Red Bulls Senior Dir of Content & Communications Jayne Bussman-Wise (@NewYorkRedBulls) is a veteran of the social and digital scene in the N.Y. market. Her career began with the Rangers, followed by a stint with the Nets and then NYCFC for 2 1/2 years before swapping MLS clubs this past April. Bussman-Wise noted with each club, she was the first head up social/digital media. Bussman-Wise: "It's been the timing of those roles with digital and social becoming bigger at all of those places." But she does not view herself as a trail blazer, noting "there are a lot of people who have been in this industry and kind of grown up in it." Bussman-Wise: "What’s unique and interesting is the way it’s evolved and the way the rules have shifted. Social and digital has sat in communications and PR, it’s sat in marketing, even in operations."
Stand out in a crowded N.Y. market:
That is a challenge. For us, it is being true to who we are. We have the best access that I’ve seen in my career. Our job is easier in that sense. We want to bring our fans in -- whether it’s the huddle before a game, the locker room after a win or the coach’s speech right after a loss. The ability to bring our fans in, like other teams might not be able to, is what will differentiate us. It’s an exciting time for soccer. The sport is growing, the league is growing.
Differences on social between Red Bulls and NYCFC:
When I joined NYCFC, I don’t think we really had a presence and we built it from scratch. The way the presence differs is largely by the teams. NYCFC has great players and a sister team in (EPL club) Manchester City that has a massive social following. We were able to do some interesting collaborations with Man City when I was there. The way we try to differentiate ourselves is with access, what we do in the community.
Social/digital strengths for the Red Bulls:
Our personality. We have a little bit of fun. We want to engage with our fans, and everybody across sports in digital wants to be witty and engaging. We post quality photography and video.
Biggest changes for the Red Bulls:
We’ve now got communications and PR sitting together, so we’re thinking of ways we can work with the external media and what content can we create internal use. We're also looking to share with broadcast partners like MSG. It's about the story we want to tell and the best way to do that.
Lessons learned in the social media space:
We are on this team and we are part of this team and a way to bring our fans in. How can we show our fans something they might not know about our players or about our team?
