Breaking Down Hashtag Use in the SEC... and What That Means for Us on Twitter

#Hashtagging.

Twitter single-handedly changed the meaning of the character "#", and many of us are scrambling trying to figure out how to make sense of it. From a mechanics standpoint, hashtags are pretty simple. If you click into any of them, they immediately give you a list of every person, brand, team, or coach who used that phrase. So you can use hashtags to associate or rally behind a topic.

I went on a hunt for greater meaning in the world of hashtags. To do this, I chose the SEC -- probably for no better reason than they are the darling of college football now - with the top 2 teams headed for a monster clash soon. So they have a peak amount of fan energy in their hands. I went through Twitter accounts for every program and took a look at how they are using (or aren't using) hashtags.

From this work, I can put usage into three categories which I'll share examples of and then I'll apply this for us all with things to ponder, as always!

First, there's the use of Hashtags as Subjects. Simply put this use was likely the first use of hashtagging in Twitter. It's the most frequent hashtag use I saw. Simply put, it is a way of associating your post with a topic, as you'll see in the series of screengrabs below...

Second, we see Hashtags as Emotion. These again are ways of associating your posts with a topic, but they are a step further. They now associate you with a topic but do it with flare, with attitude, with swag.

Finally, I saw a mix -- schools using a combination of hashtags to hit at both Mix Subject and Emotion. Bringing the power of two hashtags together really made an impact, as you'll see in these examples:

But I think we can do even better.

Put the keyboard down and step away from the hashtags for a second. We as teams, brands, or people can get others to rally on a topic -- so why not aim for emotion and call to action?

That's tough. But if you can hit that one home -- get your fans to use emotion and attach themselves to a call to action than you are truly feeling Twitter. MLB took a stab at this through their All Star Campaigns this year, where they encouraged fans to #VoteVotto (for Joey Votto) or #VoteJacoby (for Jacoby Ellsbury) -- link to that read is here. Meanwhile Audi launched a TV ad last February under the topic "#ProgressIs" (read it here).

What ideas does that spell? Things like #PackTheHouse, #@WhiteOut, or #TrektotheTitle make sense to me. But the key is to find something your fan base can rally behind and then give them the inspiration inside Twitter to do just that!

Come back on Wednesday as I break down more Digital Best Practices. You can also follow along on Twitter (I'm @andypawlowski, here) and on Facebook, here.

Andy

Unplugged: Should Schools Have Multiple Facebook or Twitter Pages?

Should we have more than one Facebook page?

It's a question I hear more than most questions in conversations with athletics departments. Some schools, like Washington (see image here) provide serious depth in their Facebook and Twitter Rosters.



But what's the right way to look at this?

Start with your consumer.

If your fan base is composed of people who love all of your teams, then I'd say your best bet is to build the athletics department as a whole, and you know what? I'm good with this strategy because your fans no doubt want updates on every team.

Here's three common reasons why schools limit themselves to one main Athletics Facebook page... and my breakdown on how else you could look at it.

1. Fan Base Disparity.

"We have a huge fan base for one sport, and we want to use that to grow other sports' bases."

This one is dangerous territory. What you end up doing is take fans who can't wait to connect with the team they love and give them more of what they aren't looking for. When fans ignore your posts they won't see as many of them in the future. Just like you wouldn't require fans to watch a wrestling match before entering a basketball game, don't think of social media in that light.

2. We don't have the people to manage the one page we already have.

"We don't have the people."

I would take it a step back and look at this. Just by setting up 12 Facebook pages (assuming you had 12 main sports), doesn't mean you have to post on each page every day. What you end up doing is posting when you have something relevant to say to an audience who is highly motivated to connect. And, in the case of a small sport - say Crew - you create real value as this may be the only place to connect with that program in the world!


3. Social Media isn't a priority.

"We don't have the time."

How can you afford to not spend the time? Setting up dedicated pages can open the door for fans to better connect with your programs, not just one program. You can post messages that are tailored, and you can offer deals to get more fans in the doors for sports that need the help. Plus, you can develop a cult following for a sport that gets limited love. You can encourage players or alumni to post here. I think once you see this system in place you will find more and more of your time shifting here... and that's a good thing.

I personally was on the fence until recently. But seeing how Facebook is evolving, seeing how it is becoming a system that connects across time reinforces to me this notion that personalization is the best path.

Hope you're digging this. Come back Monday as I break down more Digital Best Practices. You can also follow along on Twitter (I'm @andypawlowski, here) and on Facebook,here.

Andy

Michigan Basketball Turns to Twitter for their Social Media Manager

Give your fans the ultimate stage. It's a proposition that most teams or brands steer far, far away from. But it's also something that has enormous potential for good.

I really enjoyed a blog post by Justin Young at the National Hoops Report (Check his site out here) on the University of Michigan Basketball team. The Wolverines have made this decision -- to reward someone in their fan base with the chance to become the official voice of the Basketball Team on Twitter.




How is this going to work?

According to their website (here), this opportunity comes complete with an all-access pass to all practices and games. And it looks like they want the person active before, during, and after all games.

The entry requirements are simple: 140 characters or less on why you're the person for the job and 100 words or less on what you know about social media.

If you're interested, you've only got until the 28th -- head here.

I like a whole lot about this. First, this will hit the right consumer. It's a role that will be crazy aspirational for a passionate hoops fan -- but not at all interesting to someone who is indifferent to the team. Second, they will get someone whose love for the program will come across in 140 characters or less, repeatedly. And, finally, they are creating a model they could scale across programs and years.

I'd love to see them commit to letting that person fly with the team to all road games (they might be, it just isn't clear). They also could be active in connecting and coaching the Michigan players and coaches on Twitter - thus helping the program and really positioning them as one of the nation's biggest innovators.

Really strong stuff! (and thank you to Justin for the heads up!)

Hope you're digging this. Come back Friday as I break down more Digital Best Practices. You can also follow along on Twitter (I'm @andypawlowski, here) and on Facebook,here.

Andy

Social Media Monday: Twitter, SportsCenter, and that crazy Michigan State ending

When I heard of Michigan State's stunning Hail Mary pass to win the matchup over Wisconsin 37-31 on Saturday night, the first place I turned was Twitter. As in the Twitter pages of each program.

Why?

I guess partly (or more than partly) because I'm a digital geek. But more than that it's because I had an expectation that this would be the source of emotion - good and bad around a great moment in sports.

It's kind of how ESPN SportsCenter has us wired. They take you on a journey through their highlights, giving you the story and smartly integrating in a POV (on the game) and reactions (through interviews and animations).

Here are 5 things we can steal from SportsCenter and apply immediately to our work:

1. Tell fans the highlights, but do it with flavor. Talk about your teams as if you love them, cuz hopefully you do!
2. Do it immediately - don't wait for the morning. In the moment, bring your voice to fans.
3. Repeat the key messages throughout the day, just do it in different ways. Program out a routine after a big game to continue the story through Twitter as fans talk about it in the real world.
4. Integrate in quotes or soundbytes from coaches and players. Quotes with your POV attached to them are best.
5. Use tons of emotion. If you feel emotion about a topic, make sure it comes across that way in text.

Now back to my results...

As referenced above, I checked out both Michigan State Football on Twitter and Wisconsin Football on Twitter (both shown below). As you'll see here, MSU was matter of fact - almost in a shockingly unemotional way, below...

Meanwhile Wisconsin used Tweets from fans to help them curate their story.

Both did a good job of being timely. But both could have tapped deeper into what was a crazy emotional journey for a fan.

What are you doing to connect with your fans' emotions?

Come back on Wednesday as I break down more Digital Best Practices. You can also follow along on Twitter (I'm @andypawlowski, here) and on Facebook,here.

Andy

Unplugged: The Impact of Thanking Fans

Thanking your fans.

It's a simple thing that really doesn't happen that often. But it is also something that's now taking on a new meaning as we hit this world of social media-driven information. That all came together for me last week as I checked out more NCAA sites.

I hit the Nebraska Athletics page, here, and saw the image below...

As you can note, there's a home page main story about the Huskers AD offering praise to their fans.

Cool!

It's probably because I'm a digital/social geek, but my first reaction was to check out the hub of all Nebraska Fans, Facebook, to see if there was something more here. (OK, not probably, it's definitely because I'm a digital/social geek.)

Naturally, I went on to the Nebraska Facebook Wall - shown below, or here. As you'll note, there is no mention of AD Osborne's praise here, the recap of the game is a link to access the highlights that led to the huge Huskers comeback win.

So, then I went back to Huskers.com and clicked on the home page story, which takes me to the page shown below (or here)... I'm going to paste part of his quote below the image, so you can take in the impact of where things are going...

"We have great fans and we need to acknowledge that and commend them for their loyalty... there's a lot to play for and we're going to need all their support." -- AD Tom Osborne.

Wow.

The soundbyte is big -- an AD takes to the stage to share his love and appreciation for the fans. But the question is what stage has the most impact?

The opportunity in front of us is to deliver said message into the place where fans are, the Facebook Fan page, and not simply to the home page of Huskers.com. That creates quite an impact, and in a cool way, makes the Huskers on Facebook a destination to follow.

Now the point of this article is not to say that Nebraska isn't doing things the right way. They took a soundbyte from their AD and brought it to the home page of their Athletics site. That's a good thing. It's simply a reminder to all of us that we have this monstrous opportunity in front of us to thank those fans who have signaled themselves out as fans of our team/brand. Imagine the impact if Osborne had gone to Facebook to thank fans and then this was reported on Huskers.com?

Scary opportunity!

And this opportunity didn't exist until recently.

Hope you're digging this. Come back Monday as I break down more Digital Best Practices. You can also follow along on Twitter (I'm @andypawlowski, here) and on Facebook,here.

Andy

Ohio State Pumps the Latest NFL Action into Facebook

Is Facebook a recruiting weapon?

I'm not sure many people grasp the importance of this. But if we step away from our day jobs and think that the majority of High School student athletes are on Facebook and your team (or brand) is as well, then we have a big opportunity to deliver a relevant message in a way that a prospective recruit is both familiar and comfortable with.

Do it well, and we can create a friend-level of bond that shows off personality/feel to someone who's checking you out.

One such answer comes on the Ohio State Athletics Page. As you'll hopefully see in the window below, if you hover over "Recruits", you'll see Facebook. (My only wish would be that there were less options here to drive more recruits into social media channels to learn about the programs... one day!)

So, let's hit the Ohio State Athletics Facebook page, shown below or here. As you'll note in the image below, Ohio State has a landing page on Facebook that elevates the latest NFL performances of former Buckeyes...

Clicking in takes us to our destination, here, back on the Buckeyes Athletics site, where we can see all the stats listed out. (I chose the NFC North due to my huge Packer fan status, which is a topic for another day)

The idea is brilliant and simple. If you are talking to a potential student athlete, show how others in their shoes are doing now, on the big stage. Remind them of the breadth and depth of former Buckeyes in the NFL. And help shape their visions for their own futures.

All that's fine and good, but how could it be better? One word: Storytelling. Right now we have a stat feed, which doesn't give us the story. I'd love to see a recap - it could be a simple photo blog - of the NFL action from the perspective of a Buckeye expert. Imagine if we could see in our Facebook feeds the story of how OSU alumni shaped the NFL fields on Sunday?

You have the opportunity to reinforce what it means to be a Buckeye, and to connect those performances on field to what they learned in Columbus.

This is a great example of doing all the right things -- elevating Pro success in social media in a natural way, and opening the door to something even bigger!

Hope you're digging this. Come back on Friday as I break down more Digital Best Practices. You can also follow along on Twitter (I'm @andypawlowski, here) and on Facebook, here.

Andy

Unplugged: 5 Ways Teams Could Explode their Social Brands Through Midnight Madness

Tonight is Midnight Madness: the start of college basketball season.

It's also the day when a geek like me daydreams about what teams could do to leverage technology and social media to be different. I won't take on the season itself, but instead I will dive into the day itself.

So why Midnight Madness? There's so much potential. College basketball fans, students, and recruits have been aware of teams but this is the moment when you start to think about what could be. When you start to dream of what it'd be like to play for a school or when as a student/fan you get to first experience what watching a team would be like. It's an unveil moment for a brand. And thus it's super critical to treat it as such.

If you're unfamiliar with the idea of Midnight Madness, click here and you'll find an endless flow of videos around this date.

So, with all this energy, all this hype, all this opportunity it becomes a moment for conversation... and thus a moment for social media. Here's 5 ideas of how teams could take it to another level on this day.

1. Offer early access to their Facebook Fans.

I love seeing teams enter their arena and connecting, physically, with fans. It kind of reminds me of the Presidential State of the Union addresses, when everyone shakes hands with the President as he enters Congress. There's something magical about that, and it sets the tone for a game (or speech).

What is the Social Media equivalent? I'd love to see teams allow Facebook fans in an hour early. Imagine that. If the game starts at 8, let Facebook fans enter at 6 and the general public at 7. The team then has a captive audience of their socially-connected fans and can build an experience accordingly. Oh, and the socially-connected fans see your team first. Early access has value.

Here's an example of the player entrances I referenced above...

2. Drive RSVP+ for key games through social.

Recognizing that this is a moment for your team, it's also a moment to allow fans to RSVP for future games via social. RSVPing is powerful as it has a viral affect - announcing to their friends that they are attending your game. But we should go beyond an RSVP. That could mean viewing parties for road games and tailgate or tent parties for home games. That's why I'm calling it RSVP+ -- it's not just about getting people to sign up to attend a future game. It's about creating extra value for doing so.

3. Reinvent the highlight reel.

What if we could reinvent the highlight reel every game through social media? By that I mean what if the fans of your team could impact what message got broadcast in the arena, on campus, or at pregame rallies. It would change every game based on the voice or photos of your fan bases. That builds an amazing connection between you and your fan bases and offers something no one else can do!

4. Crowdsource the scouting report for media.

I've written before about the media guide and how I am not a huge fan. But what if you took the idea of a pregame scouting report and opened it up to your fan base to create it. Let your fans write the things they love or admire about each player. And this will change through the season, when you can get fan reactions to each game. Imagine that -- if fans broke down each player's impact on games and that was what you handed out in Press Row. Not only do you offer something unique to the media... but you also get the Media to think socially about your program. That wouldn't suck if they said, on air, "how about what this team is doing through social media..."

5. Use this as a stage.

Big announcements should happen at this time. The season is starting - think about what message you want fans to take away. I'd definitely integrate as many visible ways as I could to get fans to follow along via Facebook or Twitter. And I'd make it clear that there was value for being active and engaging with us. It's your chance to make a first impression -- use social to do just that!

Thanks for hanging with me today. As always, you can follow along on Twitter (I'm@andypawlowski, here)... or on Facebook (here).

Talk soon.

Andy

Minnesota Football Gives Us Real Talk Via Twitter

We've seen lots of great examples of teams handling good news via Twitter. That's the easier job -- building excitement when things are hot. But a tougher question is what does one do when things aren't going good, when fans are more likely to vent frustration (or call for the head of someone) than to express optimism?

Minnesota Football shows us the answer, emphatically: Be Real.

Let's start by visiting the Minnesota Football Twitter page, here. (I screen grabbed this last week). What you'll find is the voice of Head Coach Kill broken into a series of Tweets.

Naturally, these are quotes given by Coach at a press conference. But you can also tell how they are amazing statements into the social feeds of fans.

And fans tended to respond well. See the examples below. They hear the right message -- that it's going to take time but this coach is right for the challenge. And he isn't downplaying it. Fans in turn amplify the message.

I have been pondering this for awhile, wondering what it could teach us. The conclusion I've made is that when times are tough it is best to embrace them and address the world through social media, much like you would do to try and convince a recruit to sign up for your vision of the future. It isn't about false hope. It is about being authentic and real, but doing it in a way that transforms the negative into a positive. "My job is to make those kids men. They're going to learn how to handle adversity and win." Amazing.

I have no idea if this will pay off in the wins and losses column. What I do know is that Minnesota Football has a brand that is about fighting through adversity, not running from it. About standing up to the challenge and growing through the process. And I wouldn't know this if it weren't for social media.

What's your challenge? What are you hiding from? What can you learn from the Minnesota Gophers?

Hope you're digging this. Come back on Friday as I break down more Digital Best Practices. You can also follow along on Twitter (I'm @andypawlowski, here) and on Facebook,here.

Andy

Social Media Monday: Oklahoma Football Facebook Shows Us How to do Before & After

It's Monday morning, time for us to check out the weekend that was in NCAA sports, with a hope of learning. Huge win by Oklahoma Football - coming up with a monstrous 55-17 win over their rivals, Texas. It definitely solidified their position in the National Title hunt, and it was definitely a chance to ignite a fan base inside Social Media.

Let's move to the Oklahoma Sooners Facebook page, here, and below... First, you'll note the image below, dropped into Facebook post game. It's a pretty amazing image, and I'll zoom in before making any comments...

Amazing...

I love this image, because of the joy in the players, the connection of their coach, and even (if you look closely) the young ball boys who are in the frame. All of this speaks to a family coming together and uniting after a big win. It's emotional, it's something that is likely to catch on and be shared throughout Sooner Social country, and (most importantly) it's a scene that the OU Sooners alone had access to. Incredible.

Now, let's juxtapose this with what the Sooners did before the game. As you'll see in the image below, the Sooners uploaded a video of the team hitting the Cotton Bowl field. It shows a behind the scenes look as if you are in the tunnel with the team. You hear and feel their energy. It's pretty powerful -- and even more powerful if you are a recruit thinking about joining up.

Impressive work -- side note, I'd embed this in the blog but it being a Facebook video keeps me from doing it. Click in here and you can find the video.

This brings me to the point -- why Oklahoma excelled is that they took access and delivered it to fans (or recruits) who didn't have it, in real time. Love the idea, my only hope is that we get more of it -- take this idea and extend it to practices and scrimmages. Think through the idea of access and don't be afraid to give it out!

Come back on Wednesday as I break down more Digital Best Practices. You can also follow along on Twitter (I'm @andypawlowski, here) and on Facebook,here.

Andy

Unplugged: Thinking Different is the Key to Digital Success in College Sports

Today I'm going to take a little different approach. As you no doubt know, I've been spending a ridiculous amount of time checking out digital and social media best practices across the college sports landscape. I do it to help and to inspire (and hopefully I do!)

So today I'm not going to highlight a single best practice but rather I'm going to talk more philosophically. I'm going to put myself in your shoes and talk a bit about the digital landscape and how I would try to approach things if it was up to me. By doing this, I'll no doubt be dead on about some things with your program and way off on other things. And you know what? I'm cool with that. I simply hope this challenges you, makes you think, and gives you confidence or inspiration to try something new.

Today I'm not going to dive into Social Media -- don't worry, there will be time for this over the next few weeks. I'm instead turning attention to the topic of your website...

1. Don't make your sponsors an equal focus to your consumer. Focus relentlessly on about your brand. This is a tough dynamic to get to. I understand that many of you earn a good share of revenue by offering banners on your sites for partners. But I ask you to step back a second. Step back and ask yourself, "Is this really valuable for our sponsor?" My take is that, no, it's not. If a consumer hits your website it's not highly likely that they suddenly will feel the urge to get a car insurance quote. Sure, you may have some metrics that show a certain number of eyeballs that see an advertisement is worth a certain amount. But I would challenge you to get rid of all advertising on the site. Make it 100% about your brand, about driving people into an experience. Car Insurance companies invest with you because they want to identify with your brand. So build that brand and make them want to align even closer. Then work on ways to smartly connect them to content you create.

2. Simplify your focus to one word: Access. The content you create is about access. As the marketing team, you have more access to the squads, the coaches, the campus, the gyms, and the stories. Don't lose your focus on this point, as it is the #1 thing you can control and the #1 thing that builds your brand in the eyes of your consumer, whether you consider your consumer the High School kid thinking about your program, an alum, a current student, a booster, or a sponsor. Now Access doesn't mean you go overboard and you take away privacy for your teams. It simply means that when you go after content, go after content that only you could create. Content that reinforces who you are, what you stand for, and why you win.

3. Throw away the Media Guide. Stop doing things that expire and aren't hitting your target consumer. I was sitting in a media room of an NCAA Game a few years ago talking to an SID. He was worn out, and I talked to him about the landscape. The trouble is, he had started out as a traditional guy, working on media guides when the internet came about. Now he was both a traditional guy and a digital guy with the same expectations on one side and new ones on the other. He had no additional budget and no additional help. No wonder he was jammed!

So that got me thinking on Let's start with a simple question: Why do you create a media guide? Please don't let the answer be that we've always done this or everyone else does this. Those are my favorite times in life to shine. When everyone else does one thing, think differently.

I see lots of challenges as it relates to media guides. They don't really hit your target consumer. Sure they have information inside it that benefits reporters covering a game. Check. But that information is often expired by the time game two comes. More importantly, they take serious investments in time & sometimes money to create. I'm definitely a believer that marketing is about choices. We can't do everything. So that means if I'm in your shoes we aren't doing a media guide. We are going to create a content strategy and roll it out through the year. And I bet you we get more coverage for this than we currently get for our traditional guide.

4. Ask the team what do you want to be famous for? I talked to a commissioner of a D-1 Conference who told me that they knew fans came to their site first and foremost for the standings and schedule. Thus, that needed to be the most prominent feature. I would ask us all this question: Do you really want to be famous for the schedule and scores? Anyone can deliver this information, and do it as well as we can and maybe even faster as the competition for coverage includes the likes of ESPN and CBS Sports. Think differently. Rather than thinking about a schedule, think about what your school's point of view on what a schedule really is. I'd much rather see quick blog entries, photo galleries, or interviews around a practice report preparing for a game rather than the calendar itself. Meanwhile, I would make the calendar easy to download to the mobiles of our fan base. (It's much, much better to look at your mobile and see when teams play than it is to go to a website and hunt for a schedule). This isn't to say that I would not offer the schedule on the site. It is to say that isn't my top priority in building our brand.

5. Be a bulletin board. Express emotion, rather than reporting news. Let the AP wire report the news. From a college perspective, having a system that lets us upload a powerful, emotional image (or lots of them) with a bold headline draws people in and often times gets them to share your message socially. Reporting the facts simply gives them information. I don't mean a bulletin board from the standpoint of belittling anyone or antagonizing an opponent. I do mean it from being personal, emotional, and expressing your positive energy on your program. Don't be afraid to show love!

Thanks for hanging with me today. As always, you can follow along on Twitter (I'm @andypawlowski, here)... or on Facebook (here).

Talk soon.

Andy

Michigan State Football Puts Facebook Fans in Control of the Interview

What if you could ask any question of your favorite team or player? That was a thought that frankly didn't exist until Social Media. Now, in an odd twist, it has become the expectation -- find a way to drive participation and engagement in our fan bases.

Michigan State Football accomplishes this and delivers a nice model we can learn from and build upon.

We'll start out on the Spartans Facebook page, here. As you'll notice in the post below, the Spartans are bringing Junior Linebacker Chris Norman into this space by asking fans what they'd want to know from him. As you'll also note, the questions are real and the energy is positive.

What's more, as you can see below, they both give this time to breathe (it isn't treated like Twitter where you need to respond in real time but rather have a few days to submit) and they position this as a premium experience (by leading with players who are putting in solid numbers and work on the field).

It's a simple model that we can all learn from, as it leverages the one thing that MSU has that no one else can offer -- access to their squad. Sure, they can give that access to CBS or ESPN or whomever. But it's their message to control.

Now where this can go is a bigger question. I love the idea in the front end. But I wonder where it can go in the execution end. How can MSU encourage even more questions from fans without investing in media or time or things that may be tough to come by? First, what if the questions that were chosen led to personal video responses on the walls of the fans who submitted them? Just a quick hitting video that makes that fan even cooler in their own network will gain reach (as I'd bet there's more Spartans fans in the networks of each fan). And, secondly, could they turn this into an experience? Could the questions get asked by the Spartans' fans of the week -- who in turn could get more access to the team -- be it at practice for a pregame speech, or in the stadium? All three are access that's in the hands of MSU, and a huge chance to make the question askers heroes...

Hope you're digging this. Come back on Wednesday as I break down more Digital Best Practices. You can also follow along on Twitter (I'm @andypawlowski, here) and on Facebook,here.

Andy

Social Media Monday: Wisconsin Football Reacts to a Big Time win on Twitter

The Wisconsin Badgers made a statement both on the field against Nebraska and in how they sparked and fueled their fan base in social media this weekend.

The stage was set. Wisconsin met Nebraska on Saturday evening in a clash of 2 undefeated Top-10 football teams. Wisconsin came away with a thunderous win, making a statement in their 48-17 win. Naturally, this makes for a big opportunity to also make an impact inside Social Media, where buzz is naturally happening and ready to ignite.

I drove over to the Badger Football Twitter page, here. As you'll see in the images and context below, the Badgers seized the moment to fuel their fan base's energy...

First, I want you to see the set of posts below. They do a great job overall of retweeting key comments, that tell a story. In fact, you can often times tell the story by simply elevating key comments from the world. And that's exactly what Wisconsin did -- mixing their own observations (and video) with comments from sports experts and fans.

Then, as you'll see in the post below, they smartly got extra miles out of their ESPN home page takeover. This is a great example of being timely. As we all know, things change quickly and they wouldn't have the home page forever. So Twitter offers a great chance to alert fans they have risen to the big stage, and to do it in a way that makes the comment relevant even when the stage is gone. In fact, just as this image likely would make an impact in a presentation about Badgers Football to a recruit, it equally does so inside Social Media. Smart.

Post Game, they also leveraged the stage that QB Russell Wilson has in his ESPN Post Game interview. How powerful is the combination of this Tweet below with the image that accompanies it?

And, during the game, they drop this nugget -- powerful image and a powerful Tweet together make quite a statement.

So as you can see, the Badgers took the stage that the team earned and magnified it through social media. I loved seeing the way they retweeted key fans and media to tell the story then smartly mixed Tweets with imagery, all dropped in the right moments.

Great examples that we can all take inspiration from!!!

Hope you're digging this. Come back on Wednesday as I break down more Digital Best Practices. You can also follow along on Twitter (I'm @andypawlowski, here) and on Facebook, here.

Andy