College Football has kicked off not just on the field but in the social space; some great early best practices courtesy of our friends at IMG College…
We Will Rise: Auburn
Auburn took to social media to rally their community and declare, “We Will Rise” in wake of Saturday’s defeat. Response from fans was overwhelmingly positive, leading to this follow up post highlighting some of Auburn’s favorite replies. Auburn also went the extra mile and spent time responding to fans individually in the comments.
Handling a loss on social media is never easy, especially when fan and team expectations are high, but this is a prime example of how to do it. Auburn kept it positive, moved on from the defeat, and let their community know that it’s heard and genuinely appreciated. One more tip: never underestimate the power of the Favorite on Twitter, and the Like on Facebook and Instagram.
#BearTerritory: Cal
With Cal Football facing its first road test on Saturday, @CalAthletics got their fans ready to go with this quick-hitting, movie trailer-inspired video. And after the final whistle, they brought followers into the stands and the locker room to set the scene and share the win.
Hype videos are nothing new—ones of the fan-made variety have been around since the early days of YouTube—so it only makes sense that schools are bringing their own to social. They’re a great way to set the tone, tap into the drama of college football Saturday (or Monday-Friday), and remind fans that every game is a big game.
A couple more from the weekend, serving as a reminder that video continues to be a great way to drive engagement (especially on Facebook):
Georgia used last season’s heartbreaking defeat at South Carolina to deliver the message, “We will not be stopped” prior to Saturday’s showdown (156,000+ views on Facebook)
On the other side, South Carolina was ready with their own (60,000+ views on Facebook)
She Said Yes: Georgia
Georgia linebacker Jake Ganus came through with the most romantic moment of the weekend, proposing to his girlfriend at the 50-yard line following Saturday’s win. Of course, Georgia was there to capture and share this special moment. This is another great example of using your access to tell a bigger story about your teams and student-athletes
Even following a win over rival South Carolina, this was @UGAAthletics’ the most-engaged tweet of the night (by far), earning over 10,000 interactions.
