How the Washington Redskins Prepare (Digitally) for the NFL Season

How the Washington Redskins Prepare (Digitally) for the NFL Season

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The 2016 NFL season is upon us! From workouts to OTAs (organized team activities) to training camp, players and coaches have been preparing for months to get back and pursue the Vince Lombardi Trophy and the Super Bowl.

This also means that the content producers for web and social media are right alongside them, following and providing fans with up-to-date news from the team’s perspective. At the Redskins, our team works around the clock, producing written, photo, and video content. This is then promoted on all social networks, with extra emphasis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Last season, we finished in the Top 10 in the NFL for social engagements per fan on Facebook and Twitter and also in consumption rates for photos and articles on Redskins.com. And we’re looking to improve that even more this coming season.

A lot of work goes into this preparation, as we have many expert writers and video producers along with a dedicated social media coordinator who has mastered the art of what, when, and where to post updates. This content gets eyeballs, which not only gets fans excited about the season or each game, but increases the value of content and ad space on our website that can then be sold to sponsors and partners.

Here are five strategies we use to prepare for the season so that our content is as good as it can be throughout the fall and winter:

1. Plan regular and consistent digital content releases to keep fans coming back.

During the season, you want fans to keep coming back to your site, regardless of your standing. This can be done through consistent and regular content series that are relevant to what fans are looking for.

Regardless of what happens on the field, you have posts to fall back on that fit right into your content calendar. Easily shareable on social, lists and previews are read frequently by fans so giving them the inside scoop is key.

Also, as exhibited in the bottom example, this is a great opportunity to monetize your digital content and bring in extra revenue through partnerships. As more and more brands shift their advertising efforts to digital, this can provide a window of opportunity into something more than just a banner ad on a web page.

This is also true on social media. Consistently, branded content on graphics comes off more professional and is more likely to be shared by fans.


#STLvsWAS

A photo posted by Washington Redskins (@redskins) on



2. Have content ready for any situation, bad and good.

Every team has their ups and downs. Not every team can be like the Panthers were in 2015 , when they went undefeated for a long time, causing their brand notoriety to go through the roof. Sometimes there are losses and down times. You still need to churn out content and deliver value.

Fan-submitted content invokes pride in the team and allows fans to share that pride in creative ways. It can be about pets, children, souvenirs, etc. Allow it to be fun!

Throwback content is a good option for showing what was. Like fan-submitted posts, these invoke pride in the team and center it around popular figures. Birthday wishes for alumni, Vines and video highlights of big plays, and photo galleries of former players do all of that.

That was the bad. Now let’s talk about the good. Ride the wave of positive momentum, capitalizing on every opportunity you can.

When the Redskins won four straight games at the end of the season to qualify for the playoffs, we did everything we could to make the most of the opportunity, even if it wasn’t ready weeks in advance. Sharing player reactions, highlighting great performances, and emphasizing an optimistic future engages our fans and lets them share in our excitement.





3. See what’s working for other teams across the league.

Teams don’t have the same fans. Outside of teams based in the same city (e.j., New York Jets and Giants), all teams are fighting to engage with fans in different markets. As a result, if a team shares a creative piece of content or series of content and it can easily be replicated, give it a shot.

This is where “tagging” in TrackMaven has been so helpful. If we see a piece of content that we liked come across social, we tag it and save it for later. We also tag social sponsorship activations to get information from. If a partnership has an above average number of social interactions, maybe we can replicate that with a current or potential partner.

4. Don’t be afraid to use your advocates for leverage.

Brand advocates can come in handy big time for when you’re looking for an impressions boost and looking to reach a new audience.

Celebrities outside of the football world who show support for your team create excitement. And it doesn’t have to just be celebrities. Super fans and active fan communities can also be a great source of content and help promote your brand.


When we reached the playoffs, we tapped into the D.C. market and worked with local teams and fans to help promote us on social media. And it worked: #FightForOldDC, the hashtag we used and encouraged fans to use, reached 13.6 million people worldwide on Twitter and was used a total of 55.6 million times.




5. Adjust in real time.

Every week, I prepare weekly reports for our content team that examine all of our key web and social media metrics. We also get metrics from the league (and from TrackMaven) showing how we stack up with other NFL teams. We then take those and compare them week over week, month over month, quarter over quarter, and year over year.

We see what areas we need to improve on and then adjust accordingly. For example, if we have a down couple of weeks for time on site, maybe we should publish content highlighting video clips from last week’s game or interviews to keep fans watching. If we see that we broke a streak of two down weeks in photo views with a big week, repeat those same patterns in terms of type of galleries. This all will help to make more intelligent and data-driven decisions down the road.

The NFL season is an exciting time and the digital space is becoming more and more important for NFL teams. With the plan listed above, we can be ready for whatever is thrown our way! HTTR!

Geoffrey Blosat is the Digital Media Analyst for the Washington Redskins.

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