Social Media Critique: ESPN

BY KEVIN KOPF AND TYLER CALVARUSO

Intro

Since 1979, ESPN has been the dubbed the worldwide leader in sports. As one of the most successful sports networks on air, ESPN provides fans with live-game action and shows filled with more than enough content and analysis to keep any sports fanatic satisfied. With 12 sister channels and six online streaming platforms on which it is aired, ESPN has dominated the sports media market on television and on the web. From humble beginnings in Bristol, Conn. and only 1.4 million viewers on their first ever broadcast, ESPN has grown into a giant that no other sports media television network has been able to catch up to.

Over the years, ESPN has expanded its efforts to social media in order to reach fans in a new, modern way. The network has developed a mass following on social media, which is one of the reasons why we have decided to critique ESPN’s use of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. ESPN uses a different strategy on each platform and aim to appeal to a specific graphic on each one. Each of those strategies have their strong points, which makes ESPN’s social media efforts highly effective. However, they have their flaws as well and can be improved upon in order for ESPN to reach an even larger audience than it already does.

Compare and Contrast

With 19 million likes on Facebook, 33.9 million followers on Twitter and 12.5 million followers on Instagram, it’s safe to say ESPN’s social media strategy is working. Most of the company’s social media content focuses on appealing to teenagers and young adults, which account for the majority of active social media users. The content on ESPN’s Facebook and Twitter pages focus more on the written word and redirecting users back to the company’s website for article clicks, while ESPN’s Instagram content is focused more on photo and video clips that fans can view on the fly. ESPN’s Facebook and Twitter pages also post videos on occasion, but the focus is much different than what is posted on Instagram throughout the day. While ESPN’s content on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram differ, the purpose of its content remains relatively similar. With each post, ESPN aims to market its company, promote the content that is left behind a paywall and draw customer feedback via the comments section. For example, on April 21, a video of NBA legend Kobe Bryant breaking down the Boston Celtics’ performance against the Indiana Pacers posted on Facebook redirects to a full-length video on ESPN+, which is a pay-to-view service. With this post, ESPN draws customer feedback about the video clip in the comments, clicks to its ESPN+ website, which could lead to multiple subscriptions, and markets its brand as the worldwide leader in sports with an NBA legend providing analysis to basketball fans. The same content was not posted on Twitter or Instagram, however, and the reason is clear as day. ESPN’s Twitter and Instagram strategies aim to appeal to the teenage and young adult demographic, while ESPN’s Facebook focus is to aim for an older demographic. Most Twitter and Instagram users are not going to subscribe to ESPN+, as the younger generations are not as likely to subscribe to a service like that when they can watch video clips online for free. Facebook is comprised of an older demographic, which is more likely to subscribe to a streaming service like ESPN+. ESPN’s strategy with Facebook serves its purpose as an advertising and promotion tool, while ESPN’s Twitter and Instagram strategy focuses more on user engagement, which the company makes money off as well. For example, a Twitter post of Indiana Pacers big-man Myles Turner dunking on a Boston Celtics player garnered 3,900 likes on Twitter and 98 comments. On Instagram, the post received 161,977 likes and 914 comments. With each of these engagements, the company makes money. The like and comment counter on this post is still running and by time the post dies down in popularity, it will have accomplished its goal of reaching a demographic that is Twitter and Instagram-centric, generating customer feedback and conversation in the comments section, and promoting itself as a popular presence on social media.

While ESPN does its best to dominate on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, it does fall short on a handful of other social media platforms. ESPN’s presence on networks such as Pintrest, Tumblr and VSCO, among others, is lacking for a somewhat justifiable reason, as the majority of ESPN’s target market is not present on those platforms. However, Pintrest, Tumblr and VSCO are predominantly used by the demographic of teenagers and young adults that ESPN targets on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. By ignoring these platforms, ESPN could missing out on a specific kind of social media user and part of the demographic it targets on other platforms.

Areas for Improvement

ESPN did not build its social media empire by fluke or overnight. Since its inception decades ago, ESPN has been in the top-tier of sports coverage, and it has done a fine job of adjusting to the social media era. They were careful enough not to fall into any traps regarding websites or free content, and thus they are in the position on top today.

Mainly, ESPN does a fantastic job at marketing to its target audience, which is teenagers and young adults, and not much has to be changed there. If they wanted to improve and increase their target audience, however, they could look at making things more casual for the everyday fan to pick up. Much of ESPN’s content on its signature platform sites, such as Instagram and Twitter, delve into deep sports news, and these are things that a casual fan would not usually pick up. If ESPN wanted to expand its horizons, it could look into making things more of a baseline, at least on occasion, for fans that are looking to get interested in sports. It would greatly drive up ESPN’s views and ratings on social media with that extra amount of fan push.

Subsequently, ESPN could take a few measures to reach its target audience in more areas. As the social media evaluation revealed, ESPN covers Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, among other platforms, excessively. Where the company lacks, though, is on other apps that teenagers and young adults tend to frequent. One example of this is VSCO. ESPN trends towards putting a lot of pictures on their social media platforms, so using VSCO, in at least a limited sense, would be beneficial. VSCO is a photo sharing and editing app that is used by mostly young people in high school and college. Even if it is not a large operation, ESPN can still dip their toes into this frontier, as plenty of young adults are looking for signature sports pictures as backgrounds or even just for browsing. ESPN employs a large network of photographers, and also has access to plenty of other photo rights, so the transition into VSCO would be seamless. This area of improvement would help generate more younger fans, which increasing the longevity of their other social media platforms. As more young fans come in, the longer ESPN is able to stay on top of the social media hierarchy. Further, VSCO and Instagram tend to overlap heavily, so the two platforms would intertwine well for ESPN. It also follows in accordance with live videos and photos, which would be a unique feature for ESPN to pump out on a game-to-game basis. Live pictures is something that is not often used, so ESPN could look into that. This improvement, overall, for the company could greatly help bring in new fans on multiple platforms.

Adding Tumblr would be another way, in accordance with the same reasons as VSCO, that ESPN could reach more viewers. Tumblr is a heavily used website that very few major companies use, likely because it is more satirical in nature. However, ESPN jumping into it could open up a new area for them to find new fans. ESPN would have to orient itself more towards graphic and text posts, but if they want to reach teens, it is a worthy cause.

Another way ESPN could improve their social media coverage, which they do slightly now but not enough, is using live video. Now more than ever, people want to see experts and their opinions on matters in an interactive setting. Especially on Instagram and Twitter, the live video features allows for fans to ask questions and receive responses. It is a much more interpersonal way of sharing news than simple text and video. ESPN employs a large enough staff that they could do this on a regular basis and incorporate different personalities into it. This measure could become a token for the company, as it has the following to take off and become an everyday thing. Many teens and young adults are consistently around their smartphones, so they would not miss a notification for a live event as much as they would miss a simple post.

In this sense, ESPN is slightly missing its goal for its target audience. In the modern era, people expert more from social media than just the bear bones in posts and videos. ESPN has started to dive more into other avenues, but in order to truly connect, they will have to go fully into it in order to achieve their goals.

Conclusion

Through this study, it can be noted that ESPN is nearly far and away the leader for sports social media coverage, although they could still improve in multiple areas. The company’s use of Twitter and Instagram, currently, is especially impressive given the following that it has built up. ESPN has not gotten to where it is by being complacent, however, and it can get even more revolutionary in its coverage by expanding to other social media sites and allocating more resources to social media tactics than its competitors. As such a large group, ESPN undoubtedly has the money to explore these ventures. ESPN can benefit from this by gaining more fans and thus more revenue. By expanding into different networks, ESPN can solidify itself as a powerhouse in the social media era where clicks, especially behind a paywall like they are, is so important.

Growth in terms of numbers can be expected and is ultimately extremely important. These changes suggested would help garner new fans and open up new horizons for the company to express creative freedom, all while including more personnel into the operation. The outcomes expected can be ultimately an increased source of revenue and exposure, which is entirely important for a media giant such as itself.

Search Engine Optimization the key to engagement and growth

Time and time again, well-written articles fall to the bottom of Google search pages, while clickbait content rises to the top due to a couple of well-placed keywords in the headline.

As unfair as it may seem, that is the name of the game when it comes to search engine optimization and search engine marketing. Both SEO and SEM are key when it comes to content being seen by the masses. While the two differ, both play an essential role in user engagement and brand growth.

Search engine marketing and search engine optimization serve the same purpose, but differ in methodology. Search market features any tactic that will help get a name brand attention by having it appear more frequently on search engine results pages, while search engine optimization features a variety of different tactics to rise to the top of search engine page results. SEM is also a paid strategy, while SEO is an organic one that does not cost a dime.

Image result for search engine optimization — SEO and SEM play a major role in user engagement and brand promotion.

I have never engaged in any SEM tactics, but I deal with SEO on an almost-daily basis. At JetsWire, management harps on us to make sure that every single article we publish is at its best SEO wise. Usually, that means including keywords in the SEO headline and the URL. When done right, some of our articles find their way to the top of search engine result pages and the clicks, which leads to increased revenue for the site, follow.

As our clicks increase, so does our user engagement. USA TODAY’s brand is also promoted in the process. As the Jets Wire name rises to the top of search engine results pages, the site’s brand, which intertwines with USA TODAY’s brand, garners more recognition. That’s not to say what Jets Wire does in its SEO methods are essential to USA TODAY’s brand growth, as it is already an extremely well-known outlet. However, every little bit helps and with all of the clicks that we get thanks to our SEO efforts, USA TODAY benefits as well.

Engagement and growth are two of the most important things for any media outlet. The big-time corporations usually turn toward SEM and shelling out top dollar to ensure their product is visible, while the “smaller” outlets rely on SEO and organic methods in order to get their name out there. Either way, SEM and SEO are two of the least talked about components of engagement and brand growth, yet arguably the most important aspects of it. When executed properly, they have the ability to take either a big-time brand or small-time website to the next level.

Curation crucial to the future of the journalism industry

Journalism has changed over the years, but by no means is the industry dying as some may think.

Now, it is easier to gather and report information than ever. With social media making a journalist’s job easier and sources aplenty, journalism is excelling and ascending to new heights.

With the developments of the industry, one role in specific has become especially important. Although not at the forefront of the action, the journalistic curator has become crucial in the operation. Curation in journalism is not new, but it has become all the more important in recent years. Editors, managing editors and numerous other executives take part in curation, as it is their job to organize material into top-notch content for readers. However, with the emergence of social media as a dominant source of information, the importance of a curator is at an all-time high.

Image result for sources — Establishing and maintaining sources is a key role for curators in the journalism industry/Photo via CNN

The presence of a curator allows information to be funneled into the same place, a place where content is specialized and catering to a specific audience. The curator serves as sort of a middle man, where the curator must relay the information from a source to the public. In doing so, the curator must determine if the source’s information is valid and worth conveying to a larger audience.

Think of the curator as a museum tour guide. In that case, the job of the curator is to inform those on the tour about the artwork and the history behind it. Likewise, the job of a curator in journalism is to inform readers about the news. A museum curator provides interesting tidbits about the art, while journalistic curators provide interesting tidbits about the news.

The curator is not someone who is known to the public, holds a beat or focuses on a particular industry or company. However, that does not detract from their importance. More now than ever, the behind the scenes work of a curator is essential. From a news and ethical standpoint (curators have to establish maintain relationships with sources and ensure their confidentiality), curators are key. The journalism industry is always changing, but it’s safe to assume the curator is a position that will never lose its luster or role in the profession.

Relay for Life comes to Seton Hall on April 26

*DISCLAIMER* This is for a school project. In no way is this release associated with Relay for Life or the American Cancer Society.

Tyler Calvaruso

tyler.calvaruso@student.shu.edu

@Tyler21956702

RELAY FOR LIFE COMES TO SETON HALL UNIVERSITY ON APRIL 26

Image result for relay for life — Photo via Relay for Life

SOUTH ORANGE – On Friday, April 26, the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life will be coming to Seton Hall University in an effort to help raise money for cancer research.

The event begins at 4 p.m. in the Richie Regan Athletics & Recreation Center and will run until midnight. Each student organization will have the opportunity to make a team and raise money for the event.

Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society’s most successful method of fundraising and is the organization’s signature event. The mission of Relay for Life is to raise money in order to improve cancer survival rates, decrease occurrences of cancer and improve the quality of life and treatment methodologies for those dealing with cancer and the families of those with cancer.

The event is organized by a volunteer relay committee and is broken up into six parts:

Pre-event fundraising: Prior to Relay for Life at Seton Hall, student organizations will have the opportunity to create teams online and raise money for the event. So far, Zeta Tau Alpha is leading all organizations with $2,579.
Meet with your team: Teams will meet inside the Richie Regan Athletics & Recreation Center prior to the beginning of the event.
Opening ceremony: At 4 p.m., the opening ceremony will commence. With that, there may be live music and special guests at the ceremony and throughout the event.
Survivor and caregiver laps: First, any survivors in attendance take a celebratory lap, with the crowd cheering them on. Then caregivers take their turn to get recognized for all they do to support their loved ones.
Time to celebrate: Once the event is in full swing, teammates take turns walking the track or path to symbolize the ongoing fight against cancer.
Lighting the Luminaria: We light Luminaria to remember those we’ve lost, celebrate cancer survivors, and show everyone affected by cancer that we are the light in the darkness.

Relay for Life at Seton Hall University is held yearly. If you would like to get involved as a team captain or participant of the relay, click here. If you cannot attend, but wish to make a donation to Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society, click here.

The fake news epidemic in modern day media

In recent years, the fake news epidemic has taken over mainstream media.

Fake news is nothing new, but it is more accessible than ever due to social media. In the past, viral emails served as fake news, but now, with the click of a button, fake news can be spread in a Tweet, Facebook post, or article.

Facebook and Google have made an effort to limit the spread of fake news, but still, it persists throughout the web. Websites such as abcnews.com.co, WTOE News 5 and Boston Tribune pose as legitimate news sources, but in reality, they are not reliable sources. When trying to separate fact from fiction, the source means everything. Certain sites have become known for the spread of fake news and, as a result, have become unreliable outlets.

Image result for Fake News — The fake news epidemic has overtaken mainstream media/Photo via BBC

Reading past the headline format is also a way to determine whether an article is fake news or not. Often times, readers have limited attention spans and only read the headline to take in the gist of the news. If a headline is misleading, chances are the reader will be misled as well and will come away from the article with a misinformed opinion. An easy fix to this is reading more than the headline. Although headlines are used to draw the reader in, sometimes, it takes more than just a few words to figure out what an article is all about.

Personally, I’ve never succumbed to the fake news phenomenon. That probably comes as a surprise, but I think it has something to do with my instincts as an aspiring journalist. Knowing that fake news is out there, I make a point of reading the whole article, cross-checking it with other articles and then determining if the article is real or fake news. I believe that more people should adopt this approach.

Regardless, fake news is out there and odds are, it’s not going away. As the consumer, it’s our job to distinguish fact from fiction and make sure the fake news epidemic does not overtake fact.

Celebrities have the power to influence the popularity of social media platforms

In an era where celebrities are idolized and in some cases, worshiped, everything they say or do is taken as law by their fans.

If a celebrity doesn’t like a certain food, neither will their fans. If they buy a certain kind of car and talk about how luxurious it is, chances are their fans will want to buy one of their own, even if they can’t afford it. The same applies to social media use, as celebrities have recently spoken out against one of the most popular social media platforms of the generation: Snapchat.

Rihanna and Kylie Jenner are among the celebrities who have had something to say about the social platforms, with most of the focus being on Snapchat. Rihanna has a legitimate gripe with the company, as it posted a story asking users if they would rather slap Rihanna or punch Chris Brown. Given Rihanna’s domestic violence incident with Brown, her displeasure with the company comes as no surprise.

“Now SNAPCHAT I know you already know you ain’t my fav app out there!” Rihanna said in an Instagram post. “But I’m just trying to figure out what the point was with this mess! I’d love to call it ignorance, but I know you ain’t that dumb!”

With those comments came a decline in Snapchat’s share price. Rihanna used Instagram, arguably Snapchat’s main competitor, to bash the company and urge her fans to delete the app. Jenner did the same by simply stating that she never even opens Snapchat anymore and questioned if anyone else did.

I understand the outrage of Rihanna’s fanbase over the Snapchat post and for those who love the artist, but Jenner simply saying she doesn’t like the app resulting in it being deleted and its stock dropping as a result is ridiculous to me. Personally, I would never be influenced by what some celebrity says about an app. If I like the app, I’m going to use it, whether Kylie Jenner likes it or not.

I side more with Neil Patel. Both apps are great to use and I continue to use them as such. Instagram and Snapchat have different audiences and people use the platforms to tell a different story. The way I see it, my intent is to keep using both Instagram and Snapchat as I have been. No celebrity is going to be able to tell me otherwise.

Instagram and Pintrest: Photojournalist’s best friend, Photographer’s foe

With so much emphasis being placed on print media and the written word, photojournalists often fly under the radar. With the focus being on photography first and words second, photojournalists don’t have many ideal platforms to share their content. However, with the emergence of Instagram and Pinterest in recent years, photojournalists finally have a place where they can shine.

Social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook are comparative to print media. While photos are used on those networks, the written word is the focus of the content. With Instagram and Pinterest, photography is the focus. Ranging from amateurs to veterans of the field, photojournalists employ the use of those two photo-centric networks to make their work stand out. Both networks are also free to use, making them all the more accessible and easy to use.

Image result for instagram — Instagram has impacted the photography field and the ability of photojournalists to get their content noticed/Photo via The Verge

While Instagram and Pinterest have proven to be unique, they have also been threatening to a field outside of journalism. For years, professional photographers have been employed to provide print and digital media outlets for their content. With the emergence of photographers on Instagram and Pinterest, professional photographers have kind of fallen by the wayside in terms of their ability to produce unique content and sell it to news organizations. Why pay for a product when similar-quality photos can be found on Instagram and Pinterest for a much lesser price? In some cases, those photos are even free as long as the photographer’s Instagram or Pinterest page is credited.

Instagram and Pinterest have certainly been positive developments, but they have also put professional photographers in jeopardy — especially the freelance ones. Those who are employed for photography companies such as USA TODAY Sports Images are safe and do not have to worry, as their photos are exclusive to that network and will be used by all of the writers in the network. However, freelance photographers now have their backs up against the wall in terms of finding work. Instagram and Pinterest have created an interesting dynamic within the field.

Algorithms make it unknown whether or not your content will be seen

I hate numbers. Other than the fact that I like to think that I’m somewhat decent at writing, that is why I’m a journalism major. I use social media to push my content to readers, content that takes a lot of work and time out of my day. The fact that a bunch of numbers control how many people see my content, or if people see it at all, rubs me the wrong way.

To be frank, if it weren’t for one of today’s readings, I would not be able to define an algorithm for you. Most math terminology is way beyond me and algorithms fall under the I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about category. I always knew that algorithms controlled how content on social media is sequenced, but I never realized the extent of it.

I’m not knocking algorithms completely, because they do have a positive impact in some cases. People have specific content that they want to read and for the most part, algorithms group that content together. Content that one would find interesting goes to the top of the timeline, while content that has nothing to do with what one couldn’t care less about gets shoved to the bottom of the feed.

Social media networks are able to gather the data necessary to determine an algorithm based on one’s actions on social media. Websites such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram analyze which posts people spend the most time on, what generates the most clicks, and which posts people share.

Image result for Twitter timeline — Twitter algorithms play a major role in deciding if one’s content is seen/Photo via Buffer

In this sense, algorithms are a positive. Nobody wants to read or click on stuff that they are not interested in. However, algorithms have a tendency to bury well-written content, while other stuff is pushed to the top for absolutely no reason.

When I first started writing at Jets Wire, we had this one post that garnered about 70,000 views in its first day on the web. It was not one of our well-written columns that required plenty of thought in recent. It was not a slideshow detailing which players the Jets should target in free agency or the NFL Draft. Instead, it was a post of a video of former Jets center Nick Mangold sliding down a waterslide while on vacation with his kids.

That’s right, a video of an offensive lineman sliding down a waterslide at Disney stole the show, while other actual journalism didn’t get any attention. Why? Because somewhere along the line, some algorithm decided that the Mangold post was a more appealing one. From a journalistic standpoint, the story was crap. It took about five minutes to write and a video was embedded. That doesn’t matter to the algorithm, though.

Last night, I wrote a 900-word article outlining what the Jets should pitch running back Le’Veon Bell. Will people see it or read it? Who knows. I’m praying that the algorithm works in my favor. Whether I like it or not, a bunch of variables and numbers will determine whether or not my work gets any attention.

Who knows if you’ll wind up even seeing this post.