I have to confess, I still don't understand how a league can add an eleventh team but keep the name of Ten. But that's a topic for another day. For now, though before I dive into the program that is the 11th-best, out of 10, let's revisit our setup once more.
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. I'm not saying 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. To get you fired up. And to connect. There is no window of time that coaches can't connect to prospective players (or their families) online. The internets are always on.
That's what makes this journey exciting.
And that's what I'm going to do -- break down the Big Ten 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.
#11: Northwestern
The Digital Scouting Report
Strengths: Kind of a cool Facebook and Twitter widget. Actually super cool.
Weaknesses: Nothing to see here. Seriously.
Full Scouting Report:
There is no special award for finishing 11th out of 10. But, as you'll see below, there are a couple things we can get excited about. Diving into the Northwestern athletics page, here, and you quickly notice a nice little call out for Recruiting in that main navigation. Nice.
There is no special award for finishing 11th out of 10. But, as you'll see below, there are a couple things we can get excited about. Diving into the Northwestern athletics page, here, and you quickly notice a nice little call out for Recruiting in that main navigation. Nice.
I don't waste any time. Excitement begins to rise. That's one of the things I love about this project -- you just don't know where you're going to find inspiration. Any program can have it, and I really do get pumped to check out what we can learn from each school. I move my cursor over Recruiting and see the menu below. Ugh.
Can you imagine a less inspiring menu? "You want to be a recruit?" Let's quickly contrast that to our coverage of Oregon - who called out "Be A Duck." That's a difference in tone, in expectation, in attitude. And as you'll see there just isn't anything in this section remotely cool.
I backed away quickly. And scanned the page. Give me something. Anything. There, deep in the trenches of the site, I came across this icon collection. It's a nice touch. Leverage the assets the conference gives (Big Ten Podcasts) and direct people into your Facebook or Twitter presence. I'm ready. I'll click ahead!
And then we hit this gem. This is pretty nice - not only do you get access to the NW Facebook or Twitter pages, but you actually get a visual of what comes with that click. Really. This saves you time, and makes this page alive. My suggestion is to take this content and elevate it. It's really too dynamic to be buried.
So if you want Men's Basketball content, you'd better check out the Men's Basketball home page (here). This content isn't just going to find you. You have to make that first move. Clicking right ahead, and sadly there really isn't any original content here. You can see a link to the Big Ten's basketball blog on the right. Or you can click to get an email newsletter. But that's it. The rest is pretty static content, and left me wishing that tease of interactivity I saw earlier could have found it's way into basketball.
I backed away quickly. And scanned the page. Give me something. Anything. There, deep in the trenches of the site, I came across this icon collection. It's a nice touch. Leverage the assets the conference gives (Big Ten Podcasts) and direct people into your Facebook or Twitter presence. I'm ready. I'll click ahead!
And then we hit this gem. This is pretty nice - not only do you get access to the NW Facebook or Twitter pages, but you actually get a visual of what comes with that click. Really. This saves you time, and makes this page alive. My suggestion is to take this content and elevate it. It's really too dynamic to be buried.
Clicking in, I checked out the Northwestern Athletics Twitter feed up close. (Shown below or by clicking here) It has around 1800 followers, and really doesn't have a ton of original stuff here - just score updates, across all sports. From what I could find, there was no specific Facebook or Twitter site for men's basketball.
So if you want Men's Basketball content, you'd better check out the Men's Basketball home page (here). This content isn't just going to find you. You have to make that first move. Clicking right ahead, and sadly there really isn't any original content here. You can see a link to the Big Ten's basketball blog on the right. Or you can click to get an email newsletter. But that's it. The rest is pretty static content, and left me wishing that tease of interactivity I saw earlier could have found it's way into basketball.
I'll summarize Northwestern with this. I think it is even MORE important to have a dynamic web presence, a cool website, a quirky coach who gives you daily access into his mind if you are a program without the name recognition that the best in the conference have. If you're a perennial national title squad, you can maybe get away with not doing this. (I'm not saying they should of course!) But Northwestern needs to think different, take a chance, and get noticed.
Tune in tomorrow as we continue our Big Ten journey!
Andy
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