2013 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, Sports Communication Interest Group, Washington, D.C

1. The Essence of Social
Media Strategy in
Big Ten Athletic
Departments:
A Phenomenological
Approach
Makayla Hipke
Frauke Hachtmann, Ph.D.

2. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
 To develop an understanding of the
essence of social media strategy
developed and deployed by Big 10
athletic departments.
Purpose

3. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
 12 Division I-A universities
 More than 10 million fans attend Big
10 Conference football, men’s and
women’s basketball, and volleyball
events
 Programs with largest fan bases:
Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State
The Big 10 Conference

4. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
“A group of Internet-based applications
that build on the ideological and
technical foundations of Web 2.0 and
that allow the creation of user-
generated content.”
(Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010)
Definition of social media

5. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
 Back Stage Sensation
 Engagement, interactivity and two-
way communication
 Community building
 Relevance and brand building
 Immediacy
Literature

6. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
 What did the participants experience
in terms of the phenomenon?
 What contexts or situations have
typically influenced their experiences
of the phenomenon?
Research questions

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 Design: phenomenology
 Purposive sample
 In-depth phone interviews
 Data analysis: horizontalization,
clusters of meaning, textural and
structural descriptions, narrative of
the essence
Method

8. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
 Social media are now trumping
websites in terms of fan
communication
 Platforms are used for different
purposes
 Social media are used for
information, promotion, and
research
1. Connecting with target
audiences

9. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
“It’s a way to a pulse on your fan base,
to know how they’re feeling and know
when something might be worth
addressing and when something might
be better just to ignore it.”
1. Connecting with target
audiences

10. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
 Ranges from centralized team
approach to decentralized individual
approach
 Ranges from frequent short-term
planning meetings (weekly) to
infrequent long-term planning
meetings (annually)
2. Coordination of Postings

11. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
 Competing interests are challenging
 Individual sports accounts are
handled by sports information staff
for recruiting purposes
 Organizational accounts are handled
by marketing for branding purposes
 Keeping a balance
3. Content gatekeepers

12. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
“As much as we want to get out and
promote, we have to make sure that
we’re not killing ourselves with spam
and becoming spam. We have to
engage our audience but also be
courteous to them.”
3. Content gatekeepers

13. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
 Difficult to show ROI of social media
efforts
 Administrators still need to be
convinced of the value of social
media
 Social media still considered “added
value” instead of stand-alone
promotional channel
4. Sponsors and revenue

14. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
“They’re running a campaign with
stadium signage or maybe a website
banner, and they’ll get a throw-in with
social media. That’s something we
want to get away from.”
4. Sponsors and revenue

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 Enhancing the fan experience
 Building the brand organically
through engagement
 Will engagement lead to
merchandise and ticket sales?
 Fan loyalty as a result of two-way
communication
5. Building loyalty through
engagement

16. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
“We’re not able to keep up with
everybody but we interact with fans as
much as possible. It can’t just be one-
way. If it’s two-way that’s where they
become engaged and their fan loyalty
builds because they’re being heard.
They’re being respected.”
5. Building loyalty through
engagement

17. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
 Measuring two-way communication
meaningfully
 Concern for the brand
 Concern for the student-athlete
6. Negativity and metrics

18. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
“We’re not too concerned about doing
something social that’s going to hurt
our brand. We’re worried about our
student-athletes and how it’s going to
hurt their personal prospects.”
6. Negativity and metrics

19. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
 Social media are used to
communicate with various audiences
for different purposes
 Difficulty measuring ROI
 Centralized versus decentralized
planning
 Sports information versus athletic
marketing
The Essence

20. 2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.
 Need social media plan with clearly
articulated and measurable goals
 Identify and measure key
performance indicators
 Managerial decision-making
 Connect sponsors in a meaningful
way
Discussion

21. Thank you!
Makayla Hipke
Frauke Hachtmann, Ph.D.