Be sure to see all the decks with a recap of the Sloan Sports and Analytics Conference!
Posted by Neil Horowitz
Category: Working In Sports
Be sure to see all the decks with a recap of the Sloan Sports and Analytics Conference!
Posted by Neil Horowitz
Check out some snippets of episode 14 of the Digital and Social Media Sports podcast, featuring Peter Robert Casey, founder of Basketball Passport and Chief Community Officer of Team Epiphany. Click Here to listen to the full episode or check it out and subscribe in iTunes.
Posted by Neil Horowitz
Check out some snippets of episode 11 of the Digital and Social Media Sports podcast, featuring Josh Tucker, Coordinator of Social Media for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Click here to listen to the full episode or check it out and subscribe in iTunes.
Posted by Neil Horowitz
I am starting a new job with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes next week, serving as their Manager of Digital and Social Marketing. Some of you may be asking what the heck that is, so I encourage to follow all of the Coyotes digital/social activity to come; and the exciting team too!
This post isn’t about my new job, but a question some have asked – how did you get the new gig?
A lot of hard-working, bright people are trying to break into sports business. There are a lot of different paths (as I’ve learned from each podcast guest), but here’s my social media-infused path that led me to this great opportunity with the Coyotes…
First, while I found job postings a number of ways, the best and most consistent source was Twitter (followed by LinkedIn) – by following accounts like ESPN Recruiting and Teamwork Online, as well as following relevant people that regularly post sports jobs (@activate and @rscibetti are good ones).
I came upon the Coyotes position via Twitter, but hardly stopped after I had submitted a resume and cover letter (each thoughtfully tailored for the position…not the just same resume for every job app!!).
I started by reaching out to a Tweep in the sportsbiz whom I’d met, and consistently corresponded with via Twitter and sometimes email) through a Twitter chat related to ticket sales! He has relationships with the Coyotes and I passed him a note just asking if could help assure my resume would be seen among the huge stack of them. I reached out to an additional SM pal that has extensive #smsports connections too.
I landed an interview, during which I made sure to demonstrate: I fit what they need, have a proven record of success, have ready-to-execute ideas, and know about their team & brand. The next interview, in person, further echoed some social networking connections that may have helped.
First, I found out one of the main decision makers was good friends with a peer in the sports industry I had met, spoken to at length, and kept in touch with – the CEO of 2nd screen tool SportStream – was frat bros with this guy! He spoke well of me and no doubt had a positive influence on his good friend (I think).
Lastly, I met with one of the team owners – a fellow Yalie – and an ex-hockey player at Yale. I spent all 4 years working throughout the sports department and still keep in touch with the SID, among others. The SID happened to know this Coyotes owner well, it turned out, and gave me a great (bonus) reference after he was contacted following my interview!
I felt good overall about my preparation, experience, presentation, ideas, and rapport; and even better with the socially-aided path I had tread. As you know, the story has a happy ending and I am amped to do big things to help lead the Coyotes to awesome fan experiences and organizational success!
I hope my sportsbiz job experience story inspires you to realize your dream and break into sports. Now go do it!
Posted by Neil Horowitz
Also see: Deck 1
Posted by Neil Horowitz Follow me on Twitter @njh287 Connect on LinkedIn
Teamwork Online is a great resource to keep up with job postings in sports business. Here a few good ones in digital and social media in sports. Check them out!
Digital Marketing Manager – IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL)
Business Analytics Project Coordinator – Spurs Sports & Entertainment (San Antonio, TX)
Social Media Strategist – LA KISS, Arena Football League (Anaheim, CA)
Social Media / Marketing Coordinator – IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL)
Assistant Director, Communications – University of Florida Athletics (Gainesville, FL)
Digital Marketing Manager – Social Media, adidas Group (Portland, OR)
JUST ADDED [Thursday]
Coordinator, Direct and Digital Marketing – National Hockey League (New York, NY)
Manager, Strategic Planning – National Hockey League (New York, NY)
Posted by Neil Horowitz
Follow me on Twitter @njh287 Connect on LinkedIn
After six episodes of the DSMSports Podcast, here is the list of Helpful Tools for sports marketers, each one shared in an episode of the Digital & Social Media Sports podcast. I hope these help you learn more and/or make your job easier. Be sure to add your suggestions and/or SHARE THIS!
1. Statigram: A website [on desktop and mobile] that provides free analytics about your Instagram account[s], such as: top posts, top users, most active users, time of day, hash tags, and more! A lot of helpful information and data on this website to optimize [and learn about] your Instagram efforts.
2. TweetReach: A great freemium website to look for the most far-reaching an influential tweets/users for a given topic, keyword, or hash tag. Just input your area of interest and discover the tweets that had furthest reach [most impressions], as well as the users with biggest reach tweeting about a given area of interest. Great to find influencers in your industry and engage and see what content goes far.
3. Alexa: A freemium website with a lot of helpful information about any domain on the Internet, including its global and US traffic rank, geographical info about its visitors, search queries leading to traffic to the site, and more. It is especially helpful to evaluate websites and/or blogs you discover and decipher if a website has the reach or reputability to merit attention or action on your organization’s behalf.
4. Komfo Facebook Analytics: A freemium website worth checking out for any Facebook Page administrator, Komfo provides analytics that go beyond Facebook insights with metrics like: viral reach, percent of page fans seeing a post [versus overall Facebook users, including friends of fans], click-through rates on any content shared, and more. Give it a look and see what you can learn about any and all pages you run!
5. FollowerWonk: A freemium tool that lets you dive deep into every facet of your Twitter followers [or anyone’s Twitter followers; verification not needed]. Learn more details about your followers and their profiles/behaviors than you could imagine, including info about their interests, profiles, level of activity, daypart trends, and more. One can even identify Twitter users in a given field/area by using FollowerWonk to search keywords and hash tags across Twitter bios.
6. Topsy: A freemium website that allows one to search across Twitter and other social sites based on keywords and hash tags. Topsy will provide top posts, as well as the quantity of posts/mentions over a stipulated period of time. This is an especially helpful tool to track a hash tag [e.g. for a contest], track volume of mentions [e.g. for a campaign or to judge awareness and share of voice], and to locate old posts [find your first tweet ever!]. Topsy is a versatile tool that every social media professional can have some fun with.
Look for the next episode of the Digital and Social Media Sports podcast next week [11/12] with another great guest, helpful tool, and shareable stat!
Posted by Neil Horowitz Follow me on Twitter @njh287 Connect on LinkedIn
The University of Michigan Ross School of Business hosted the Sport Business Conference with leaders from sports media and business speaking about, among other things, HOW TO BREAK INTO SPORTS BIZ.
Some keys:
– Relationships are key and nothing beats face-to-face contact (when possible)
– It’s not about who you know, it’s about WHO KNOWS YOU.
– Figure out what you’re good at and master it so you can show that you can BRING VALUE with your skills.
– Most important skills: 1) Sales skills [proven track record is a big bonus!], 2) Ability to write well
– Be ready and willing to do anything
– Differentiate yourself from the crowd
– Sportsbiz is broad so get started wherever and whenever you can and start BUILDING UNIQUE SKILLS AND RELATIONSHIPS!
Posted by Neil Horowitz
The University of Michigan Ross School of Business hosted the Sport Business Conference with leaders from sports media and business speaking about the present and future of sports content, brand activation, working in the industry, and more.
My key takeaways can be seen at the end of the deck…
Posted by Neil Horowitz
Follow me on Twitter @njh287 Connect on LinkedIn