It's time to finish up our digital journey through the Big 12 Conference.
This trek showed us #12 Texas Tech, #11 Colorado, #10 Texas, #9 Kansas, #8 Oklahoma State, #7 Missouri, #6 Iowa State, #5 Kansas State, and #4 Oklahoma, #3 Nebraska, and #2 Baylor.
Let's start this by diving into the Texas A&M home page, here. You'll see the icons at the bottom of the main window to follow A&M athletics on Twitter, Facebook, or via RSS. Nice. We'll get to that in a second, but first let's scroll down the page a little...
You'll see the bottom portion of the home page lifts top headlines by sport to the home page. This is pretty simple, but cool. It's kind of the athletics dashboard for the overall fan. I just would love to see a way here to subscribe for updates for the sport you care about.
And, finally, the home page offers up this collection of promotions -- most notably the chance to follow Athletic Director Bill Byrne on his blog (here). Let's click ahead.
Now (see the image below), you can tell this isn't the most visually-pleasing blog, but you can also tell at a glance that the AD is doing a great job of posting each week. In the process, he's making himself available to comments, questions, and connections from athletes and fans. And he gives us a chance to see what makes him tick.
Moving back up to the top of the page, let's zoom in on the Aggies Multimedia menu (shown below). You'll see that we have another place to get access to the A&M Athletics Facebook and Twitter pages. OK, it's time, let's click in.
I've got to say it - the Aggie Athletics on Twitter directory is one of my favorites yet. This is amazing! Not only do we get a look, by sport, at who we can follow, but (see the image below) when you mouse over a Twitter address, the latest post appears. So cool. I see how active they are, and I can get a feel for a plethora of Twitter options without even clicking anywhere (or without signing up for an account if I didn't want to). Nice!
But you know me. I have to click in. First, here's the Aggie Men's Basketball Twitter page. They are just getting started, with around 200 followers, but seem to do a nice job of sharing updates both on the program and on their site here.
I'm always excited when I see the Head Coach of a squad is up on Twitter. It just makes sense. But when they, like Coach Turgeon, are active, I get really pumped. Here's Coach Turgeon's Twitter site - with around 1200 followers he's super active and offers nice insight. Yes, he's worth following. All he needs is an A&M Twitter page design!
The Aggie Facebook page is shown below. It's a fan community of 9000 or so, and the Athletics Department seems to keep it pretty regularly updated - sharing updates on the teams in season and options for fans to connect with them (like meeting the team after they get back from a road trip).
Alright, it's time to drill into the Men's Basketball page, shown below and here. You'll notice the big Virtual Guide to Aggie Basketball in the middle. We'll get to that in a minute. Trust me it's worth it. But first, let's turn our attention to the left hand navigation.
I'm excited to introduce you to our champion...
#1: Texas A&M
The Digital Scouting Report
Strengths: Amazing Virtual Guide to Aggie Athletics + Player and AD blogs.
Weaknesses: Bring the Virtual Guide content (or at least some of it) into the Athletics site!
Full Scouting Report:
You'll see the bottom portion of the home page lifts top headlines by sport to the home page. This is pretty simple, but cool. It's kind of the athletics dashboard for the overall fan. I just would love to see a way here to subscribe for updates for the sport you care about.
And, finally, the home page offers up this collection of promotions -- most notably the chance to follow Athletic Director Bill Byrne on his blog (here). Let's click ahead.
Now (see the image below), you can tell this isn't the most visually-pleasing blog, but you can also tell at a glance that the AD is doing a great job of posting each week. In the process, he's making himself available to comments, questions, and connections from athletes and fans. And he gives us a chance to see what makes him tick.
I've got to say it - the Aggie Athletics on Twitter directory is one of my favorites yet. This is amazing! Not only do we get a look, by sport, at who we can follow, but (see the image below) when you mouse over a Twitter address, the latest post appears. So cool. I see how active they are, and I can get a feel for a plethora of Twitter options without even clicking anywhere (or without signing up for an account if I didn't want to). Nice!
But you know me. I have to click in. First, here's the Aggie Men's Basketball Twitter page. They are just getting started, with around 200 followers, but seem to do a nice job of sharing updates both on the program and on their site here.
I'm always excited when I see the Head Coach of a squad is up on Twitter. It just makes sense. But when they, like Coach Turgeon, are active, I get really pumped. Here's Coach Turgeon's Twitter site - with around 1200 followers he's super active and offers nice insight. Yes, he's worth following. All he needs is an A&M Twitter page design!
The Aggie Facebook page is shown below. It's a fan community of 9000 or so, and the Athletics Department seems to keep it pretty regularly updated - sharing updates on the teams in season and options for fans to connect with them (like meeting the team after they get back from a road trip).
Alright, it's time to drill into the Men's Basketball page, shown below and here. You'll notice the big Virtual Guide to Aggie Basketball in the middle. We'll get to that in a minute. Trust me it's worth it. But first, let's turn our attention to the left hand navigation.
You'll see the callout for Sloan's Aggie Hoops Blog. What's this? Yes, it's a blog through the eyes of Senior Guard Donald Sloan. And it is good! (Click here). It's good not just because it gives us insight into the life of a leader on the squad.
How insightful? Check this example, "Now that practice has officially started, I think we've made tremendous strides in getting where we need to be for the first game. My mindset going into this season is "IT'S TIME." I've sat back long enough to see if things would just happen for me, but now I see it's time for me to go "TAKE IT." So every night, no matter if we have practiced, conditioned or if I have had study hall, I'm back in the gym at 9:30 working and putting up more shots and going hard." That's powerful stuff. I want more.
OK. Let's move into the Virtual Guide to Aggie Athletics, also known as Coach Turgeon.com, available here. From here, you can fully immerse yourself in Aggie Hoops. I did it. I'll show you some of the highlights.
It starts with the Inside Dish. I like this page for a lot of reasons. Powerful imagery. A video look at the program. Oh and Facebook and Twitter integration. Wow.
OK, let's click ahead into the Aggie Facebook page. Don't worry, we'll get back to the Virtual Guide. Do they keep it updated? Look at the image below... Coach Tergeon is posting here. That's a connection. Solid!
How insightful? Check this example, "Now that practice has officially started, I think we've made tremendous strides in getting where we need to be for the first game. My mindset going into this season is "IT'S TIME." I've sat back long enough to see if things would just happen for me, but now I see it's time for me to go "TAKE IT." So every night, no matter if we have practiced, conditioned or if I have had study hall, I'm back in the gym at 9:30 working and putting up more shots and going hard." That's powerful stuff. I want more.
OK. Let's move into the Virtual Guide to Aggie Athletics, also known as Coach Turgeon.com, available here. From here, you can fully immerse yourself in Aggie Hoops. I did it. I'll show you some of the highlights.
It starts with the Inside Dish. I like this page for a lot of reasons. Powerful imagery. A video look at the program. Oh and Facebook and Twitter integration. Wow.
OK, let's click ahead into the Aggie Facebook page. Don't worry, we'll get back to the Virtual Guide. Do they keep it updated? Look at the image below... Coach Tergeon is posting here. That's a connection. Solid!
Back to the Virtual Guide. Coach Turgeon lays out what it means to be a part of the program. Right here in text, in visuals, and in video. Which as you'll notice is this theme (words, visuals, and video) powers every piece of this experience.
Here's how it extends to the Aggie Assistant Coaches. You learn a lot about Coach Spinelli here -- why he coaches and who he is. Simple and powerful. Oh, and there's video.
Players care about facilities. Here's the Practice Gym. It comes with a description from players and Coach Tergeon. Simple and strong. And it's open 24 hours.
When players aren't in the gym, here's their Players' Lounge story. I know lots of teams have these, but not many teams give you this kind of behind the scenes look into the players' world.
... And the Film Room. Wow. Love the Quote, "Our Facilities are so nice I want to stay here all day and night."
A&M knows it's about more than your time on campus. It's about getting away from campus. Pros are shown with highlights and a look at what they learned from playing for Coach Tergeon. That's great stuff -- help future players envision themselves as getting to the next level with help from the A&M staff.
And, if you wondered if A&M gets it, check out the last two images. A&M is highlighting the Aggie Angels (basically a female fan club)...
Here's how it extends to the Aggie Assistant Coaches. You learn a lot about Coach Spinelli here -- why he coaches and who he is. Simple and powerful. Oh, and there's video.
Players care about facilities. Here's the Practice Gym. It comes with a description from players and Coach Tergeon. Simple and strong. And it's open 24 hours.
When players aren't in the gym, here's their Players' Lounge story. I know lots of teams have these, but not many teams give you this kind of behind the scenes look into the players' world.
... And the Film Room. Wow. Love the Quote, "Our Facilities are so nice I want to stay here all day and night."
A&M knows it's about more than your time on campus. It's about getting away from campus. Pros are shown with highlights and a look at what they learned from playing for Coach Tergeon. That's great stuff -- help future players envision themselves as getting to the next level with help from the A&M staff.
And, if you wondered if A&M gets it, check out the last two images. A&M is highlighting the Aggie Angels (basically a female fan club)...
... And their Dance Squad (with visuals and video). These together help the prospect realize they are elevated to hero status here.
As you can see, A&M delivers a great experience. I'm pumped to follow them this season.
Come back tomorrow as I'll share the best things I found about the Big 12 Conference. What you can learn and take with you.
Thanks for reading,
Andy
As you can see, A&M delivers a great experience. I'm pumped to follow them this season.
Come back tomorrow as I'll share the best things I found about the Big 12 Conference. What you can learn and take with you.
Thanks for reading,
Andy
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