Yesterday saw the International Paralympic Committee release their guidelines on the use of Social Media during the games in London next year.  In a refreshing change to the normal reaction to new technologies, especially those that affect communication, they are encouraging athletes to maximise its use.

What they have come up with is not a list of ‘Do Nots’, though there a few to ensure that the Paralympic partners are covered.  It is mainly around athletes taking responsibility for what they are posting online.

Craig Spence, IPC Media & Communications Senior Manager, said: “The IPC wants to make the London 2012 Paralympics a truly digital Games.

“We want to use the power of social media to spread the Paralympic vision and share the Paralympic experience so that anyone anywhere in the world can be part of these Games.

“In producing the new guidelines we have gone back to the drawing board and also consulted with the IPC Athletes’ Council to ensure their views are represented.

“Many of our athletes are already on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. What these Guidelines aim to do, as well as encouraging them to embrace social media, is also protect the integrity of the Paralympic Games and anyone associated with them.”

You can have a look at the full guidelines here.  I’ve picked out some of the highlights to give you an idea of the restrictions that athletes will have to abide by;

• Encouraged to use Social Media during Games time
• No interviews or stories about other accredited athletes
• No private or confidential informational to be posted
• Cannot add content for commercial and/or advertising purposes
• Only add video/audio taken outside of the venues
• Can film in the accommodation areas
• Any pictures taken tagged with ‘ParalympicSport.tv’ on Facebook and ‘@paralympic’ on Twitter

This is a sensible use of social by the IPC as they recognise that they are not going to get the same global attention as the Olympic Games, that takes place just before it, is going to get.  They need to encourage as much conversation around the Games as possible and having the content being provided by the athletes taking part is a great way to engage the world.

Media often quote athletes from a multitude of sports and having these quotes to use from Paralympic athletes will be ideal for the daily papers and websites covering the sports.  It also gives a great insight into who they are, the stories about them and how they cope with the pressure of competing at the biggest event on the planet.

Today is probably the most frenetic day in British football with the summer transfer window shutting at 11pm tonight.  Millions of pounds (and Euro’s) will be shelled out by clubs who find themselves in desperate need of reinforcements to see them through until at least the January transfer window.

Of course we are going to see the likes of Tottenham Hotspur (aren’t they always involved in last minute activity?), Stoke City, Queens Park Rangers (now they have some money to spend under Tony Fernandes), Sunderland, Newcastle and Arsenal (of course) being linked with every player imaginable.

Although fans, managers and players all moan about it being unfair and having to pay inflated fees because of the last second rush to get players in.  But we still live it don’t we!  Is there anything better than watching the BBC Sport website or flicking the TV on to watch SkySports News and their over-hyped countdown with reporters based at every training ground, stadium and hospital (for the medicals).

We saw an explosion of interest in January as Twitter came into its own with #DeadlineDay being a top trend.  Liverpool was mentioned 301,169 times during the month as they spent almost £50m on two major signings in Andy Carroll and Luis Saurez.

So who is going to come out of today with a big grin and who is going to rueing their luck in the last day gamble?  And how is the best way to follow all the action?

BBC

The BBC are running their #BBCFootball tag so that you can follow the gossip and breaking deals with their reporters on the ground.  They have also amalgamated all their news into one feed on their website with SportsDay Live – Transfer Deadline Day.  You can also follow the reporters directly on Twitter to catch the news as it happens – why not set up a list of these guys and watch as the deals unfold before your eyes…..

Paul Plunkett

John Sinnott

Phil McNulty

David Ornstein

Juliette Ferrington

Dan Roan

Howard Nurse

Chris McLaughlin

Ian Dennis

SkySports

Sky will be running their news as it happens mainly through their 24 hour a day TV channel SkySports News.  They also have their website which not only has confirmed news but also has an interesting crowdsource area where all rumours gathered from members of the public are shown (usually something like “I just saw Ronaldo getting off a train in Stoke” or similar).  You can catch up with these in the Rumour Room.

The main feed on Twitter for the channel is going to be the SkySports News official account.  They have also put together a list on Twitter where you can follow their reporters/presenters and get breaking news straight from the horses mouth (so to speak).  Their main people are;

Rob Parrish

Pete Fraser

Mark Buckingham

Pete O’Rourke

Bryan Swanson

Ed Chamberlain

Georgie Thompson

Other Links

Of course there are more ways to follow what is happening but the main action today is easily going to be on Twitter.  The record for the most number of tweets per minute has recently been broken ay the MTV Music Video Awards by the news of Beyonce’s pregnancy with 8,868 tweets per second being achieved.  Can today surpass it?  With more people joining twitter every day then these records are going to continue to be shattered.

ITV appear to be taking a slightly more reserved approach with the news being shown on their website and news through the official channel of @itvfootball

You can also follow any number of journalists who will be covering the days events (and having a very late night);

Oliver Kay

Paul Hayward

Ollie Holt

Dan Silver

Guillem Balague

Ian McGarry

Have fun watching the day of transfers – I know many players are excited to see what happens (those not involved in the action but watching on TV) and I will be glued to the set after work this evening whilst watching Twitter on my iPad.  The full multi-screen experience!

For those of you who are planning to go and watch the anticipated Beach Volleyball warm up event at Horse Guards Parade this weekend you may want to get your smart phones out.

In a sponsorship first, I’m pretty sure I’m safe in saying that, we will see the much loved QR code being used on an athlete.  Top British players Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin have agreed to a lucrative test sponsorship with Betfair where they will be displaying a QR code on their much pictured backsides!

The thought behind it (!) is to test the new found popularity of women’s beach volleyball (was up there with 100m final in popularity for 2012 tickets) with the new use of digital technology.

When the codes are photographed by a smartphone, the user is directed to a registration page to join Betfair, offering consumers a free bet.

The new marketing ploy is being trialed at this week’s London 2012 beach volleyball test tournament at Horse Guards Parade, London, from today (9 August) until 14 August.

Andy Lulham, head of PR at Betfair, said: “There is huge interest in beach volleyball and we want to ensure that our advertising campaign is seen and remembered by as many sports fans as possible.

“As far as we’re aware, this is the first time QR codes have been used in in-play sports advertising, and what better way to test its effectiveness than by putting them on one of the places that is likely to get photographed the most?”  

Be really interesting to see how many click through they get with the QR codes and if was worth the investment.  QR codes so far have had a patchy reception when previously used but this could have a double benefit. For one you can take a photo at the event (could be tricky though) or if you miss that opportunity take a picture of the images that will appear in press, magazines and online.

What are your thoughts, will it work?  Will we see more of this style of advertising?

With the Australian Open kicking off in Melbourne as we speak I thought it would be great to see what the first major sporting event of the year has in store for us from a social media perspective.

Well, they haven’t disappointed with a great iPad app being made available for sale ahead of the tennis.  Unveiled on 7^th January, it has already become the 3^rd most popular iPad app in the sports section with no paid for promotion.

What is so special about this particular app and why is it newsworthy in any way?  Well it takes the concept of having a online programme, mixes it with live updates of matches and then adds a twist that makes it really relevant to those at the event.

This novel piece that sets it apart is the exciting digital autograph collecting feature.  This ensures that it is moves from just being a programme that is nice for those really into their tennis and takes it into the real fans hands as a way of getting those treasured autographs, saving them on your iPad (then laptop, iPhone, etc) and sharing them with your friends.

Not quite as valuable as having the ball or t-shirt signed, framed and in pride of place in your home but it is a really nice, creative feature that gets into the mindset of the fans who are attending the event and the fans who cannot make it.

“We’re very excited to be launching this new app for iPads,” said Tennis Australia chief executive Steve Wood.

“It contains a lot of top class editorial content alongside the latest digital stream of live data from the tournament.”

“Tennis Australia and IBM built a solution that combined the power of social media with the wealth of content produced throughout the tournament to provide a richer, multi-layered tournament experience to tennis fans around the world.”

Is this the future of how sports events can make the most of the iPad?  And at $4.99 per download there is certainly an income generating element there that cannot be ignored.  Be interesting to see what the feedback will be like and how many downloads it generates.

As we hit December and look back at a monumental year that 2010 certainly has been, we wanted to do more than just raise a Christmas glass of champers to it.  On a personal note  I have been lucky enough to meet many people who work on social media in different capacities within sports clubs, associations, athletes and brands as well get an awesome job with Carat Digital in London.

As part of our celebration of the year we want to find out who you see as being the most influential person here in the UK when it comes to Social Media within the Sports Industry.  All you have to do is fill in the survey you will find on this post and that pops up on the main webpage.

Nominations will be taken until the 15th January 2011 and the winner(s) will be announced at the next UKSN Networking Event which will be at the end of January in London.

Thanks to everyone for a great year and looking forward to an even better 2011.  Now get nominating!…..

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The legend that is Barcelona and Argentina playmaker/goal machine Lionel Messi will be touching down by helicopter today in Central London.

If you have ever wanted to see the great man in action then you will have 3 opportunities this afternoon.  Adidas have launched the ‘catch him if you can’ event earlier this week which should be good fun to follow and be a part of.

So far the adidas football Facebook page has been giving clues out about the location and times that you can come along and find him.  In short he will be at 3 locations this afternoon, can you work them out from the clues?

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Back by popular request, The UK Sports Network’s networking event returns to London again this fall as it teams up with Lewis Howes from SportsNetworker and Sports Executives Association (SEA) for an exciting sports professionals networking event at the Sports Bar & Grill in Marylebone.

SportsNetworker is one of the top sites for professionals in the sports industry as well as those interested in starting a career in sports.  The site reaches our network of roughly 20,000 sports executives and professional athletes that continues to grow everyday.  

In addition to Sports Networker, Lewis is the co-author of the LinkedIn success book,LinkedWorking: Generating Success on the World’s Largest Professional Networking Website and most recently published LinkedIn Master Strategies.

He has also been a featured writer on popular sites such as Mashable, ProBlogger and Social Media Examiner.  Lewis continues to teach others about the power of LinkedIn and social media. He has conducted trainings and webinars for more than 8,000 people worldwide.

When:  August 10th from 6pm-9pm

Where:  Marylebone Station, Melcombe Place, London NW1 6JJ, United Kingdom

All sports professionals are welcome to attend this event and learn from the experts on social media and the latest developments in the sports industry.  Admission is £10 GBP if you sign up now, and £15 GBP at the door. Stay posted for updates about the event by registering for the event on LinkedIn HERE.

To receive early bird pricing and ensure your spot at this event (as there is limited spacing) register below and we look forward to seeing you at the event!

 
 http://www.sportsnetworker.com/2010/07/26/london-sports-networker-event/

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Last week I sat on a panel at the Social Media & Sport Summit in London. With my fellow panelists, we (hopefully) covered off some of the  strategy and planning questions that sports organizations should have a look at before choosing which social platforms to use. The keynotes were all delivered extremely well and there were some valuable case studies from the likes of Liverpool FC, Lotus Formula 1 team and Adam Vincenzini finished the day off with an indepth look at how the NBA have established themselves at the top of the tree in terms of fan engagement through social media. You can check out some of the presentations here .

Looking specifically at the case studies from the teams, Liverpool FC and Lotus F1, it was evident that some basic business rules had been applied that other organizations could certainly learn from when starting out in social media.

Objective #1 should be to engage with the fans (or customers)

There are loads of opportunities for sports teams in social media and the specific KPI’s over time may well be focused on selling more merchandise or offering deals and promotions but the underlying motivation for being active on social platforms should be to bring the club, team or organization closer to the customers – the fans. Without them, there won’t be a team. Liverpool know the value of their fans and Lotus know what its like to start from scratch with no fans! Both of them have realized that the fans are their biggest asset.

Think like a fan

Both Matt Owen from Liverpool and Tom Webb at Lotus are fans of their team…and that makes it a hell of a lot easier to come up with programs which other fans will buy into. Obviously not everyone in an organization is a fan of the brand or team, but putting yourself in your customers shoes at the strategy phase and asking “what do our fans or customers want” and “how can we improve our service to them” will set you on the right track.

Don’t marry a tool

Well, that’s just good advice, full stop! Seriously though, it’s a common mistake that many organistaions make with social media, when they decide all their communications will go through just Twitter, or just Facebook. That is focusing on the technology not the communications, and in most (major) sports teams’ cases they need to engage in more than one place. Their fans are diverse individuals brought together around a context (the team) but they will hang out in the myriad of social platforms available…so fish where the fish are.

Engage

Don’t just pay lip service to engagement…actually do it! Talk to the fans, answer their questions, raise them up on your platform so their voice is heard and amplifies the official team’s communications. There is no quick win here unfortunately and it will take man hours to pull it off but the authentic chat from both Liverpool and Lotus that undoubtedly makes the fans feel like they are part of the inner workings of the team is worth its weight in gold from a brand advocacy perspective.

If you can’t get your fans to engage with you on social media…you’ve got real problems!

That was a (rough) quote from Matt Owen at Liverpool FC and its a gem! I have to agree, sports teams are at a huge advantage over consumer brands when it comes to social media, they really want to hear from the team, be involved, be heard, get exclusive content and share the content. With such a willing pool of potential brand ambassadors, the onus is really on the teams to start putting the leg work in to get the most reward out of their social programs…and the rewards are certainly within reach.

Please share any other lessons you have learned about building successful social programs, for sports teams or any other brands, in the comments.

Last Thursday saw the Social Media & Sport Summit come to London for its second event in as many weeks. 

As Social Media has become more prevalent within the sports industry there has become the need to turn to others and find out what people are doing and if they are doing it well, how are they doing it.

We had some great help during the day to get the messages of best practice out there with speakers including;

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Leading online sports community, The UK Sports Network (UKSN) is set to bring its Social Media and Sport Summit to London next week.   This event brings together delegates and speakers from a diverse range of sports business from around the UK and even Germany and is being supported by Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP, FC Business and Colorset UVI Ltd.

“The Social Media & Sport Summit is a great opportunity for those involved in the business of sport to find out more about social media in sport with some great case studies and lessons from the likes of Liverpool FC and Lotus Racing,” explains UKSN founder Daniel McLaren.

“The UK is playing catch up when it comes to utilising the best in social media for sports professionals and our aim is to help everyone achieve their aims by developing a unified online presence and openly helping each other move forward to make the UK sports community one of the most progressive, most interactive and most envied in the world.” 

Social Media is still seen with some scepticism and a lack of full understanding in the UK as we come to grips with the changes in how the world communicates. Whether it be fans connecting with their clubs or businesses with customers times have changed for everyone.  

The event will bring out case studies showing how organisations including Lotus Racing, The NBA and Liverpool FC have utilised social media, why and what obstacles they have, and still, face.  Legal implications are another concern often raised.  Speakers from top law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse will talk about ‘a legal perspective on social media’ and ‘digital media, brand protection and dealing with counterfeiters’. 

There will be ample opportunity to relate the topics discussed to your own organisation and soak in the information at various times…. events should be like social media, not just a one-way conversation, and this is where we are different.

Delegates already signed up include;  Coventry City FC, NBA, Cake, Neuland + Herzer, The Football League, Tottenham Hotspur FC, The FA, Revolution Sports Marketing, Chelsea FC, BBC, Football Aid…. and many more!

After a fantastic first event in Nottingham which brought in new elements of interaction, great speakers and a fantastic mixture of delegates.  People who attended the event said of it;

“I attend at least a couple of events a week, many of them Social Media orientated, and I have to say yesterday was one of the best I have been to so far. The speakers were excellent.”

“Great event this morning, well done. Good speakers, good interaction, good networking. Spot on.”

“Ryan and Andy have come back enthused by what was discussed.  So well done, and I think you’ve just made my job even harder now!!”

“Great to meet you yesterday and thank you so much for inviting me to such a fantastic event. So much useful information, my head is still buzzing! ”

Tickets are still available and UKSN members can take advantage of a special 25% discount by using this link;

 Social Media & Sport Summit Booking

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