The Southland Conference Elevates Their Title Through Social

The conference title.

That's the ultimate goal when you play in a low-major Division 1 conference. And it's one of the goals for programs at all levels of play. It's fully controlled by the conference. But it's seldom elevated to the showcase it can be, from a digital and social POV.

Enter our friends at the Southland Conference.

Hit the Southland website and click into their Basketball Tournament section.



You can get there directly by clicking here. (Or you can dive into the Basketball page and select "Tournament.") I'll illustrate the 2010 Tournament site, below.

The Destination is Katy, Texas. And there's a slew of ways to dive into and join the Madness (literally) that is the SLC tournament. That means not just a tournament and stats/leaders but conversation...

The tournament features a blog, here, and a Twitter page, here.
The blog is personal and emotional. It is updated throughout each game, witnessed by this post:

"The game has slowed to a pace that suits the Bearkats. Owning such a sizable margin has allowed Sam Houston coach Bob Marlin to methodically wear the clock down and look for the ideal shot."

And the Twitter page, while dormant in the regular season, pumps up the volume come tourney time -- as you can gather from this Tweet:

"Sam Houston fans rushing the court to share in the moment with their newly crowned tournament champs."

Here's what works. This is a model that can be (and has been) built upon year over year.

It gives you a reason to follow along with both tournaments through the same system (website plus blog plus Twitter) and, much like the real world, it isolates and elevates the title game and the conference tournament to an achievement area we all aspire to.

So, how could this be better?

1. Emotion. I'd love to see pictures of the celebrations. Give me videos of the huddles at the tournament or from the locker room speeches.
2. The Dream. What happens after the SLC title? Who do they match up with? What's Selection Sunday like? How do the fans go nuts? Can the SLC rally everyone behind the school(s) in the tourney?
3. In season. How can this develop a voice in-season? Perhaps it is sharing news/blogs who predict the SLC teams to make the dance? Or maybe it is interviewing past title MVPs on what they are doing now? I think there is a real possibility to develop a voice that lives beyond this moment.

Come back tomorrow as we extend our week-long look into the best practices of the Southland.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

SoCon Best Practices: Elon leverages a Fan Poll

Polls.

These are the simplest of all things to participate in -- you are anonymous, you just have to click a button, and you get real reward for doing it (the chance to see how your feelings compare with the rest of the world's). Plus this value doesn't cost anything for the poll generator to create. Perfect world, huh?

But can this hit something that's social, like a blog?

Enter Elon University.

Hit the Elon Phoenix website and click onto the Blogger Icon in the upper right hand corner of the page...

That takes us to the Elon Blog, shown below and also available here. As you'll note in the image below, we are taken to the chance to vote (and see live results) for the December Elon Phoenix performance of the month, across all sports.

Like I alluded to earlier, it's simple to implement and the reward is nice. Plus there's an added benefit that the person who stumbles onto the site (like me) sees life and energy that we wouldn't naturally find without it. Great value here.

Granted it was the December performance of the month and I came across it in February... but the fact that I still called this out shows how much potential Elon has enabled.

So, besides more frequent polling, how can this be better?

I'd love to see physical value get generated from the fan action. Perhaps Elon can create a monthly video around the impact an individual player, coach, fan, or team is having on their peers through this. Fan voting impacts content planning. And it results in tangible value not just for voting but for the individual/team who gets the hype. And it gives a chance for players or teams to lobby (aka drive fans) to your poll. The engine's here -- let's turn it on!

Come back next week as we roll through another conference!

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

SoCon Best Practices: Davidson Redefines Live Blogging

Tune in here.

There's power in this phrase. And I think there's a signal of where digital is going for programs and conferences. Is your website simply a place to get a schedule so you can go elsewhere to catch the game? If so, do people even need your website? Or is it something more?

Davidson hits us with a glimpse in what could be.....

Hit the Davidson Athletics page and you'll see the main story in the center...

Or you can check out the tout further down the page:

In any case, you end up here, at the home of the Davidson Blog, Wildcat Roar. Take a peak at the image (or the link) and we'll dive into it below the image...

In one space, you now can chat with others about the game, as it is happening, with CoverIt Live. And you can stream live audio, video, or stats -- whatever you want! I like this for many reasons. But I'll boil it down to two.

1. They are adding value - making it easy for you not to know when the game is, but rather to consume it.
2. This becomes the message that's hyped on their home page. It isn't "Game tonight," but rather it's "Game tonight, watch it with us here."

What's more, as you can see below, you can set a reminder for the game. If you're like me, you need reminders. I make to-do lists, I set appointments on my calendar, and I ask my family or friends or co-workers to remind me of things. They enable it, right here....

How many meetings would I miss at work without Entourage's handy reminder system?

How could this be better? I'd like to see the live actions merged together. Could we get cover it live synched with live audio? That way you could hear it and the messaging in the live blog wouldn't have to be the play-by-play but rather the color commentary. I sense a whole new world, coming soon!

Come back tomorrow as we give our final peak into the best practices of the Southern Conference.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

Appalachian State Elevates What's Shared on Facebook

How do you add to the image of your program without doing anything? In other words, how can you set up your site in a way that it will get better the more people use it, without you having to go back and update it? After all, we all only have so many hours or so many people to make things click. Sounds like an impossible challenge... but Appalachian State shows us a great look into how to make this dream a reality.

Hit the Appalachian State home page and click into the Fan Zone (menu shown below), Social Networking page.

Clicking in takes you here, to your official directory of ways to connect with Appalachian State Athletics. Take a look at this image and focus in on the bottom half of it.

There you see it: "Your Friends' Activity on GoASU.com." What is this? If you take a closer look, ASU has found a way to elevate the social activity on the site. This image elevates the most-shared stories from their site into one page.

Now, if we want to get technical, it isn't really my friends. But that isn't the point of this one. It shows you what other people found interesting. And, the more people dive into the site, the better this feature becomes. There is power in knowing that this site is so dynamic, so viral, that people are sharing it into their networks. And, from a infrastructure standpoint, this all happens automatically, behind-the-scenes. There isn't a programmer hurrying up to update that share tally each morning. So it gets better on its own. Sweet.

How could this be better? Elevate, elevate, elevate. I'd love to see the most-shared stories hit the home page. Put this into a column of its own, and give it love so that it can both enable more sharing AND make the site feel more alive the second you hit it.

Great stuff from ASU!

Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the Southern Conference.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

Southern Conference Develops a Student Blog Network

A student blog network? Wow, sounds a bit ambitious, huh? Well ambition equals opportunity. And as you'll see below, there are some amazing learnings we can take and run with...

Hit the SoCon home page and scroll down to the bottom of the page...

Keep scrolling...

Clicking in takes us here, to the unofficial home of SoCon Student-Athlete Blogs... As you can see from the image below, the plan is to roll out 4 sports (Men's + Women's Basketball, Football, and Wrestling).

The Women's Basketball Student Athlete blog is up, here, and shown below, from Elon University sophomore Kelsey Evans. As you'll note, the blog is well designed, and naturally mixes conversation and imagery.

Here's a sample to get a feel of the insight and writing style a student blog can deliver for you:

"Our trip to Baltimore was centered on visiting the hometown of senior Julie Taylor. Julie's family had the team over for dinner Saturday night and we got to spend time with some of her family, which was great. Julie's parents live right in the center of downtown and have an awesome view from the top of their deck, where we got our team picture. (see my photo album for more pictures!)"

You get personality. You get a family feel. And you get a reference to a personal photo gallery, which you can find from the right-hand side of the page. This gives us access to an ever-evolving photo gallery (shown below is a snapshot of the team stretching in pregame). Link to the full gallery here.



How could this be better? I'd love to see this expanded for more perspectives on the league. Perhaps the player of the week each week could write posts for the following week? That would add more connection between the player who's hot and the fan base. And add more attention to the award itself. Content in that direction gives us a cross-school, diverse perspective on playing in the SoCon... and trying to stay on top. In short, it'd be emotion packed, exactly what the conference should be elevating.

That's it.

Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the Southern Conference.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

How the Southern Conference Partners with Classrooms

Education and Giving Back. These are definitely values that are shared across the majority of college programs and conferences I've chatted with. But how is that demonstrated? How do we bring teams together in a way that truly makes an impact?

Southern Conference Week starts now.

Hit the SoCon home page and scroll down to the bottom of the page...

Keep scrolling... And you'll see the middle button "Adopt A Class." Let's dive in.

Clicking in takes us to a release with the full story, here. They are uniting the 11 women's basketball programs around the site of the conference tournament in a way that I'm guessing will teach both the teams and local children a lot about life. But you really need to go deep into the details to feel the power...

Here's a few selected excerpts:

"With the cooperation of all 11 women's basketball teams, the Southern Conference Adopt-A-Class program has been initiated for the 2010-11 season. The program is designed to create a tie between SoCon student-athletes and elementary school children in the greater Chattanooga community, site of the 2011 SoCon women's basketball tournament.

Throughout the basketball season, the conference will be sending pictures, player profiles and assorted logo items to the teachers of the 22 elementary classes (two per SoCon team). SoCon athletes will exchange cards and notes electronically, as well as in the mail.

Grade school teachers will be encouraged to create a bulletin board display of their adopted SoCon team to follow their progress all season. All children in the program will receive vouchers for free admission to a session of the SoCon women's basketball tournament, which runs March 3-7 in Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena."

Nice.

So 22 classrooms are participating. And each team gets to interact with 2 of them during the season. The classes no doubt will start to look up to the student-athletes and will learn a lot about teamwork and fighting through challenges. Oh, and I'm guessing they'll have a special moment when the tourney starts. This will build anticipation and a feeling of connection in the local community.

Here's a list of the classrooms/schools so you can get a visual feel for this...

How could this be better? I'd love to see a snapshot of each classroom's bulletin board. It'd bring a visual understanding of the reality of this program -- it is a great idea that benefits the community, the schools, and the conference. And it would naturally evolve through the year. Could we get to a point where we see the tale of the season, through the eyes of children? Now imagine the impact if the SoCon rolled this out to all teams.... Wow.

Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the Southern Conference.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

Patriot League Best Practices: What it takes to be a Navy Student Athlete

What made the most impact on you during your time in college (for those of you who attended?) For most of us it wasn't the coursework, or the degree we earned. It was the connections we made with people. It might be a coach or a teacher, but for the most part it is connections with other students.

Shouldn't that be the same for student-athletes? Shouldn't you aspire to make deep connections with those individuals you're going into the daily rigors with? You'd think so but I seldom come across any reference to this online.

Navy changes this for me.

Hit the Navy Athletics Page and hover over Traditions...

I'll do it for you, here:

"What it takes to be a Navy Student Athlete." Intrigued, I clicked in, which took me here. As you'll note from my excerpt below, it takes us to a online version of a printed version of

a recruiting magazine.... (But it's still pretty solid to see online!) Let's dive into the selected

excerpt:

What you find here is not a checklist of what you need in order to succeed at Navy. No, you instead

get a list of what you're going to get out of your time at Navy. Some fantastic skills that have everything

and nothing to do with sports (dealing in adversity, overcoming challenges, and peer motivation for example).

And I'd love to highlight the statement ahead of this: "within each of the 31 athletic programs, those

family ties are made even stronger... When asked about what they value the most about their playing

days most if not all speak of the relationship with their teammates."

Wow.

So when asked about playing days, people across all sports respond by talking culture and bonds.

That, friends, is a story worth telling. And it's an undeniable recruiting weapon.

How could this be better? Elevate and Amplify. One wouldn't expect to find soft side benefits of friendship

hidden inside a "What it Takes" header. And it's a story that needs telling. So hype this fact. And, of

course, don't just hype it -- give us the emotion. Give us stories of life long bonds that come from the

time in Annapolis. You have all the pieces here -- just add the emotion into the facts and commit to

telling this story over time, across all sports.

Thanks for sticking with me in my Patriot League tour! Come back next week as we turn our attention to another D-1 conference.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

Patriot League Best Practices: Colgate's Leadership Academy

What do you want to get out of your college experience? Or, better asked, what could you get out of this college experience that you wouldn't get elsewhere? That's a question I'd love for colleges and conferences to ask themselves as they evaluate their digital footprints. It ensures your time is well spent, and it ensures you get real value out of digital.

Colgate University gives us a glimpse of what could be...

Hit the Colgate Men's Basketball Page and note the icon in the lower left-hand corner of this image: Colgate Leadership Academy. Wow.

Before I even click in, I'm hyped. Leadership is a skill that you no-doubt need to succeed on the court. But it's also a skill you need to succeed in life - no matter if you're in the business world, academia, military, or if you're just trying to create a better life for your family. How you unite and create a vision can be the difference between success and less success.

Let's go deeper.

Clicking in takes us to the PDF release, shown below or here.

Let me highlight a critical excerpt:

"The Emerging Leaders Program is designed for a select group of “high potential”

sophomore and junior student-athletes. This program will provide these prospective

leaders with the insights, strategies and skills necessary to become effective leaders on their team, on campus, and in the community.

With the comprehensive scope and intensive depth of the programming being used, the Colgate Leadership Academy unequivocally distinguishes the Colgate Athletics

Department as having one of the best leadership development programs in collegiate

athletics. The Academy has been in place since Fall 2009."

There's a few gems in this release that need to be discussed.

1. This program aims to make you a great leader on the team, on campus, and in the community. So it is not just about athletics but rather about your development as an individual. Fantastic.
2. "One of the best leadership development programs in collegiate athletics." That is a line in the sand of their identity. LOVE it.
3. "Since Fall 2009." So this is now year 3 of this program. (Calendar year 3, School Year calendar 2) Meaning it is working and they are sticking with it as a part of identity and brand.

In sum, Colgate identified a critical need in development and is stating a drive to be the best in the world at this!

How could this be better? Simply put, we need stories. What, specifically, is it like? Do you interact with people from the real world, or is it with professors and coaches? Or all of the above? How has this changed the game for the student athletes who have gone into it? What do parents think of this? Or companies? Feels like there is depth here to really go into how leaders are molded at Colgate... and how that leads to success in many fronts. I'd just love to see a deeper look into the model.

Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the Patriot League.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

Patriot League Best Practices: American U's Visual Social Media Directories

Just get them there already?

That's really the style I think most of us are told to do when it relates to Social Media. If fans click to your website, make it really quick and easy to get them to your Facebook or Twitter page. For the most part, that feels like good advice. (Assuming you don't want them on your website) But often times that attitude causes us to miss a chance to build our brand -- specifically, what it stands for in the mind of our consumer.

American University gives us an example that drives this home.

Hit the American University home page and click onto the Stay Connected Button at the bottom of the page....

(Shown here).


Diving in takes us to the Stay Connected (Social Media) home of American U. Side note, this page really provides a wealth of ways to stay in touch with the program whether you're a fan or an alum. (or a recruit?)



But the learnings come home when you dive deeper into this layout. First, join me by clicking into the Twitter button, shown below or here.

And, as a parallel path, Click into Facebook, shown below or here.

As you'll notice by clicking into either Social Media area, you get a list of all the ways to follow the University, as a whole or by sport. I know it's a tough topic for many programs -- should we go for a bigger number and have one way to follow us or should we go deeper and have many. That's a topic for another discussion, but for now I just want to call out the consistency American U drives in the image-driven layout above.

You'll also note that there is a representative image of each program above that serves as a backdrop for the buttons. The message we receive feels personal and planned. It feels consistent and united. Well done.

But, How could this be better? I'd love for those images to be dynamic. Update them with a glimpse/hint of what you might find beneath. Could the Facebook images update based on the top fan photo of the month? Or based on the last game highlight? Could the Twitter images connect with top Tweets of the month? Or with fan activity? The unity is fantastic in style. Now we simply need to feel the energy that comes with the quantity of ways to connect.

Thanks for hanging with me. Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the Patriot League.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

The Patriot League's Live Game Blogging

Where are you going to watch the game?

That's a question we hear a lot in life -- from our coworkers, family, and friends. If the game's a big one, we want to gather with other fans and tune in. But what do you do if you don't have that ability? How do you connect with fans?

The Patriot League introduces a GameDay Blog.

Hitting the Patriot League website, you'll note the callout below.

Clicking in will take you here, to the first blog I've come across fully dedicated to GAMEDAY. Or, as they put it:

"The home for everything you need to know about the action in the Patriot League! Come here for Patriot League previews and recaps, live-blogging of games, scores and more for the 2010-11 Patriot League season!"

It's simple and focused.

As you'll see below, each of these posts becomes a moderated, simple to participate in feature dedicated to the game. They deliver insight and emotion. And they do it consistently throughout each game, from pre-game to post-game.


Seeing a collection of Cover It Live posts like this make it apparent that we are entering a new era for following teams. And that the Patriot League is putting a foot in the ground on being a leader in this era. If you're a fan of a squad in the League, they offer real value. Real connection. And insight you just can't get elsewhere.

How could this be better? I'd love to see a few additions... 1) Could we connect this to live audio? 2) could we post simple pictures from courtside during the game? Finally, 3) Could we make it easy to watch that combined experience inside Facebook? Doing this would give us an of emotion and an ability to connect with our friends in a place (Facebook) where we are already connecting with these friends. I love what the Patriot League has started -- I'd just like to see some things take it to the next level emotionally and enable it to spread through social.

Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the Patriot League.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

The Patriot League Celebrates Women in Sport

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

Today is a fitting day for this blog -- as I've definitely been fortunate to have a wife who both inspires me and puts up with my frequent blogging here. And, today, as we turn our attention to the Patriot League, we see how a site truly celebrates Women in Sport.

As you're reading this, ask yourself what you celebrate. (At home and as a professional!)

Hit the Patriot League home page, shown below, and feast your eyes on the far right tab, Special Features...

Hovering over reveals our target section of today, "Celebrating Women in Sports." Let's dive in...

Clicking in takes you here, to a page of access to various features women. And, as you can see below, an emotional visual of competition mixed with success.

But, perhaps my favorite area is here, a section that elevates all the female administrators across the Patriot League. In an industry historically dominated by men, kudos to the Patriot League for celebrating the women in leadership roles. It is both inspiring and sheds a light on what is possible when your playing days are complete.

As you'll see below, you also can note that the Patriot League elevates the success of women in the classroom, witnessed by this link, shown below.

And, before you think this is a one-off moment, check their official Women in Sport Magazine, here. It's clear that advancement of women to leadership on the field/court and in the real world is critical to the Patriot League's ethos.

So, let's pause for a minute and ask what we have here. We see a focus on advancing women in sport, whether it is tied to athletic success or academic success. We see a conference making it clear this is important to them. And we see the conference elevating success at each member school. This makes quite a statement, and one has to think it has potential to impact those prospective student-athletes.

How could this be better? I'd love to see more of the stories behind the success. Especially in the school administration. What does it mean to break through in an area where that historically didn't happen? This story of success is in need of being told, and in doing so in a large way. The conference has the platform to do just this, now they need the information and access to make it happen.

Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the Patriot League.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

And Don't forget today's Valentine's Day.

Andy

NEC Best Practices: SFU and the importance of Social Media

What do you want your consumer (fans or recruits) to check out? When you get limited time with them and they arrive on your page, what are you hoping they dive into? Do you leave it to chance? Or do you aim to get them to what you're the proudest of?

That's a lot of questions to ponder. I believe Saint Francis (PA) gives us a nice step in the road to that answer.

Hit the Saint Francis Home Page and hover over FAN ZONE....



From here, you're able to dive into Red Flash Social Media, putting us at our destination, shown below and linked here. It's a description of all things Social Media -- all ways to follow the Red Flash.

But it's more than that.

Let's look at the YouTube description:

"Witness the fastest growing part of Red Flash athletics! Check out the action from Saint Francis University's 22 varsity sports, complete with game footage, interviews, highlights, and other exclusive content!"

I'd say they are proud of this. We should check it out, here.


We have a very active YouTube Channel. But, more than that, we have a video about the importance of social media from Director of Athletics Bob Krimmel. I'm embedding the video below and I'll rejoin you after you check it out below. (It's only 30 seconds, don't worry!)




So what are the learnings here? It's clear that the program is fired up about digital and social media. They are telling you, from the highest positions in the program, why you should care. And they have our attention.

The copy surrounding YouTube is personal and packed with emotion. And, much like all good things, there's a sense of urgency -- I'd better check back early and often or I'm going to miss something.

How could this get better? Let us subscribe to what we want. I love the active nature of this channel. But I'd love it more if I could customize my engagement. The other thing I'd toss out here is there's an opportunity to have fun that's really important. I love the passion and attention on social media... and if SFU can pair this with an attention to college (the fun side of it), they can captivate us with the program.

Fantastic start by SFU.

Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the NEC.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

NEC Best Practices: Quinnipiac and the Multimedia Universe

Who has the best access to your program?

It may seem like a simple question but I think it's one that doesn't always play out for fans (and recruits). When we have only so many hours in the day, we can get caught up in the fact that we need to update the news, the scores, the standings. But I'd argue anyone can do this. What's more critical is that we play to our strengths.

And the best access to your program is a monstrous strength. It's exactly what your fan bases and recruiting bases want to see. And it's what makes people fall in love with you.

Quinnipiac takes a good first step. Let's start with hitting their home page....


Now click into New Media and Photos and finally on Basketball (you can find a parallel journey in other sports), which takes you to the multimedia home of Bobcat basketball, here.



As you can see above, there's a wealth of information. There are photo galleries for most games. There's audio podcasts of most games. And there's YouTube (or Apple TV) video highlights of select games. It's the access that fans/recruits simply don't have anywhere else. It's here, in an archive that lets us soak it all in, as you can note in the gallery below...


I love the depth. I love the focus. I love the access.

But how could this get better? What if the focus became on bringing everything together? How would it look if you combined audio and photography? Or key audio moments and the video highlights? It feels like there's a wealth of information here that could be even stronger if it joined forces. (Or as I heard in a meeting recently if it "wondertwins activated.") It's all about time, I know. But I'd argue this would create an experience that puts the Bobcats among the best in the world at connecting with their consumer.

Interesting thing to ponder, huh?

Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the NEC.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

NEC Best Practices: Central Connecticut State Brings A Blogging AD

How accessible is your leader? And how do you share this?

Those are two questions that have the potential to impact and reshape the opinion fans (and recruits) have on your brand. And they are two questions that I'd argue will become even more important in an age where we have limited free time and lots of things we want to solve in this time.

Let's take a look at how Central Connecticut State solves this by checking out their home page, here (and below).


In the upper right hand corner (prominently above the fold and smartly right beneath their calls to social media) is your chance to connect with AD Paul Schlickmann. Let's dive in.

Clicking on that tout takes you here to the home of Ask the AD.

When you really dive into it you find not just a great forum to ask for fan questions but a great, personal approach to answering them. Check these excerpts:

"While it may be easier said than done, I like your concept of a follow-up game with the team you play in the Big Dance and will keep that in mind when we are fortunate to be in that situation again."

and

"I like your wish list Anthony!! When the current outdoor complex is complete, I believe we will have the finest outdoor facilities in the Northeast Conference. The same expectations hold true for our indoor facilities."

The questions themselves weren't critical here. It's how CCSU gets after them. It's about fan ideas addressed head on and in a way that will result in more of them. And, as you can tell, it does the critical things well: It humanizes the brand and it makes the entire program feel more approachable. Well done.

How could this be better? Frequency and positioning. I'd love to see a combination of more frequent Q&A on the blog paired with occasional flipping of the roles. What if the AD asked the questions of the fan base? That would really make a statement and offer a new level of connection. Great stuff here that we can all apply.

Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the NEC.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

Northeast Conference and the YouTube Highlight Reel

Exclusive access. On point message.

Those are two things that I think we all strive for when it comes to videos. Give fans something they can't get elsewhere, and then deliver the right message that reinforces your brand.

The Northeast Conference accomplishes this through the powers of YouTube...

Hit the NEC Athletics on YouTube, here, shown below.

What they do well is combine both coaching staff's POV's and highlights into one package. It's the best coverage you can find short of being there yourself, which is exactly the type of content the conference should deliver.

Click to watch it here.

As you'll note below, the NEC also does a very thorough job updating videos and describing the content with a detailed description of what you'll see in each video (shown below). That's a critical and often overlooked piece. It's not just about uploading video -- let us know why we should tune in!

How could this be better? Allow for embedding. I wanted to include this video in my blog but couldn't. The goal should be to allow fans to watch this, wherever they want. And to easily take it with them and spread the NEC love! Finally, I'd love to see the NEC allow fans to have a say in what videos get produced. Let fans vote or participate to determine a game of the week/month that gets even more access and coverage!

Thanks for hanging with me... Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the NEC.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy