Along with millions of other Americans, I enjoy following college football. My team? The Nebraska Cornhuskers.
I recently attended a game in Lincoln and couldn't help noticing (and evaluating) their social media content and implementation leading up to, during and after game day. My impression is that while the NU athletic department does an excellent job producing compelling and entertaining content, they could improve on the dissemination of that content. Let's take a closer look.
Long-touted as having the "best fans in college football," there is a strong sense of pride, passion and integrity that accompanies being a Husker fan. With that distinction, however, NU carries a certain responsibility to satisfy the "craving" of fans to quickly get their hands on the most up-to-date, informative and opinionated commentary available.
There is a wide variety of content for Husker fans to devour - from objective, post-game breakdowns, to opinionated blogs, to interviews with Husker players and coaches, to videos of Huskers past and present. More than just a variety of content, however, is the passion invoked. An effective social media program will not only give its audience relevant information but elicit an emotional response - reaching them on a personal level in a manner that will leave them begging for more.
For instance, in honor of its nation-leading 300th consecutive home sellout earlier this season, NU produced or promoted an assortment of emotionally-charged material, from the Tradition of Nebraska Football video to a blog written by an opposing team's TV broadcaster called "College Football Nirvana," extolling the exceptional experience the broadcaster had when his team came to Lincoln to play the Huskers. Talk about a powerful third-party endorsement!
In the world of social media, creating a consistent, powerful message is only the first step. One must then be able to effectively distribute that information in a way that reaches audiences in places they inhabit. In this regard, there are some things NU could improve. After each game, exclusive videos, photos and write-ups are posted, as well as podcasts that can be purchased for a small fee, on the Huskers.com football page. These are all useful vehicles - but there is so much more that could be added to improve the seamlessness with which fans can access this and other information.
Facebook and Twitter accounts for Husker fans do exist, as well as a YouTube Channel, yet none of these are actively promoted on Huskers.com. As a fan, I had to search on the individual sites for anything Husker-related. On Huskers.com, there is a box labeled "Nebraska on Facebook," but one has to go all the way to the bottom of the page to find it. Why not display it prominently at the top of page, along with buttons that say "Follow us on Twitter" and "Subscribe to our YouTube Channel?"
The main Twitter account is not run by NU directly, but by Buzztap, a third-party entity that compiles content from a range of sources, such as blogs, message boards and newspapers. The content is then pushed out through Twitter several times a day. The Nebraska Buzztap Twitter account has a decent following of 1,648 followers (second among Big 12 teams), but with a more proactive strategy utilizing the Huskers.com Web site and other avenues, that number could be so much more! Since I occasionally Tweet about the Huskers, just last week I received a follow notification from Husker Headlines - another Twitter account devoted to Husker athletics - this one with more than 7,500 followers. So I pose this question: why not take these Twitter accounts, along with the multiple Facebook fan pages and YouTube Channels, and somehow make it easier for Husker fans to a) locate these sites and b) connect with one another?
Have any comments about my brief analysis or know of another college football program that does a great job with social media? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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