Episode 30 of the DSMSports Podcast w/ Mac Slavin of @Tigers #SMSports

Best Of... Detroit Tigers' Mac SlavinEpisode 30 of the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast

Episode 30 of the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast featured Detroit Tigers Social Media Coordinator, Mac Slavin

What follows are some snippets from the episode. Listen to the full podcast on iTunes or www.DSMSports.net

@njh287; DSMSports.net

http://www.DSMSports.net/


Mac's background and career path

Grew up in small town in Minnesota and attended Wartburg College in Iowa planning to pursue sports journalism → Took a tip from a professor to look at public relations and he got involved in athletics department there doing PR and marketing and soon discovered social media, too, and covered some events on Twitter

“We had some things happen on campus...it was some of the real-time stuff that had to get out there. All of a sudden it just clicked in my mind, 'Wow, this is cool.'”




→ After college, Mac sought journalism job and worked on a PBS documentary called 'Road Trip Nation,' helping with grassroots marketing on the road, recruiting others to appear; sharing experiences on social media showing college students and professionals interacting about their experiences

Mac notes the experience in journalism and marketing and living on the road in an RV, going from city to city




“We were basically just on Twitter, Facebook, and blogging...I'd literally be blogging while we were driving down the interstate...It was great to see [social media] as a marketing (and journalism) tool.”

“It was cool hearing all the stories (of the professionals) about [changing their lives]...It was not just professional learning, but all-around life learning. [That] cheesy stuff.”




“I wasn't a huge fan of web, but (my professors) kind of forced me to do it because they knew it was something I needed to do. Finally, Twitter made it click and I jumped on board...I'm curious. I would try a new app...I have always been curious about those types of things. And that's how my career started (in social media).”




After Road Trip Nation ended, Mac went to a small ad agency in Iowa near Wartburg College → Started as a copywriter working on cheesy commercials (including car ads!)...

”I enjoyed where I was working, but, professionally, it wasn't what I wanted to do...Fate kind of happened that I found this paid internship with a minor league baseball team in southern California.”→ Hired as Media, Marketing, and Publications intern for Lancaster Jet Hawks (Astros affiliate)




“Minor league baseball is super-fun because you can do some wacky promotions...That was one of my first tastes and I absolutely loved it...The season ended and they couldn't (hire) me for the offseason.”→ Ended up getting a freelance gig with an ad agency to help with some bigger clients, including Superbowl and March Madness

→ “I really needed that to say that agency life wasn't totally for me. I really want to work in sports by itself.”



→ Next went to Professional Bull Riders (PBR) for two years before ending up with the Detroit Tigers at the start of this [2014] MLB season

On his role at PBR:“When I started, there was only one other web person, my boss, the Senior Director of Digital Media...When I got hired, I was the social media guy and helped do a lot of web stuff...Bull riding didn't seem like the type of fans on (social media). [But] it's more of an action sport than a western sport, these days. You get fans that love the adrenaline rush...they're waiting for the wreck to happen. It was really interesting; social media has helped PBR get out to their social circles...If you watch a bunch of cool clips online, it (makes you want to attend).”



“My (PBR) job was created as open-ended...it was (previously) hard for one person to do everything (social and digital)...live-tweeting events, promoting events, and (looking at) new platforms...” [only on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube prior to Mac's arrival]



“YouTube was huge...video was huge for PBR and drives a lot of excitement, especially during the week (leading up to weekend events)...video really helps. It's kind of the opposite of baseball with games every day. You have to create a different kind of excitement.”



This episode's Helpful Tool: Unroll.me - a freemium website to quickly clear out subscriptions to which your email address is subscribed that you do not want; easy and quick!



“(The Tigers) was the first job where there had been a Social Media Coordinator before me...she had been doing media relations and social media, but she gave up the social part and they brought me in...

“It's still the sports world, but it's (a complete change from PBR) with 162 games a year plus Spring Training, plus postseason...with PBR, we had a pretty strict content calendar, but (it's much different in MLB), with postings changing (based on Tigers' performance day-to-day).”



“Ultimately, every sports teams wants to sell tickets...Our marketing department understands branding [too]...

“MLB gives us pretty cool software to analyze our data. It's great to be able to pull in and track what our fans doing. They understand that for us posting a home run [video], that actually drives more traffic and sales than (a basic sales message)....They knew and understood that when I came in, which made my transition a lot easier.”



“A lot of people still see PR as your free press...(Social media) is the same concept. We're where the fans are. They see our content, similar to PR, with a marketing message on it. Social and digital is like a hybrid of all of the above.”



“I'm not from Detroit, so I don't necessarily know (everything about the team's fans and events)...Our marketing and promotions staff are integrated day-to-day. They helped me do some of the bigger events...I'm in on all of those meetings from day one (participating) and listening and thinking about how to (involve) social aspects and how things will go over in a post.”

“(Our efforts involve) Just trying to amplify some of our events...to get people to come down to the ballpark...to take some of the bigger events beyond the ballpark...”

(mentions spreading great anti-bullying campaign in greater Detroit/Michigan area)



“We do have direct calls to action, but a lot of them are 'watch this video' or 'engage here,' rather than 'buy here' or 'sign up here.' We do have certain things our fans get excited about, so we tell them exactly how to sign up...

“There are times where, if it's something huge, you don't want to confuse your outside audience, for certain messages (cites tickets on-sale as example).”



“One of the interesting things is that the Tigers did have some tough seasons back in the 1990s...so they kind of lost a generation of fans because they weren't tied to the team...The older fans, that group of people not tied to the Tigers, but to Detroit. And that group of younger fans that jumped on the Tigers train in 2006 when they made the World Series.

“There are a ton of different segments and we take into account (segments on each social platform).”



[Cites event done for 30-year anniversary of 1984 World Series title, streaming the game live on Tigers.com while live-tweeting it]

→ “People got really excited about it. It was kind of a soft sell for tickets to that '84 reunion game...It was really fun seeing the old-school announcers (and players) and I think also a lot of the younger fans got into it. It was also cool seeing fans tweet a ton of pictures with their kids watching the game. Tigers fans are family people (from over generations)...That was a way we could jump on that.”



“Generally, it's more 'this is cool content everyone can appreciate' and we'll tailor the message a little bit...But, for certain ticket packages or events...we post (certain types of content on each platform) hoping they'll both help sell the same amount of tickets (accomplish the same objectives).”

“(Social media) is kind of an overall marketing message. We'll come up with some (sales ideas for social)...We don't think of it as selling tickets on Facebook for a single, event. We'll look at it more of where it makes sense to put (digital) resources to promote games (through social and paid ads).”



“Ultimately, we want people at the ballpark experiencing games, so we try to do a lot of things [showing] 'Here's how much fun these fans are having.' We [also] have a cool partnership through MLB with Wayin that lets us broadcast our fans' photos and Instagrams on the screen...We do get to pick and choose what goes on the board to make sure it's appropriate.”



“Wi-Fi is huge...If fans can't get to their [apps], they just quit and they're done for the day. They're not engaging anymore. And that's some of your best brand advocates. People who are actually at the game, at the event...

“We're seeing more and more stadiums pop up with Wi-Fi [Comerica hopes to install in future]. “I think we'll see a dramatic increase in engagement and sharing user-generated content [as Wi-Fi spreads to stadiums].”

“Most of the time, since we're an outdoor ballpark...most people don't (have issues with connections).”



“We tested out (iBeacons) a little this year. When fans entered the ballpark (and had the At The Ballpark App installed), they got a prompt to check in at Comerica Park...It was interesting to see how many people checked in. A lot of clubs are spit-balling [iBeacon] ideas now, but we didn't do much outside of that with it. It's kind of 'Is it really helping fans (and) are they enticed to [use] it?' It's definitely an offseason discussion point for this year.”

“One of the cool things about working in Major League Baseball is that all of the clubs talk to each other frequently. It's not a big deal for me to call up (people) at other clubs to ask for help and questions.”



This episode's Shareable Stat: -0.4%; In the 2014 MLB regular season, total attendance league-wide was down 0.4% YOY, virtually “flat.”

Slavin: “Detroit has some really solid fans...We're usually up around 3 million fans. It's pretty awesome...It's good to hear (MLB attendance) is not declining like other (ticketed entertainment events).”



Mac's best PBR story:

“There were a lot of good stories. Hanging around with the cowboys and trying to get them to tweet is a story itself.”“PBR was growing fast with a lot of new employees and they forget animals, specifically bulls, poop...“It was really interesting to see how some 'city folks' react when poo is flying off a tail of a bull and it hits them...(When) some poo hit a girl from Jersey in the side of the face, her reaction was pretty priceless.”



Mac's favorite social media tip or lesson:

“One of the most generic tips, but you have to listen to, is just 'listen to your fans.' You need to know if your fans are happy, if your fans are upset...finding out what fans like (during games/updates)...“Listening to your fans and having to change certain things on the fly (is important). Fans are much smarter than (most) give them credit for.”



The best non-MLB sports team on social media and why:

Golden State Warriors → “A lot of teams do cool stuff from their teams' platforms, but it seems like the Warriors have players and coaches that have bought into social, too. (Cites their recent “Tweedia Day”) “It's second nature for those guys to do Twitter chats, to post selfies...It's really cool.”



Mac's philosophy on social media ROI:

“Since social media is such a hybrid of everything, it's hard to put a distinct finger on what ROI is in social. I do monitor how many tickets are sold from certain posts...With PBR, we were tracking live streaming and streaming packages...”

“A lot of people like to put their fingers on one thing (for ROI). It's everything from engagement to your reach to actual tickets sold. It's a million different things, which is why I think it should be more than three letters...Even on each different post. Each post, each platform, each everything is different.”



More fun to live-tweet: A home-run filled barrage by the Tigers or an ace pitching performance

“The home runs are more fun because there are a million different ways to tweet home run...At the same time, I'm old school and superstitious. And I get nervous on tweeting (about no-hitters), when I can post that so I don't jinx it, but let people know.” (offers Tigers protocol for tweeting no-hitter alerts)“There is a point where you have to bring it up because you're covering the event.”



Best Tigers player on social media and why:

“They're all pretty good on Twitter...David Price is great because he always talks about his dog and I love dogs. Torii Hunter is pretty fun, too. You get to know Torii as a person off the field...It's a tie between Torii and David. But we have quite a few guys. They're all good.”

Price: @DAVIDprice14Hunter: @toriihunter48



Mac's favorite memory from his first season with the Tigers:

“Nothing compares to going in [the clubhouse] for the champagne celebration...I made the rookie mistake of not wrapping my phone in a plastic bag...It was super-fun getting sprayed by champagne; one of the few times in your life where you're happy to smell like cheap booze and stale champagne...

“The guys had so much fun with it and being able to capture it right away on all of our different platforms...It was a lot of work...It meant a good thing too. It was a cool moment that meant a lot to players, fans, and everyone involved.”



The best food item at Comerica Park and at other MLB ballparks:

Other park – Dodgers dogs at Dodger Stadium; “I started to love those when I was out (there) working in minor league baseball.”

Comerica Park – “We have this thing called a Poutine Dog. It's got everything and anything on it. It's a Canadian thing...It doesn't look that appealing, but it tastes delicious.”



If the Tigers were 3 outs away from a World Series title, does Mac plan his winning tweet or wing it til the end?

“I would want to have something planned and to have this plan go without fail, but I guarantee it would turn into winging it on the last out.” (cites example of when Tigers clinched division for winging it)



Mac's Social Media All-Star to Follow:

@KevinDeshazo, social media consultant and educator, specializing in sports and student athletes; Runs Fieldhouse Leadership“He always seems to find articles on stuff I'm thinking about.”



Mac's Social Media All-Star to Follow:

@KevinDeshazo, social media consultant and educator, specializing in sports and student athletes; Runs Fieldhouse Leadership“He always seems to find articles on stuff I'm thinking about.”

Where to find Mac and the Tigers on social media:

@MacSlavin on Twitter; @Tigers on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Vine, Snapchat, and elsewhere



Thanks so much to Mac for sharing his time, knowledge, experience, and expertise with the Digital and Social Media Sports podcast!

Listen to the podcast and find more episodes and content on iTunes and at www.DSMSports.net.

You can also follow me on Twitter @njh287


http://www.DSMSports.net/