
page
on
Facebook,
manage
“Biggest
Fan”
contest
and
manage
daily
posts
• One
person
to
manage
Google+
account
• Two
people
to
review
fan-­‐created
content
for
YouTube
contest
• A
local
sponsor
for
the
YouTube
contest
• One
person
to
upload
clips
of
in-­‐conference
games
to
YouTube
channel
• Two
blog
contributors
• Two
people
to
create
University
of
Missouri
sports
podcasts
to
add
to
the
blog
• Two
people
to
create
and
maintain
the
Pinterest
page
• One
person
to
manage
Digg
account
and
create
Storify
page
17

18. • Accounts
will
all
be
managed
by
members
of
the
University
of
Missouri
Office
of
Athletics
public
relations
team
Timeline
for
Implementation:
This
plan
should
begin
before
Missouri
officially
becomes
a
member
of
the
Southeastern
Conference.
For
the
purposes
of
this
plan,
the
plan
would
have
started
as
soon
as
Missouri
made
the
announcement
in
November
2011
that
it
would
join
the
SEC.
It
should
last
through
the
end
of
football
season
–
possibly
longer.
Of
course,
social
media
monitoring
will
help
to
determine
how
long
the
awareness
campaign
should
last.
It
may
be
useful
to
continue
the
plan
through
the
end
of
the
first
basketball
season
in
the
SEC
given
the
popularity
and
recent
success
of
the
men’s
basketball
team.
Of
course,
at
a
certain
point,
the
audiences
will
all
be
aware
of
Missouri’s
move
to
the
SEC.
At
that
point,
Missouri
should
change
the
focus
of
the
campaign
message
from
Missouri
being
in
the
SEC
to
Missouri
being
the
“Best
Tigers
in
the
SEC.”
With
LSU
and
Auburn
also
having
Tigers
as
their
mascots,
Missouri
should
try
to
make
itself
stand
out.
Eventually,
the
campaign
should
focus
on
promoting
Missouri
as
an
elite
member
of
the
Southeastern
Conference,
but
it
should
be
a
gradual
development.
18

19. How
to
Drive
Traffic
• Partnership
with
the
SEC
Digital
Network
to
promote
the
addition
of
Missouri
to
the
SEC
and
promote
the
social
media
campaign
• Create
local
television
commercial
for
the
University
of
Missouri
highlighting
the
fact
that
Missouri
is
in
the
SEC
o Include
Facebook
page
information
and
Twitter
handle
in
commercial
o Play
fight
song
in
commercial
and
include
the
Shazam
logo
in
the
commercial
• Add
Facebook
page
information,
Twitter
handle
and
hashtags
to
existing
“Proud
to
be
SEC”
billboard
• Distribute
flyers
on
campus
and
post
in
residence
halls
to
make
people
aware
of
the
social
media
channels
• Link
social
media
channels
to
each
other
• Tweet
links
and
post
links
of
Facebook
to
all
other
social
media
tools
• Announcements
during
sporting
events
19

20. Issues/Concerns
• There
may
be
negative
comments
from
Big
12
fans
about
Missouri
leaving
the
conference
o The
university
should
avoid
mentioning
leaving
the
Big
12
Conference
and
simply
talk
about
what
lies
ahead.
There
is
no
need
to
dwell
in
the
past.
• The
university
may
not
be
respected
because
it
is
joining
the
premier
league
of
college
football,
and
many
analysts
are
concerned
MU
will
not
be
able
to
match
up
with
the
new
competition
o Assure
constituents
that
MU
is
ready
and
excited
for
the
challenges
that
lie
ahead.
The
Tigers
are
going
to
prove
they
compete
with
the
best
teams
in
college
football.
20

21. Assessment
• Measure
growth
in
Facebook
“likes”
• Measure
growth
in
Twitter
followers
• Measure
number
of
blog
readers
• Measure
number
of
podcast
listeners
• Measure
number
of
Pinterest
followers,
likes
and
re-­‐pins.
• Measure
number
of
YouTube
subscribers
and
channel
views
• Measure
number
of
YouTube
contest
entries
• Measure
Storify
views
• Measure
Google+
followers
• Measure
Shazam
tags
• Measure
Digg
followers
• Measure
Foursquare
check
ins
at
the
SEC
home
opener
• Measure
overall
share
of
conversation
compared
to
other
SEC
schools
o Measure
overall
share
of
conversation
compared
to
Texas
A&M
• Measure
specific
number
of
mentions
of
the
MU
Tigers
in
the
SEC
Blog
• Measure
amount
of
negative
comments
about
the
MU
Tigers
in
the
SEC
• Evaluate
tone
of
social
media
posts
about
the
MU
Tigers
• Use
Google
Analytics
and
Cision
to
monitor
the
online
conversation
21

22. These
measurements
will
help
the
university
see
where
social
media
has
a
strong
impact
and
where
there
is
room
for
improvement.
Furthermore,
they
will
allow
the
university
to
see
immediate
feedback
from
the
audience
and
can
determine
the
overall
attitude
of
constituents
regarding
the
move
to
the
Southeastern
Conference.
Monitoring
the
tone
of
posts
will
help
the
University
of
Missouri
understand
what
stakeholders
would
like
to
see
in
the
future.
Once
MU
is
aware
of
what
provokes
action
from
the
audience,
it
will
know
how
to
adjust
the
plan
for
the
future
to
maintain
or
increase
participation,
and
which
parts
of
the
audience
to
target.
Comparing
the
share
of
conversation
and
specific
number
of
mentions
in
the
Southeastern
Conference
Blog
will
allow
MU
to
see
which
universities
in
the
Southeastern
Conference
are
most
talked
about.
Once
they
determine
which
universities
those
are,
MU
can
begin
to
research
why
those
universities
get
the
attention
they
do.
If
MU
determines
these
universities
get
positive
attention,
it
may
be
an
indicator
of
what
the
University
of
Missouri
should
focus
on
in
the
future.
Additionally,
monitoring
negative
feedback
will
allow
the
university
to
solve
existing
problems
while
working
toward
a
more
successful
future.
Without
knowing
where
there
are
problems,
there
is
no
way
to
effectively
find
solutions.
22

23. Information
Retrieved
from:
http://www.missouri.edu/about/history/mu-­‐history.php
http://www.mutigers.com/index-­‐main.html
http://www.collegefootballhistory.com/missouri/history.htm
http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/colleges/post/_/id/4668611/history-­‐lessons-­‐big-­‐12-­‐big-­‐8-­‐swc
http://www.secsportsfan.com/sec-­‐football-­‐history.html
http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/24156338/33131078
https://www.facebook.com/#!/Mizzou?rf=109281435757256
http://www.youtube.com/user/umsystem
http://www.twitter.com
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Southeastern-­‐Conference/64758072831
http://www.youtube.com/user/SECDigitalNetwork
http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-­‐12/big-­‐12/2012-­‐missouri-­‐tigers-­‐football-­‐schedule.php
23

24. Image
Credits:
(page
1)
http://mizzou2sec.com/east_west_2.jpg
(page
2)
http://doghealthadviser.com/about/university-­‐of-­‐missouri-­‐logo-­‐1/
(page
3)
http://vmedia.rivals.com/UserMedia/FanPagesPhoto/Gallery/94/O276650.png
(page
5)
http://nsei.missouri.edu/
(page
6)
http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/127180/SEC_Logo_medium.jpg
(page
8)
http://thedmonline.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/400xY/sports_graphic_thomas.jpg
(page
9)
http://people.cs.missouri.edu/~reu/REU10/CSRFProtector/images/MULogo.jpg
(page
10)
http://www.mizzou.com/s/1002/images/editor/School%20spirit/215-­‐FOOTBAL1.jpg
(page
11)
http://mizzou2sec.com/mizzou2sec.jpg
(page
12)
http://www.mizzou2sec.com/deatons_choice/deatons_choice_wp.jpg
(page
13)
http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/002/072/286/132447008_crop_650x440.jpg?1332905880
(page
17)
http://www.wearemizzou.com/UserFiles/mizzousec.jpg
(page
19)
http://throwtheflagblog.com/wp-­‐content/uploads/2012/02/20120227-­‐132910.jpg
(page
20)
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/c5/0c5c0933-­‐
1da5-­‐5d7f-­‐a8f9-­‐3c78ed0c8a5f/4ed65ebacf748.image.jpg
(page
21)
http://www.collegeflagsandbanners.com/images_products/mizzou_tigers_wool_pennant_9071big.jpg
(page
22)
http://mizzoumag.missouri.edu/2011-­‐Fall/columns/sec/images/SEC-­‐logo.jpg
24