Georgia Tech Assistant AD/Communications & PR Chris Yandle (@ChrisYandle) is leaving the school at the end of June and will launch a consultancy, Maximus (@ConsultMaxiumus), but he has a lot of praise for those operating in the college space. Many schools are doing a good job implementing social and digital strategies, but the leader is clear cut. He said, “No. 1, and it’s not even close, is Clemson. Clemson is in a league of its own. What they do is incredible.” Yandle said others at the forefront include Miami, Michigan, Washington and “sleeping giant” Oregon State.
Best lesson from college athletics:
The best message that’s out there is all you can do is realize everything is about relationships. Being in a highly competitive field, over the years I’ve been utterly shocked at how close some of us are and how much respect we have for each other. It’s just a testament to the type of people who work in the industry.
Cutting through the social media clutter:
Everyone is fighting for oxygen and attention. The average attention of a goldfish is nine seconds, the average attention of a male my age is roughly eight seconds, for millennials it is less than three. With so much out there and advertisers throwing stuff out there to get your attention, it is tough. You can’t worry about what everyone else is doing. You can’t compare yourself to what (VaynerMedia CEO & co-Founder) Gary Vaynerchuk or people like that are doing. You have to carve out your own niche and do what works for you. If you have a good story, you are going to cut through the clutter. Nothing is going to be an overnight sensation unless it’s one of those stupid cat videos on Buzzfeed.
What those in sports business can learn from those in other industries:
It can go both ways. There’s so much we do now in sports in the digital space that is so brand oriented. A lot of people lose their way as people think, “Oh, just put it on Facebook and Twitter and that’s how I get people to my site.” It’s proven, if you build a brand and have branded content, you are going to last longer than some Joe Schmo that’s just throwing stuff against the wall and sees what sticks. On the flip side, people on the inside can learn that there’s more to the world than sports. We get lost in our bubble and how “this can only work in sports.”
Determining what is relevant to your followers:
I post stuff that I find unique. From a brand perspective, you have to realize what your purpose is. What does your brand represent? What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to focus on? From there you can trickle down -- here’s what we need to do. Ask your fans what they want. The worst thing you can do for any team or a brand is not understand your fanbase. You have all that demographic and analytic information at your fingertips. Use it to your advantage. We’re at a point where so many brands and teams have a fear of missing out because they are afraid they are going to miss their small window of being relevant.
If you know anyone who should be featured for their use of social media, send their name to us at
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