But going through the ACC (link here), Pac-10 (link here), Big Ten (link here), Big 12 (link here), Big East (link here), and SEC (link here) gave me context. Now we'll have a sense for not just what the Mid Majors do well, but also how they stack up against the rest of the conferences.
Let's go.
What's Good about the MVC Experience? Really nice setup for Social Media, and solid work on Facebook plus cool way of elevating the best moments in basketball.
What Could Be Better? Basketball is the heart of the Valley. And you don't get that just yet.
Let's dive in...
I've hit the MVC web page many times before, but never in full-on evaluation mode. I'm pumped. Clicking in here takes us to a page with a lot going on. There's good information, but it's a little tough to determine where the Valley wants you to focus.
First, I noticed the ESPNU headlines box. As we covered here with the SEC, the SEC allows you to see the latest headlines of programs on ESPN (image below if you don't want to click back...)
I loved this as it lets recruits envision the exposure you get. Now contrast this with the MVC's ESPN U Headlines.
As you can see, ESPN gives their headlines, not the Valley's. A big miss that needs to be addressed.
Next, I moved to the left menu. You'll see the callout for "Social Media". Nice. Really nice.
I clicked in. And, I was very impressed with what I found (image below). The Valley gets you access not just to the MVC on Facebook and Twitter (which we'll get to later), but also to every Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube page in the Conference, at the school level. This is smart and just cool to see.
Also, as you can see in this image, the Valley pumps in the latest Twitter updates from MVC Sports into this section.
As a whole, this is outstanding. This provides a nice look at ways to follow Valley programs individually. And it got me thinking. What would this be like if this was all put together onto one page? (As an MVC community!)
Moving on, I was excited to see the Valley Info callout. (Based on the menu it revealed beneath). First, I clicked into This is The Valley - ready to be hit with some of what I've come to love about the Valley. What they stand for. How powerful the Fan Communities are...
And we are hit with the image below -- much like we saw on the home page, this is really good information, but lacks the emotion that could really connect you, the young athlete, with the Conference. As you can see in the image below, the most powerful message you get (visually) is that from NetFlix.
All isn't lost here though. If you read through this you'll see the Valley has a 103 year history of competition, packed with big moments. Many stars have emerged from here. We just need to take the information and make a more powerful visual statement.
I was also pretty stoked to click in here, to the All-Centennial Teams. The MVC has been the conference where Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson, and (more recently) Hershey Hawkins played. Similar to what we saw above, the Valley provides the information to you but is missing a little of the emotion that powerful visuals can bring to you. That said, the information is here and it's easy to see that legends can emerge from these programs.
Finally, if you scroll down the home page, you'll get access to the MVC on Twitter and Facebook. I like the fact that there are multiple ways into these areas, but really think this needs to be elevated inside the MVC Site, not pushed down to the bottom. You'll also see included here is a way to sign up for email updates. Good idea, just very much pushed down to the bottom of the page. OK, let's check them out.
First, I clicked into the MVC Sports on Twitter, here. They are extremely active (over 7,200 Tweets), and have 1,220 followers (including me). But to me, Twitter is about quality and not quantity. So while I love that the Valley shares so much information, I'd like to see more than just updates - give me a little more originality and a little less updates.
On the other hand, MVC Sports on Facebook (link here) offers an interesting contrast. With 1,277 fans, the MVC does a really nice job engaging fans.
Check this example out. This is pretty nice in tone. It feels personal, and is still informative. I'd just like to see more of it -- don't be afraid to have fun with this and connect with fans.
It was through the MVC's Facebook page that I came across this -- a contest for the 20 best Moments in Arch Madness history. As you can see in this link (and below).
If you click on any of these moments, you get a YouTube highlight of it to view. Nice.
This is a pretty cool contest, though the MVC needs to do a better job of hyping these 20 moments through their website, Facebook, and Twitter. Each of these moments packed emotion, and there's a chance to take the power of all of them and pump them into the site - to really make an impact, and to build on this with the best moment in every tournament.
After browsing a bunch of these (and voting) I headed on to the Basketball Home Page, here. As you can see in the image below - we essentially get the latest headlines and not much else. The 20 Moments are not pumping through this section, and there's an opportunity to pump in the Valley's Facebook or Twitter presence. To me, this is a concern, as many people will hit the Valley home page and go straight into Basketball -- thus missing an opportunity to connect with the conference while they are here.
Also, as you can see in this image, the Valley pumps in the latest Twitter updates from MVC Sports into this section.
As a whole, this is outstanding. This provides a nice look at ways to follow Valley programs individually. And it got me thinking. What would this be like if this was all put together onto one page? (As an MVC community!)
Moving on, I was excited to see the Valley Info callout. (Based on the menu it revealed beneath). First, I clicked into This is The Valley - ready to be hit with some of what I've come to love about the Valley. What they stand for. How powerful the Fan Communities are...
And we are hit with the image below -- much like we saw on the home page, this is really good information, but lacks the emotion that could really connect you, the young athlete, with the Conference. As you can see in the image below, the most powerful message you get (visually) is that from NetFlix.
All isn't lost here though. If you read through this you'll see the Valley has a 103 year history of competition, packed with big moments. Many stars have emerged from here. We just need to take the information and make a more powerful visual statement.
I was also pretty stoked to click in here, to the All-Centennial Teams. The MVC has been the conference where Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson, and (more recently) Hershey Hawkins played. Similar to what we saw above, the Valley provides the information to you but is missing a little of the emotion that powerful visuals can bring to you. That said, the information is here and it's easy to see that legends can emerge from these programs.
Finally, if you scroll down the home page, you'll get access to the MVC on Twitter and Facebook. I like the fact that there are multiple ways into these areas, but really think this needs to be elevated inside the MVC Site, not pushed down to the bottom. You'll also see included here is a way to sign up for email updates. Good idea, just very much pushed down to the bottom of the page. OK, let's check them out.
First, I clicked into the MVC Sports on Twitter, here. They are extremely active (over 7,200 Tweets), and have 1,220 followers (including me). But to me, Twitter is about quality and not quantity. So while I love that the Valley shares so much information, I'd like to see more than just updates - give me a little more originality and a little less updates.
On the other hand, MVC Sports on Facebook (link here) offers an interesting contrast. With 1,277 fans, the MVC does a really nice job engaging fans.
Check this example out. This is pretty nice in tone. It feels personal, and is still informative. I'd just like to see more of it -- don't be afraid to have fun with this and connect with fans.
It was through the MVC's Facebook page that I came across this -- a contest for the 20 best Moments in Arch Madness history. As you can see in this link (and below).
If you click on any of these moments, you get a YouTube highlight of it to view. Nice.
This is a pretty cool contest, though the MVC needs to do a better job of hyping these 20 moments through their website, Facebook, and Twitter. Each of these moments packed emotion, and there's a chance to take the power of all of them and pump them into the site - to really make an impact, and to build on this with the best moment in every tournament.
After browsing a bunch of these (and voting) I headed on to the Basketball Home Page, here. As you can see in the image below - we essentially get the latest headlines and not much else. The 20 Moments are not pumping through this section, and there's an opportunity to pump in the Valley's Facebook or Twitter presence. To me, this is a concern, as many people will hit the Valley home page and go straight into Basketball -- thus missing an opportunity to connect with the conference while they are here.
That thought sums up the MVC pretty well. There's a lot of information and energy here. There's a lot of big moments. And elevating these moments and information, via images, words, video, and social media will go a long ways in helping the Valley build a website that is a difference maker.
I'll close this, as usual, with my Pre-Looking at Anything Rankings. How I think the MVC Schools will compare in marketing themselves digitally.
- Creighton
- Illinois State
- Wichita State
- Southern Illinois
- Missouri State
- Bradley
- Northern Iowa
- Drake
- Evansville
- Indiana State
Andy
Posts
2 comments:
Nice review & write up Pep!
Thanks Clark! It's been a long wait but I'm ready to go through the Valley!
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