episode 39 of the dsmsports podcast w/ micah hart of the atlanta hawks

Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast Recap

Episode 39: Micah HartDirector of Interactive Marketing, Atlanta Hawks

Episode 39 featured Atlanta Hawks Director of Interactive Marketing, Micah Hart.

Listen to the full episode at DSMSports.net or on iTunes. What follows are snippets and quotes from the podcast. Enjoy and thanks again to Micah!

@njh287; DSMSports.net



Micah's Career Path:

Grew up in Mississippi wanting to be a sportscaster → Attended University of Texas for undergrad and worked in college radio and did internships in media → Then went to Syracuse to get master's in broadcast journalism at the Newhouse School of Journalism (highly ranked/reputable; “The birthplace of sportscasters”)→ At Newhouse, he went away from local sportscasting and got more into play-by-play → Took an internship at Lehigh doing pxp and helping in the sports info dept. (3 employees for 25 sports!)

“It was a great incubator. I learned a lot...I'd never seen wrestling that wasn't fake...I'd not seen field hockey before...So it was a really steep learning curve.[Micah said wrestling was the toughest to learn to call]




“(Working at Lehigh) was a lot of fun, but I was living in the middle of nowhere...I kind of realized that I need a better balance between personal and professional (lives)...

That's a big piece (of advice) for anybody to know where you live on that spectrum. Some people live to work, some people work to live...and it's important to know where you fall [on that spectrum].”




Micah went to Atlanta to look around for work and got a job with the Hawks and Thrashers in a web roleMicah notes networking at Lehigh, along with Syracuse's strong reputation, helped him land the role with the Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers

→ Worked there for six seasons before moving to NBA and working in editorial on NBA.com → Returned to the Hawks where he now oversees digital and social media




On returning to the Hawks from NBA

Notes that, since he returned, digital has become its own arm (separate from CRM and database marketing) with the Hawks. Micah notes how the more focused digital department has been fun to lead and to implement their ideas




“Our website is the largest driver of single ticket purchases. That's an area I think is still evolving...Teams are all over the spectrum. Some use (social media) it entirely for sponsorship. Some use it as just a ticket [sales] driver. And some are using it to create their own media platforms, which we're working towards. But everyone has to be on the same page to do that...

I think, when all is said and done...I imagine you'll see most brands carving out their own space as their own media platforms.”




I think [social media] has provided teams a better ability to have a personality and get out in front of the fans...My background is in content creation, so, for me, it's fortuitous that content marketing is the way that things are going.




“The advent of social media and the ability to really give a voice to the organization that is not just a PR mouthpiece has made it a lot easier for us to execute on (content marketing) and that's why, probably, people haven't gone to team websites in the past because the expectation is that anything you have written there is completely shilling for the team...

I think you can give that sort of behind-the-scenes look and access to the fans, and not necessarily lose your credibility. I think fans sort of know teams are going to put a rosy spin on things...But with social media, (we've) really been able to have that voice and create an identity that I don't think necessarily we were able to do from (web)...”




I've always believed that you could drive traffic by having compelling content...I remember, as a fan, I never used to go to MLB.com...because I assumed it was just like other corporate entity websites. Then I remember when Stephen Strasburg made his first start for the Nationals and they live-steamed it on MLB.com, which I thought was genius. I watched it...

And, not long after that, there was a no-hitter in progress and they were streaming that. Those two incidences and my entire use case for MLB.com changed to, anytime there's something big happening in baseball, I go to MLB.com.




“I think the lesson is you think people have an opinion about something and they're never gonna change it, (but) I think people's minds can change if you provide them the rationale for why that change is necessary...

We try to create content that people will find informative and entertaining. We've had more success with that on social, no question, than just on straight dot com, but it's easier/ The heavy lifting is a lot less on social.”




Describing his department's organization and collaboration

Micah's department: Himself, two underneath him – a social media coordinator (Jaryd Wilson) and web producer (Jessica Wilson) that oversees day-to-day web stuff and also does a lot of talent work.

As we've gotten better about communication internally, we started having a weekly call where we get together with PR, with marketing, and with our video services crew to talk g all the things that areg oing on (with content and coverage)...so everybody is on the same page and everyone can distribute that message throughout the rest of the organization...We've been a little silo-ed in the past, and I think we're trying to do a better job of communicating internally, which I think leads to doing a better job of communicating externally, as well.”




“It's very interesting right now because, historically, we've had our challenges trying to sell tickets. An that is not the case right now, which is a definitely a fun place to be in...

This is new territory for us. It's been to really be able to put our time and effort toward the same stuff, but in a different way than we have in the past...”




“I think we've been preparing for this. I'm a big believer in preparing for success. You can't control how the team is going to perform, but what you can control is the things that you put in place. I love the fact that the team is doing so well right now...

I always wanted us to be ready whenever that time came and I'd like to think that the last month or so has shown we've been able to do that.”




On how their recent success on and off the court has reinforced the value of digital and social

“If anything, it has validated our approach from the get-go. [All the metrics] have been outsized with the way the team has been playing...But we haven't really changed our approach from a social and content standpoint. It's just that more people are noticing...

I could not be happier than people are standing up and taking notice, but it also makes me happy that the things that we've been doing without people noticing have turned out to be the right things all along.”




“We've got a lot of things in the place that we kind of do that, if you didn't know what was going on, you'd wonder what was happening. But our fans know. And I like the idea that, someone coming into it (for the first time) would notice these things and wonder what it is we're doing and would be curious to follow us and find out (what it all means)...

Generally, I like people coming in trying to figure put what is going on and that curiosity leading them to pay attention.”




On social media and ticket sales

I wouldn't say ticket sales is a big part of it...I attribute that to a lot of different things. We are definitely trying to drive traffic to the website...We do retargeting (and) we've seen a lot of success with that...

From a social standpoint, it's really about brand and affinity. Everything that we post across our channels, we either want to be informative or entertaining; ideally both. And always authentic.(Authenticity) is really the guiding principle for us on social because people are savvy on social media and they can tell when people are BS-ing them...




“When I got here, we were still in the very early stages of using social media how it should be used. We had a lot of sponsorship elements that were kind of pass-through messages...

We've gotten away from that as much as possible. There is, without question, a place for sponsorship in social and digital media. But just a straight marketing message is not the way to do it...”




“Our goal is to create awareness of the brand and affinity for the brand. That's why we've put so much time and effort into cultivating that voice. Because we're an entertainment option, but we're not really competing, we don't think, with people's dollars in terms of (comparing other sports options), we're competing with (other entertainment options)...”




“So, entertainment is a really big piece of it and everything that we do in all of our content channels trying to provide entertainment as an option and hopefully that is something we can provide consistently, whether that is coming to a game or following us on Twitter...

People can select what they want to pay attention..., so, the more we can make ourselves an entertainment option, the better our chances are of creating relationships moving forward.”




On tracking and measuring social media success

“I think there is still a lot more we can do to track that stuff. It's definitely engagement. Growth is definitely a part of it, but I don't think growth is the be-all-end-all...We want people who want to follow us because they're interested in us. We're not looking for empty Likes and Follows...I think engagement is a big part of it. We want to have things that create engagement...that invite people to contribute...and, in general, give people something to talk about and be a part of the conversation.How we measure that, we're not all the way there yet. But, certainly, reach and engagement is a big part of it.”




On developing the snarky, fun, and self-sdeprecating Hawks' brand voice

“That [voice] was sort of my pitch coming into this job, because That was what I think social media was best at. I feel like that is how people communicate and it was important to me that we use social media the way that people use social media to communicate...to treat it like a PR mouthpiece is just not authentic...




People are busy and do not just have time to mess with things that don't provide value to them. We're fortunate that we're in a business where emotion is not necessarily a difficult thing. Levels of that, certainly, and, as a franchise in the past that has been a big challenges of ours – apathy in the Atlanta marketplace for our team and our product.

But we can't control what happens on the court; we can only control what we control.”For us, it was trying to be different, trying to stand our amongst the different brands we're competing against for your attention.




“Sports is supposed to be fun. That's the whole reason people like it. It's a release...To me, that gets lost a lot of times very easily...What we try to bring across with our voice is that we are having a good time just like our fans are.

My pitch from the beginning was, (particularly on Twitter), to be the voice of the Hawks fan. We're excited when the team is doing well and we're bummed when the team is not doing well. We're not going to do anything that is off-brand or slam our players...

Everything is not always a win...It's not authentic to try and make everything like it's always 100% and everything is golden.”




“Having the ability to react the way the fans react, to an extent, makes us trustworthy and shows that we're all in this together.”

(Micah also gives credit to Jaryd Wilson for doing a great job at developing the voice and having tweets gain national notoriety)




On Hawks social media coordinator Jaryd Wilson gaining the trust of his supervisors

“It's all about building up trust...We've learned as we've gone. There have been some missteps, but that's to be expected when you're in uncharted territory...You can't really innovate and push unless you're testing those boundaries...

My biggest thing is that we can't be afraid to fail...When you're trying tot push the envelope, some of those (gaffes) are going to happen time-to-time...




“A big part for us has been putting a process in place to let everyone know that we have things we do when things happen. We have guidelines we've shared around internally. There is a method to our madness.”

We have a constant conversation going. We're always trying to think of fun things to do (and) innovative way to do things...And we love to take ideas from everybody.”

(including the Spotify playlist idea coming from a researcher; Swipe Right Night coming from Owner Steve Koonin)




On how the Hawks determine on which social networks to focus their efforts and resources

“It's a constantly evolving area. Website still probably dominates because we have such established KPI's for that and business cases for it. I don't necessarily think we know social ROI yet. I think it's a very long-term play...

We want to figure out ways to measure it on a day-to-day basis...but, generally speaking, what I think happens on social is that you engage somebody and get their attention and, over the course of time, maybe they buy a hat and then a ticket...it's really hard to show that process from start to finish and where social media definitively plays into it. I think it plays a big role, but it's really hard to quantify.”




“Twitter is where put the most of our effort. It's where we've seen the most success...and it's the most visible one we have. Facebook is still big, but there are limitations there with the reach. Instagram is our fastest-growing and we're looking to dive more into that channel, as well...Facebook is still a huge area for outbound marketing and sales. Snapchat, we're just dipping our toes in now...and trying to grow that channel...I think we'll be heavier on YouTube in the not-so-distant future; looking at ourselves as an entertainment platform (noting NBA loosening its reins on content this season)....

(For) Pinterest and Google Plus, we sort of pay lip service to them now and (likely) won't see that change...[because] we haven't really seen the business cases [there] yet.”




Helpful Tool: KeywordTool.io for Google, YouTube, Bing, App store

Micah pronounces GIF with the 'G' sound, despite Neil's contention that 'Jif' is the correct enunciation!




The most memorable part of the Hawks' undefeated January

“The team performance was the most fun. Just watching them play and just systemically break teams down was awesome.

The work side of me...The Twitter handle thing took on a life of its own (adding W's to their Twitter name for each consecutive win, as they'd done for streaks all season)...When we saw there was a chance we might break our Twitter name, we realized that was going to give us a really great opportunity.” (Twitter nixed their request to extend the allowances for Twitter name length)...




I like to think we had a fun and creative to solve (the name restriction)...that got a lot of publicity. For us, the wins were great, but we just really wanted to make it where we broke the (Twitter) handle...We were (also) really rooting for the undefeated January because infographics we were creating...It's hard because, in that space, you have to be prepared for stuff, but you don't want to jinx anything.”




The Hawks player with the most social media use and engagement

“Our guys are kind of about business...I wouldn't say there is anybody who has an outsized social persona.”

(Micah names Demarre Carroll Al Horford, and Kent Bazemore, who developed his own app, as standouts)




The Hawks player that generates the most social media buzz among fans

“I'd probably say Kyle Korver...The Korver counter (every time he hits a three, the Hawks tweet a fireball emoji) has really taken off a lot...And then Mike Scott is the emoji king; he has emoji tattoos all over his arms.”




Micah talks Swipe Right (Tinder) Night

It was literally the first idea (CEO) of Steve Koonin...It was literally the first idea he had when he took the job last summer. He came in and talked about wanting to shake things up. Our target is millenials and that's who we're going after hard and heavy...So he put it on us to pull off (Tinder Night)...When Good Morning America, SportsCenter, and The Today Show were all covering it, you know it's successful. But the people who came had a good time with it, as well...

The takeaway, to me, is just always be thinking of things that would be new and different and entertaining. And that one clearly took off on its own and fans had a great time with it...We're certainly interested in trying to replicate that success...”




Share-able Stat:

Of US Internet users who use the Internet while watching TV [57% of US], 76% are doing something unrelated to TV program




If you could go back before the Hawks' hot streak, would you do anything differently?

“I don't think I would do anything differently...The whole time we just never stopped thinking of what we could do next. It's just be creative. Don't feel like, if you do something that works, that'll carry us over for a while. We have tried, and still continue to try, to come up with fun things that fans will like and that we like...”




What makes Atlanta sports fans unique?

“There are just a lot of people that aren't from here. (uses himself as an example as an ex-pat from New Orleans, who remains a Saints fan)

And that goes back to what the leadership has stressed to us and that's going after the younger fan. That's really where we're going to make our hay. It may not pay off immediately, but it will pay off down the road...The big key for us is grabbing that attention of the younger fan (whose loyalty is still up for grabs).”




Other teams / brands that Micah thinks use social media well

Micah says the Hawks are often compared to the Kings and they do social media really well.

Micah also notes much of the NBA does well, singling out the Blazers, and also naming the Suns, Sixers, Bucks, and Warriors.

“There really are a lot of [NBA] teams that are starting to see the ways to success...We're all sort of swimming in the same direction now.”




The best part of attending the University of Texas for undergrad

“Definitely football. I was there for Ricky Williams's Heisman (trophy) and that was an amazing year...The food (too). I love going to football games and I love eating. Tex-Mex is the best thing in the world and there are basically no restaurants in Austin that don't serve chips and salsa...Austin is just a fun town to be in, regardless.”




The best food item at any NBA arena and the best food at the Hawks' home arena, Phillips Arena

Micah notes that he typically eats the press meal on the road, but has fond memories of a churro at the LA Forum he had at a Clippers game as a kid.

At Phillips Arena, Micah lists the pulled pork nachos as his favorite. He also mentions that, in the future, the arena may get more local cuisine; similar to the Braves having a Waffle House at their ballpark.




Which Texas Longhorns will make a 'final four' in its sports first/next – men's basketball or football

“Maybe football. I'm pretty bullish on Coach (Charlie) Strong.”




Micah's Social Media All-Star to Follow

I use social media for entertainment, so the people that make me laugh are the guys I follow the most. I'm a huge sports fans, so @netw3rk and @celebrityhottub are my two favorite Tweeters out there.




Where to find the Hawks and Micah on social and digital media

The Hawks are @ATLHawks on most social platforms, except hawkssnaps on Snapchat

Micah is @MicahHart on Twitter and Instagram




Thanks again to Micah Hart for sharing his time and knowledge on the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast!

For more, visit DSMSports.net and follow me on Twitter @njh287.


episode 39 of the dsmsports podcast w/ micah hart of the atlanta hawks

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