How does the NCAA ensure that fans of college sports across the USA are provided with the content they crave? Well, social media has a massive part to play in this relationship and the man that makes the magic happen is the super-talented Ronnie Ramos. I threw him a few questions, which he happily caught. Like a top college football wide receiver. Read on for some great insight…
Tell us in 140 characters what you do?
Manage NCAA’s digital platforms to get our messages out and to engage college sports fans with unique content.
Give us the elevator pitch for The NCAA?
Our mission is to provide student-athletes the best opportunity to compete, learn and prepare to become successful members of society.
You have built a very strong social media presence with many engaged community members, what key roles do your online presences serve?
We have several key roles: we want to tell the student-athlete story so the public knows there are many success stories out there; we want to engage fans and grow our championships by giving fans unique, behind- the-scene content they can’t get anywhere else and we want to get our message out directly to the public on major NCAA initiatives,
Has the use of social media made your communications slicker?
Social media has made our communication more timely and more interactive. We are still improving, but the biggest thing social media has done is allowed us to get information to the public directly and for us to be part of the conversation about intercollegiate athletics.
With so many member organisations it must be hard to regulate social media use, how do you approach this?
We do not regulate the social media Use of our member institutions. They are free to use social media as they determine is the best way for them. As a member-driven organization, the national office serves the membership.
How many people do you have working on your social strategy?
We have three full-time employees who work exclusively on social media and oversee our strategy. We have about 6-10 others (including me) who help out at specific times of the year on specific projects.
What would be your top tip for an organisation looking to start harnessing social media?
Focus on engaging your audience. Define a few specific goals and don’t try to do all things and be everything for all people.
Are there any social networks/apps etc that have caught your eye recently and are you considering them as part of your strategy?
We are trying to improve our presence on YouTube and still searching for the right use of foursquare for our fans. We also are looking at how provide fans attending our championships with a better in-game experience via mobile.
Massive thanks to Ronnie for taking the time to answer my questions. Stay tuned for the next instalment of Thought Leader Thursday!
