Big 12 College Basketball Marketing: #8 Oklahoma State

Let's continue our analysis of the Big 12 Conference. We're going to look at how programs are communicating to young athletes from a digital point of view.

We dive into this because websites and digital marketing create an opportunity for coaches and programs to share what they stand for. The internet is always there, and always on. And, as they do on the court, the best programs take advantage of opportunities.

So let's keep moving. Thus far our Big 12 journey has shown us #12 Texas Tech, #11 Colorado, #10 Texas, and #9 Kansas.

#8: Oklahoma State

The Digital Scouting Report

Strengths: Really good Twitter site. I was pleasantly surprised to see Coach Ford had a site.

Weaknesses: There's a definite need for video to pump into this site.

Full Scouting Report:

When I hit the Oklahoma State home page, you're hit with a pretty bold picture and the OSUTube All-Access video player. The tone is set. I'm hyped and ready to dive in...

The first thing I came across is the Promotions Callout on the Upper Menu. As I mouse over it, you see a pretty sweet collection of ways to check in on the Cowboys. Twitter and Facebook are here. Let's keep clicking.

A double click on the Twitter Tab takes you here - to a directory of ways to follow the program on Twitter, set to the look of the Cowboys. As I mentioned with Texas Tech, I am actually a fan of this -- it's simple but it sends a message that we're going to get a nice feel of Twitter pumped into Oklahoma State, rather than Oklahoma State pumped into Twitter. Subtle, but nice.

The other thing that's super cool is the Twitter feed of OKState.com is actually pumped in. Now I wish this was pumped all the way into the home page. But I like the fact that it takes the guesswork out. Like what you see? Sign up to follow. Or just click in. Again, simple but powerful.



So I know the suspense is killing you. You need me to click in. Consider it done. (Click along here if you want)... They have over 1600 followers and a regularly updated site that feels of a live blog - with posts throughout football games. It's seeing things like this that are blowing me away in advance (I am anticipating these live blog style sites will be everywhere once Hoops season starts)... What is weird though is the boxes of who OSU Athletics follows. I'd love to see a directory of OSU sites - academics and athletics. What I do see is a bunch of sites including Fox Sports Ohio?


I also clicked on the OSU Athletics Twitter site, here, and found a site that is much simpler, with a pretty cool graphic pattern of the Cowboy and the Twitter logo. The site has around 1600 followers but isn't updated nearly as often.



Coach Travis Ford is also up on Twitter, though he isn't active yet. Still I was excited to see he's out there... and he's already over 700 followers.



OK. Let's move on to the Facebook section. Clicking in takes you to OSU's Group shown below and here. As you can see, they have passionate fans -- upwards of 1500 here - this had a feel to me of being a fan community, rather than a deep Cowboy experience.



Alright. We'll back out of here and move on to the Multimedia section of the home page, shown below. As you can see in the list, OSU has an iPhone app. Let's dive in.



You get hit with a pretty solid preview of what's available to you. If I'm a Cowboys fan, I'm willing to pay the $4.99 to get streaming audio or video. Does that mean I can watch OSU basketball on my phone all season? I might want to buy this anyway. That'd be incredible!


Moving on to the Basketball home page, you again are hit with a powerful visual attack. But while I'm pumped at this visual (what a crazy place to play!), I am drawn to the text in the lower right - CoachTravisFord.com. Let's check that out.

Coach Ford's home page, shown here, delivers an equally powerful first impression. I like the player roster image (James Anderson) in the upper right. That's pretty sweet. I also like the general life of this site. It just feels like this is an exciting place to be. Let's click around a little.



Diving into Players takes you to a roster page that doesn't offer the same amount of life as we see on the home page (shown below). Clicking in on any of these players (from the text list) just takes you to the player's standard bio page. I guess I was hoping to see the same treatment we see of Anderson on the whole site. A bigger opportunity to give a feel for the team.

Going back to the basketball main page, there are a couple other things to check out. First, the Cowboys' new Media Guide is up and active on the site, as a virtual click through catalog. It's pretty simple, but I was glad to see it up and visible - without making me download it and print it out to view it. (I wonder how many of us actually have printers available with our laptops?)

Oklahoma State lists players who've made it to the next level here. As you can see, it is something that could be a much better experience. I'd much prefer to see a list of players rather than have it sorted by teams with comments like Charlotte's below ("No Players"). Rather than telling us about what teams don't have Cowboys, tell us more about the Cowboys that have made it!


And that sums it up. OSU has a lot of simple, powerful pieces. And they have a few pieces that need to be focused in. Doing a few things a little better can really add up to a complete Cowboy experience online.

Come back on Monday as we continue our trek through the Big 12!

Andy

Big 12 College Basketball Marketing: #9 Kansas

Let's continue our analysis of the Big 12 Conference. We're going to look at how programs are communicating to young athletes from a digital point of view.

We dive into this because websites and digital marketing create an opportunity for coaches and programs to share what they stand for. Young athletes are going to visit. What message are they getting? The internet is always there, and always on.

And, just as they do on the court, the best coaches and programs take advantage of opportunities.

So let's keep moving. Thus far our Big 12 journey has shown us #12 Texas Tech, #11 Colorado, and #10 Texas.

#9: Kansas

The Digital Scouting Report

Strengths: Really solid Facebook presence. And nicely promoted iPhone app.

Weaknesses: Really need more of Coach Self infused here.

Full Scouting Report:

When we hit the home page here, we get a navigation that brings you headlines but allows you to quickly see the latest videos or events. I'll get to that in a minute. While we're still on this page, I also want you to note the Jayhawk iPhone icon in the bottom right.

I moused over the Multimedia button at the top of the page, and was hit with a wall of good stuff. The iPhone app appears again. And we get hit with the 1-2-3 punch of Podcasts, Facebook, and Twitter.

OK, I can't wait any longer. Kansas unveiled an iPhone application, which is pretty cool. You're going to bring your phone with you everywhere - to the gym, in the car, and out. You're probably not taking your laptop with you as often. Which makes the ability to bring audio and video content with you pretty cool.

I'm betting among the features the app will give you are access to the Kansas Athletics podcasts, which are also shown below. I like bringing the podcasts to the KU site -- you get a good sense of what is waiting for you without getting taken directly to the iTunes store. But there doesn't seem to be a way to subscribe for just basketball podcasts - and I'm not that keen on subscribing for everything and then deleting the football (or volleyball) programs. A simple tweak could make this a lot better.

OK, moving on. I double-clicked on the Twitter button and was taken here, to the KU Social Networking directory. I'm a big fan of directories like this, as it gives you at a glance all the ways you can stay in touch with the programs. (Just the change I was hoping for in their podcasts!)

As you can see, there isn't a KU Basketball Twitter presence. But there is a KU athletics page, here, with roughly 3800 followers. It's updated pretty regularly, across all sports and they have been pretty active during football games. I'm pretty intrigued to check back and see how this looks during the heart of basketball season.

While there isn't a basketball Twitter destination, there is one on Facebook. As you can see below and here, it is a very active community of 20,000 members. They post pictures and video here, and engage an already passionate community. Solid.

Staying in the basketball world, I wanted to check out the Jayhawk Basketball home page (here). As we saw in the home page, you are taken to a main window with quick access to news, video content, and event info.

But that breakdown is much more powerful here. Let's click on the video tab:


Cool. Now there's a bunch of dead space (or maybe it's my computer?) but I like the fact that we have good original videos right inside the site. I only wish we had a way to share this video easily.

This is extra important, as this video content is really the energy point on the Jayhawks site. The bottom of the site has a section of Highlights, which is your other opportunities to get into inspired by what it means to be in the program.


Here's where you get access to Jayhawks in the NBA. Howerver, as you can see below, it is simply a text link to their NBA.com profiles. As we've covered with Colorado and Texas, this is a chance to get us excited and to see your school as a place where dreams start.

There really isn't much in the way of history either. Which is surprising, as the Jayhawks won it all just 2 seasons ago. KU history is accessible, but it is buried in the form of a media guide PDF... And while PDFs are great, they are very tough to feel.

We can make the assumption that everyone understands what it means to be a Jayhawk. Or that Coach Self is a great recruiter. I'm not questioning either -- all I'm saying is that the Jayhawks have a History and recent success that most programs would trip over themselves to be able to share. This is an opportunity to tell their story and be inspiring. And this is an opportunity they should take on.

That concludes our breakdown of Kansas basketball. Tune in tomorrow as we keep our Big 12 journey rolling.

Andy

Big 12 College Basketball Marketing: #10 Texas

Let's continue our analysis of the Big 12 Conference. We're going to look at how programs are communicating to young athletes from a digital point of view.

We dive into this because websites and digital marketing create an opportunity for coaches and programs to share what they stand for. Young athletes are going to check you out. What are you telling them? The internet is always there, and always on.

The best coaches and programs take advantage of opportunities.

So let's keep moving. Thus far our Big 12 journey has shown us #12 Texas Tech and #11 Colorado.

#10: Texas

The Digital Scouting Report

Strengths: Texas Sports TV is cool. Texas embraces a pretty solid history.

Weaknesses: The site doesn't feel very personal - maybe because they don't connect it to their Twitter presence?

Full Scouting Report:

OK. Texas was my pick to be the best in the Big 12, here. What gives? When you hit the Texas home page, you get hit with a Texas-sized tout for Texas Sports TV.

Let's zoom in just a little so you can get a look at this player...

Clicking to launch Texas Sports.TV takes you to a pop up window, shown below. You are able then to filter this down by your favorite sport (see the basketball collection below). I was impressed that this was filled with footage from practice - there's not a lot, but still it's good inside access we'd expect to find on Texas Athletics. Solid. Note this content is also accessible from the "Multimedia" drop down on the home page.

OK, want more hoops? Let's dive into the basketball section. The image below is what I was dying to see on the Colorado Buffs site. Kevin Durant in his Oklahoma City gear. Nice. If you have a superstar leave your program, keep their future success a part of you. Hype it. After all, you are where that dream became a reality. And this image is just killer. Naturally, there's also a tout for Texas Sports.TV.

If you scroll down the page a little, you'll hit this basketball sub-navigation.

First, I'm not here to point out the obvious. But I couldn't, for the life of me find out who is on the Longhorns coaching staff beyond Coach Barnes. See the image below - that came up when I clicked on either Roster or Coaching Staff. I'm sure it's being updated, and might even be up by the time you read this... but to me this is one of those sections that's so important it should always be up, with the lights on!


OK, here's the listing Texas athletes in the NBA. They offer a list of pretty solid players. But there really is nothing about the player - what they accomplished at Texas or what they've made happen at the next level. Come on, this is something to brag about... and, witnessed by the Durant image above, I know there's potential.

Moving on to Texas Basketball History. This isn't the most deep section. But I am a fan. It's solid. Texas elevates their history and then dives into the top 100 moments of all time. It's all text and images, but it is celebrating where they've come from and I was pretty pleased to see it!

As you can see, there's a listing that covers 100 moments in 100 years. Going into each moment, and giving you a feel for what makes Texas special. Solid.

What surprised me though was that the site as a whole didn't feel that personal. I didn't see really any ways to sign up to get updates. So I did some digging and came across two Twitter sites, both of which seem to be pretty good and neither of which gets mentioned on the Texas Athletics site.

First, here's the Longhorns Hoops Twitter page, with only 180 or so followers (probably because it is hidden). They do a really nice job of updating you on the team - articles and insights. Sadly, the team also follows a who's who of other teams, from Nebraska to Duke.

And I also was able to find the UT Athletics Twitter, shown below or here. This covers all sports, with a style that is more updates and facts style than it is insights and original content. I'd love to see either of these Twitter sites linked into (or at least referenced) on the Longhorns site. It wouldn't be enough to get Texas where I had them picked, but it would definitely make the site feel personal.

Thanks for sticking with me. Come back tomorrow as we keep rolling through the Big 12.

Andy

Big 12 College Basketball Marketing: #11 Colorado

It's time to continue our analysis of the Big 12 Conference. We're going to look at how programs are communicating to young athletes from a digital point of view.

We dive into this because websites and digital marketing create an opportunity for coaches and programs to share what they stand for. Young athletes are going to check you out. What are you telling them? The internet is always there, and always on.

The best coaches and programs take advantage of opportunities.

So let's keep moving. Thus far our Big 12 journey has shown us #12 Texas Tech.

#11: Colorado

The Digital Scouting Report

Strengths: Buffs TV is worth tuning into. A really simple but cool Twitter ticker.

Weaknesses: Really nothing in the way of basketball content.

Full Scouting Report:

When I think of Colorado Basketball, I think of Chauncey Billups. He's a legend in the NBA, a leader whose work ethic has helped him emerge from a role player to a star. I'm thinking the Buffs site is actually going to be so filled with Chauncey it's going to smell like him. (You're welcome for that image)

Hitting the home page, here, and you'll see the Facebook and Twitter icons on the right hand side of the site header. But I want you to look a little bit deeper, feast your eyes on the Twitter logo beneath the main navigation.

Need an assist in seeing that? Let's zoom in here. You'll see they actually have the Athletics Twitter feed set up as a ticker. Killer. I love this. So anytime they update their Twitter feed, the home page of the athletics site changes. Nice!

OK, so you know I need to click in. Looking at their Athletics Twitter page, here, and you see a site that does a decent job of updating live scores. (See the volleyball update below) They have around 1000 followers, and I'd say overall it's ok if you are into all of their sports programs. I did find the people they follow (the boxes in the lower right) a bit odd. I mean, you have a potpourri of schools. I'm not a fan of following your rivals. But to follow schools such as Harvard and Rutgers? I'm just confused.



OK, going back to the home page, let's zoom in on the Multimedia Menu. Buffs TV is all over this (you've got about 4 options to hit it), so let's go ahead and launch it...

I am a pretty big fan of this. You can be too if you click here. This is a pretty high quality video network, with interviews, highlights, and coaches shows. I'd guess this is at least 95% football - I could only find one basketball-related video here. Maybe this will change in the season?

OK, so if you have to get hoops content, maybe you just have to hit up the Basketball home page. As you can see, video is pumped into the site, at least when the lead news story is hoops-related. There's a couple of links on the right hand side of the page that were intriguing. Especially the Alumni section (All-Time Lettermen)...

It just makes sense, but not too many sites do this. Provide a way to tell your history through the guys who wore the jersey. I clicked in, super excited for what was about to hit me.

Now I want to hit up the Pros section, eager to finish this journey where I started it: Chauncey Billups...

And my bubble bursts.

Coming soon. Sigh.

And that's pretty much what I felt when I went through the site. There is some content (last season's basketball media guide is posted online as a PDF - see below), but in general the Buffs are not yet putting attention to what could be a pretty unique place to play.

Thanks for reading.

Come back tomorrow as we continue our quest for the best in the Big 12.

Andy

Big 12 College Basketball Marketing: #12 Texas Tech

It's time to dive into the Big 12 Conference. We're going to look at how programs are communicating to young athletes from a digital point of view.

Why?

It's hard to imagine any young athlete making his or her choice on their college without taking a glance at the program's website. That's not to say that websites are the only factor. I'm not saying a kid will turn down a chance to play at North Carolina because they liked the website of East Carolina better. But what I am saying is that websites and digital marketing create an opportunity for coaches and programs to share what they stand for. Young athletes are going to check you out. What are you telling them? The internet is always there, and always on.

That's what makes this journey exciting.

And that's what I'm going to do -- break down the Big 12 from a digital point of view, from less best to best. There's no science here, just my impressions. I'm pumped for the challenge and hope I can make this journey a fun one to join me on.

Here we go.

#12: Texas Tech

The Digital Scouting Report

Strengths: A pretty nice Facebook site, integrating in Twitter and YouTube.

Weaknesses: If you're looking for basketball content, this isn't the place for you.

Full Scouting Report:

I was pretty excited to get in to Texas Tech. Pat Knight. So I hit the home page here and of course was drawn right into the Twitter logo. So far, so good.

As you can see here, the Twitter logo rotates with the Facebook logo. Both are Texas Tech'd up in the red and black - which I kind of like. It feels really clean, and I like it. What I don't like is that they rotate. These are both pretty big guns. Give them a permanent home!

You'll also see the expanding menu on their home page. Mousing over the Multimedia tab hits you with a 1-2-3 punch of Facebook, Twitter, and Podcasts. I double clicked into Facebook (image below and link here). The site is ok, but it's the two tabs of Twitter and YouTube that really intrigue me.



Clicking on the YouTube tab takes us here, to a Facebook page that ports in their YouTube channel (which you can also visit directly here). I'm a big fan of this for a few reasons. Naturally it is a great way to get people aware of your YouTube channel. But it also makes updates easier -- once Tech posts a video on YouTube, it automatically gets up on Facebook. Nice. If only we got some Hoops videos... maybe in a month or two?

Similarly, click in on the Twitter tab and you can see the latest posts on the Texas Tech Twitter page (which you can also access here). As we saw in their YouTube tab, as soon as the Tech team posts on Twitter, it updates here. You don't need to visit Twitter or have a Twitter account to catch their latest. Smart.



If you aren't one of their 1700 followers and want to know what the Tech Twitter page is like, you can click here or see the image below. They do a decent job of updating through key games - very live much like a collection of live posts during games. They also share pictures through the action. (As implied by the name, this covers all sports).

What you don't find anywhere on the site, or even on the Tech Athletics followers from what I could easily find, is any basketball twitter references. But I dug around and found Assistant Coach Stew Robinson is up on Twitter, here. He's only got about 75 followers (yes, I am one of them), but he is pretty insightful and does a nice job.

OK, you thought I'd forgotten. Podcasts. As promised, here's the Tech style of Podcasting. It's good - you can see a full list of what you get. But you don't have any ability to subscribe by sport. So you need to come back and visit often. It's nice that the content is here, but the idea is to not make people remember to come back and get it. Make it easy.

OK, in my search for basketball content, I hit the section here. There's a nice window for visuals and a call out to Raidervision All Access. I'm game.

As you can see, you can go in and sort this by sport and pull out basketball content. It isn't easy, and it looks like nothing has been put up since last March when the season wrapped up. Again, the content is around - just need to make it easy to raise your hand and learn about the program.

I'll close with the bottom of the basketball site. I'm not sure why this shows up. You'll see the Other basketball links on the right (Big 12 Basketball). Which I wish was played up more as it is -- you know Tech is selling the conference when they talk with recruits. Why not do the same on your site?

Then look at the lower left, under "Sponsored Links". Electrical Wall plates? I'm not sure if this is a revenue source for the program or what, but it is just weird.

That's it. Stay with us tomorrow as we continue down our Big 12 journey.

Andy