2. The Goal A variety of examples on how a sports team, like women’s basketball, can use social media for recruitment of athletes, to keep parents informed, fans can post live from games keeping those unable to attend up-to-date, and for the promotion of their programs.
3. Blogging Throughout the season, coaches or athletes can publish posts to an online journal Provides up-to-date information on the team Provide an exclusive look at life as a student-athlete
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6. Photo Channels (Flickr) Flickr is a photo sharing site that allows its members to upload pictures pertaining to just about anything. For IWC basketball, it could include action shots from games, fans and town supporters, or athletes doing things off the court. “A Tradition of Excellence” Super Fans Community Support Community Involvement
7. “A Tradition of Excellence” http://www.flickr.com/photos/bwilson10/sets/72157623682118893/show/
8. Super Fans Iowa Wesleyan golfer, Mark Cleary, amps up the crowd during the Women’s Conference Championship game.
9. victory The Iowa Wesleyan Women’s Basketball team poses midcelebration after winning the conference tournament. Joining the team are two of Coach Williamson’s children, Maddie and Chase.
10. Community involvement Iowa Wesleyan Men’s Basketball players, Keenan Stanbridge, Joe Evans, and Jamal Blackmond join the Grasshopper Green Daycare in the Beanie Bag Dance.
11. Press Releases Society craves being informed on what matters to them. For sports enthusiasts, press releases are a great way to spread the news of the Women’s accomplishments. Possible topics are: Iowa Wesleyan Team Makes School History Tigers Participate in Coaches for Cancer Iowa Wesleyan Coach named Coach of the Year for the Third Time
13. Video News Release A VNR can allow a team to share the highlights of its season with: Parents Alumni Fans Community Members Prospective Athletes
14. The Process When creating a VNR there are a lot of things to consider. What exactly are you trying to share with your viewing audience, how do you want to do it, and how long do you want the sharing of this information to be. For this video, I would first remove the current sounds. Then, I would add captions telling the viewers who the individuals involved are and sound bytes explaining why what the audience is seeing is newsworthy. Maybe even getting quick interviews and chopping them up to fit in the video would be great additions.
A presentation that demonstrates how the Iowa Wesleyan Women’s Basketball team can use social media to help in the recruitment process, information sharing, and promotion of their program.
The internet has become such an integral part of everyday life. Coaches can use social media to let future athletes get an inside look on the season. This could allow them to get a better idea about the program and if they think it would be a good fit for them. Players can use different types of social media to update their families and friends about how the season is going if they live far away from the college. Former athletes can take advantage of these social media tools to stay current on their favorite college sports.
Blogging is simple and just about anyone can do it. So, players and coaches alike can use online journals to document the ups and downs (hopefully mostly ups) of their season. This can be viewed by distant family members, donors, fans, alumni, and prospective athletes. Players can also use their blog to describe the events of daily life as a college athelete. This could provide the insight a prospective athlete needs to make their final decision about whether or not Iowa Wesleyan would be the best fit for them and what they hope to accomplish and experience during their college years.
Twitter users and followers have sprung up like weeds! Twitter is one of the hottest social media applications out there right now. Having to use 140 words or less can allow for precise information that lets the reader get right to the point or get what they need to know quickly. Coaches can tweet scores about their games. Players can tweet scores and their activities pertaining to basketball or the life of a student-athlete. Fans can send live updates during the games via their cell phones. Twitter has counterpart-like sites that allow you to post links and photos on your twitter page. This can be great for parents and alumni who wish to keep up with the happenings of the team.
Flickr is a great site for organizations to post photos pertaining to their business operations. This could range from building views to employees working to pictorial displays of their actual products. For the baskebtall team this site could serve a number of purposes. Photos of the coaching staff and players can be uploaded for recruits to view, as well as, parents. The college can provide a picture tour for prospective athletes that cannot currently visit the campus. Alumni can view players in action and get a sense of still being apart of a storied program. Parents who cannot travel to games because of work or distance can feel like they are a part of the action with stills from the games. Pictures of the athletes doing things off the court can be posted as well and that way donors and fans can see what the players contribute to their community.
This set created on Flickr is filled with pictures from the 2010 NAIA Division II National Tournament in Sioux City, IA at the Tyson Events Center.
This is an example of a photo that could be included in a set displaying the fan support demonstrated by the student body of the college.
This is a great example of Iowa Wesleyan athletes getting involved in the community off the court.
Even with social media booming, there are still newspaper readers. However, there are also online readers following the teams. The best part is that when a Sports Information Director, like Adam, prepares a news release it can be shown in print or online media.
This press release talks about the Tigers in second round action at the National Tournament at the Tyson Events Center at Sioux City, IA.
A video news release is a step up from a press release. You can add a multitude of photos and sound bytes to jazz up the information you have to share.
Parts of this video would be great upon editing for a Video News Release. If I was looking to use this footage, I would chop it up and extract the parts that I deemed desirable for constructing a quality VNR. I would add captions explaining who these people were and why they were being honored. I would also provide information on the baseball game that would be taking place after this little ceremony. I would also try and get a few words from Jessi and Coach Williamson to add some more personality to the impending VNR.
Some athletes cannot make it for a campus visit but still want to see and learn more about the college and its facilities. Here is a VNR set up to provide a sort of virtual tour of the athletic facilities on campus targeted towards prospective basketball recruits.
This particular VNR is a collection of photos taken from the National Tournament, put together and set to music. Really a great tool to use when wanting to share some of the team’s experiences with parents or prospective athletes.
