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Social Studies: Orlando City SC's Stuart Drew On Managing Accounts Amid Tragedy

Stuart Drew (@StuDrew1) has been Orlando City SC Social Media Manager for just over a year, but everything she knew and has been trained for was put to the test two weeks ago after a gunman killed 49 people at a local night club. Stuart: “It was an experience where I felt like I went back to square one, my first day on the job.” She added, “It’s a big thing to learn from: how to handle your sports account in a city where tragedy might happen. How do you handle it? What is the proper protocol? What should we be posting? That was a very big learning experience for me.” Drew said it was important to make sure the social accounts she oversees -- which includes the MLS club as well as NWSL club Orlando Pride and USL club Orlando City B -- didn’t come across as insincere. For that reason, Orlando City’s Twitter account went from 15-20 posts a day to 3-4, with no sponsorship- or ticket-themed posts. Drew said, “It was all about the city and community and ways you can get involved.”

The community response following the shootings
:

SOCIAL SNAPSHOT
Must follow: I love Bleacher Report on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It's timely and well executed.
Favorite app: Probably Twitter.
Average time per day on social media: Probably 14-15 hours, at least, on a non-gameday.


It’s been extremely devastating, but the community has rallied together. The day the shooting happened, there was a line five hours long of people wanting to give blood, and that kind of started everything with raising money.

On providing comfort, support and distraction
:
The mayor’s office reached out and said they were using the hashtag #OrlandoUnited. We kind of took that hashtag and ran with it. We were going to be the first sporting event after the tragedy, so we knew we had to step up and bring the community together and show that everyone is welcome and help bring a sense of normalcy back to the city. My boss, (Dir of Digital Media) Ed Cahill, came up with the idea of making images black and white to show this week was about mourning the lives that were lost. Our focus was on healing and not the game so much.

Social accounts being used to provide non-team info
:
We aren’t a traditional news outlet, where people are re-tweeting the latest news. We wanted to have the facts before pushing anything out, especially in an event like this. We have some awesome writers who did great pieces. They gathered info on the events that were going on and made sure they got them from reliable sources. On the city’s website, there is a list of ways to get involved, and they condensed it and broke it down. When we put it on social, where our accounts are a little bit snarky and edgy, we said, 'Here’s how you can help,' and kept it as simple as we could.

Challenges during the team’s debut MLS season last year
:
The biggest thing was learning the voice, which was established by our brand manager a few years before. I had to learn that voice compared to what Auburn athletics’ voice was, so that was a transition.

How fan response altered social media planning
:
I wanted us to lead with a fun, social account that people can laugh at the stuff that we post and also learn. I set goals -- I remember the first one. We had about 84,000 followers on Instagram and I ranked out all of MLS and said I wanted to be in the top three. Just two weeks ago, we passed the Seattle Sounders, who were No. 3 at 174,000.


If you know anyone who should be featured for their use of social media, send their name to us at jperez@sportsbusinessdaily.com

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