What #SMSports & PR professionals can learn from Clemson Athletics

One of the things I have been trying to do more often than not is try and meet some of the great colleagues and people in real life.

This is a professional bucket list for me and over the years, I have been able to do this. I have had a chance to meet some great professionals I know in the sports and social media world, and I was able to meet another great professional yesterday in person after having some correspondence via social media and email. This professional is Jonathan Gantt, who is the digital and creative director for Clemson Athletics.

So, how did this all come about? Well, let me tell you and I will also share why you – whether you are a PR professor, professional, or student – need to follow not only Jonathan, but also what his team is doing for Clemson Athletics in social media.

Back to the beginning

The first time I had a conversation digitally with Jonathan was just a few weeks ago. I remember reading about him from a great interview he did with Front Office Sports a few months ago. I had written a blog post about five college social media and sports professionals to follow, which I published on this blog and on LinkedIn.

The next day, I got an email from Jonathan about the post and shared with me what he was doing at Clemson University with his team. I had seen the content his team had done before, but he provided me with some great background information, examples of some of the creative work his team had done, and who all works for him. I was impressed with this and saw his team was definitely on to something in college sports and social media.

We started a conversation and Jonathan mentioned he would be in town for the Clemson-Louisville football game, and asked if I wanted to meet up for lunch. Of course, I said! Plans were made to meet up for the game.

Meeting in Person

Fast forward a few weeks later, I had a chance to go out to lunch with Jonathan when he was in town for the Clemson-Louisville game. One of the things I wanted to do was make sure Jonathan got a chance as well to see the city and go to some must-go-to places in Louisville. I made a coffee shop recommendation and we had lunch at Doc Crow’s – a great BBQ place here in Louisville. Of course, I had to make sure to bring Jonathan and his team some classic Kentucky bourbon balls to get more of an understanding of the food scene in Louisville.

It was fun to chat about social media and sports, new trends we are both seeing, and what are some of the challenges and opportunities in college athletics.

Lessons we can learn from Clemson Athletics in Social Media and Sport

There are a lot of takeaways I have from my experience meeting Jonathan but also what I saw last night for the football game. Lots of great things to discuss and cover, which I am sure a lot of my sports and social media professionals will talk about online and write on their blogs.

However, I was most impressed hearing about the culture, support, and mentorship focus his team has with their staff and interns. Jonathan was talking to me about what he tries to do for his students working for him and not only has given them some great opportunities (he had 15 people at the game helping him out), but he actively praises them on social media and gives them credit for their contribution. You can see it with these tweets throughout the game.

Why is this significant and a truly genius move by Clemson Athletics? Simple: 1) It creates a sense of transparency and team effort that is unique and not shown in most places and among sports teams, 2) what a great resume keeper for these students to show future employers their contribution and work and 3) this is public for everyone to see and shows an inside view digitally the overall positive and strong leadership culture that is within this team.

Now, you may be thinking – well, you are supposed to do that! However, I see more often than not this not happening. Social media is a great field to be in, but there are a lot of gatekeepers and individuals who want to be the “star”of the show and field for their team, organization, or brand.

Social media is a team effort, and one of the new trends I hope to see more teams, brands, and agencies do is more acknowledgements for those behind the scenes. Along with creative and innovative ideas, I’d like to see more brands and teams be transparent on who is behind the scenes and give credit where credit is due.

What are some other lessons as professors (and social media professionals) we can learn from Clemson Athletics?

Mentorship and S/Os to students

This is a big one for me, and speaks volumes to the overall culture, support, and leadership at Clemson. Lead by example and share your leadership for others to see digitally. As a professor, I know from talking to my students having positive feedback, acknowledgement, and praise after doing great work for class or internships can make such a difference.

While I think it is important to focus on the overall design, creative innovative strategies for social media, and real-time marketing practices – taking a moment to give credit and praise to those working with you for the world to see digitally can mean SO much to a person.

This is one trend I am thrilled to see and I think all of us can take a page out of Clemson’s social media and sports team’s book and apply this more in our own profession, classes, and teams.

Authentic engagement with fans

Many brands (and teams) feel that social media is another one-way communication channel. Not true at all – it’s all about building relationships, sharing information, and making those connections with audiences online and translate them offline.

This is what Clemson was able to do with their fans on the road and share their content, which was cool to see here. Many fans traveled into Louisville for the game yesterday, so this really helped create a great story for the game’s journey 

Stellar integration of innovative social media strategies for team

If you are looking for a leader in the field of social media and sports, you do need to put Clemson Athletics down there for not only their great presentation of their channels, but their use of Gifs (which are tailored and branded for the team, event, and reactions) is beyond on point. Super impressed with what Jeff Kallin, Jonathan Gantt, and their team of great professionals and students are doing here.

If you want any inspiration for what to do for gifs or someone to view that is truly hitting this out of the park, make sure to follow and bookmark what Clemson Athletics is doing.

Setting up a #SMSports meetup 

I think this is so important. I think it would be great to have some #SMSports meetups with professionals from both teams when they come into town. Whether it is coffee or lunch, this is a great way to network as well as have a great conversation about the field. I’m really grateful Jonathan took the time to meet with me and I learned so much during our lunch.

With that being said – I have a few contacts who are working in social media and sports for various teams, so if you are in Louisville, please let me know! Would love to meet up for coffee and chat about sports and social media. And I will most likely bring some Louisville chocolates as a welcoming gift as well. 🙂

In summary, I was thrilled to meet a great professional in social media in person, and I am thankful Jonathan, Jeff, and their team have taken such an active role in mentorship and leading with their social media teams. We need more professionals like Jonathan and Jeff in the field, and if you are looking for inspiration for teams having it all together and leading by example, I’d strongly recommend following what they are doing. Keep up the great work, Jonathan, Jeff, and the Social and Digital Team at Clemson!

Congratulations to Clemson on a stellar football game last night! Hope you all had a great time in Louisville!

Have a great day, everyone!

Best Wishes,