episode 84 of the dsmsports podcast w/ greg mize of the atlanta braves

Best Of...Greg Mize on theDigital and Social Media Sports

Podcast

Greg Mize, Digital Marketing Director for the Atlanta Braves, was the featured guest on episode 84 of the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast.

What follows are some snippets from the interview. Hear the full episode on www.DSMSports.net or download it on from iTunes Store podcasts or Stitcher.

Enjoy...

@njh287DSMSports.net


PodcastGreg's career path

Attended Fairfield University → Volunteered in their Athletics department working media relations for basketball → After graduation, interned with media relations at Boston College, working with all their major sports

“Media relations has changed so drastically since I was a part o it in the early 2000s. A lot of it just has to do with the evolution of media, in general.”



PodcastGreg took his first full-time position at NESN (rights holder for Red Sox and Bruins) in their promotions and publications group, including helping with their website → “At that point, the web was still very immature (compared to today). It really was a place to put the upcoming game schedule and game recaps...But it really started providing an additional platform for people to follow their favorite teams...

“At the time, their website was run by a website called Boston.com...Because of that relationship, a position there opened up.”



PodcastGreg worked for Boston.com in his first specific digital role → Web was growing, but no social media yet

“It was around that time...I was looking for a bit of a change of scenery...”

Greg and his wife looked for jobs down south and Greg interviewed with PlayOn Sports (part of the Turner group), which did webcasts of non-televised sports (colleges, minor leagues, amateur sports), and were the flagship rights holder for the ACC (which led to his interview thanks to the Boston College connection)



PodcastAfter a year at PlayOn, Turner sold those rights, so Greg moved on to Turner → “I worked on pretty much every sports property that Turned owned at the time.” (NASCAR, March Madness, MLB Postseason, and, most recently, worked on their NBA properties – digital, app, TV, etc.)

“I honestly saw myself being at Turner for as long as my career would take me...(But) the opportunity at the Braves opened up. They had just announced the more to the new ballpark, and it was a fantastic opportunity to go in and really build a digital team at the Braves. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I could not pass up.”

Greg started the day before the home opener in 2014 and has been there ever since@njh287

DSMSports.net


PodcastGreg's tip for aspiring sports biz pros

“The best tip that I can give is be willing to try new things. Be willing to be open for internships and rally learning as much as you can, making as many good contacts and forming as many good relationships as you can. The sports industry is really such a close-knit community...

“And just because you know someone, by no means does that mean you're going to get a job...But at least being able to know someone and provide a reference...(can help)...I think that's definitely some of the benefits that these relationships can give you.”



Podcast“There was some great opportunity to do a lot more with

social, as it relates to more content, more ways to engage and connect with fans, more ways to showcase our players. And what has been exciting as more and more platforms [and platform features] come (out)...has given us more and more opportunities to showcase the players and connect with the fans. That has been one of the most exciting parts of what we do.



Podcast“Over the last year, we've really tried to push the concept of digital innovation, as it relates to the fan and their experience; especially the experience of coming to a game. We're really excited for what that mean for Sun Trust Park...We at the Braves know baseball really well...but especially as it relates to innovation and new platforms, what we really want to do is align ourselves with (the tech community in Atlanta)...So we went out and formed relationships with (several tech organizations in Atlanta)...

“It's really trying to balance what we know – we know our fans. But also let's stretch a little bit and try to find inspiration elsewhere.”



PodcastObjectives on digital for Greg and the Braves

“For fans that live in the area (all around the south in relative proximity to Atlanta)...we want to be relevant to them. And we also want to be relevant to the fan that lives (further away). Just because you don't live near Sun Trust Park and you don't come to ten games a year, we should still be as cognizant and relevant to you as possible...The way we look at it – a fan is a fan, whether they're coming to a lot of games because they live close, or they're following on social and all these digital platforms and they're watching on TV – we want to be as relevant to our fans as possible, no matter where they are.”@njh287

DSMSports.net


PodcastGoing from the media side to the team side in his career

“The challenge wasn't so much understanding the importance of (ticket sales) because ticket sales are our bread and butter...It really was educating and showcasing that how you treat ticket sales on digital and, specifically, social is so much more than just putting out links and [saying] 'click here to buy.' Because that is not how people transact. And that is becoming more and more the case.

“We see less direct sales from people directly clicking a link on Facebook or Twitter. But we see greater sales when we're able to use those platforms to educate people and to get them excited about things that are happening at the ballpark.@njh287

DSMSports.net


Podcast“People know how to buy tickets...People know how to get

to Braves.com or Ticketmaster or searching on Google or going into the app...It was taking away from that heavy direct response push and more toward building engagement and building fandom and creating awareness of all the exciting things we have going on a the ballpark.”

(Greg talks about the Braves associating social interaction within CRM)



Podcast“What we were able to see (through the study) is that fans

who are engaging with us on social media are spending six times more than fans that aren't. What that tells me is let's not focus on 'click here to buy, click here to buy,' because that is not how people transact. But if you can create this ecosystem and this environment where people are engaged and they feel bought into the team, they feel a part of it, and (this study) has proven that...

“Let's focus more on engagement, let's focus more on fandom, and the ticket element will come...”



PodcastNuts and bolts → Braves use Microsoft Dymanics for CRM and have a full-time Business Analyst

“In the very simplest form, it's really attributing social media engagement (specifically Twitter for this study)...It's looking at 'here are the people engaging and here are the people that aren't' and comparing their spending in CRM)...

“It's not an exact science, it's not black and white...But I think it's a really good directional metric that underscores the value and monetization of social media.”



Podcast

Helpful Tool: Cyfe.com for digital/social analytics dashboard



PodcastWorking across departments to integrate social

“We are one of the most cross-functional departments inside the front office. Because every department has their own objectives, and there's relevance for social media on all those objectives. It's really working with them and understanding what their goals are, what their priorities are. And then going back and figuring out how does this translate to social media? How can we bring this to life?...”



PodcastOn balancing department priorities and limited space +

resources

“Instead of positioning it as (we need a tweet or Facebook post), it's more (looking specifically at the goal) and (bringing it to life digitally)...

[Greg gives a good example of a content piece with the overall objective to sell commemorative bricks for Sun Trust Park]

“There are definitely ways we can communicate those messages beyond just (a promotional social media post)...We're focused more on 'what are your goals? What are your

[Greg notes this principle applies across every department in the organization to keep a collaborative environment]



PodcastSponsorship activations and evolution of integration into digital

and social

“The great thing about our corporate partnerships team is they come to us on the front end. They come to us and (tell us who they're pitching or working with and what their goals are)...We're able then to go back to the playbook and figure out what makes sense to do in-app, what makes sense to do in social, what makes sense to do online...As opposed to just giving us a signed PO and saying 'Hey, we need to do 12 tweets for this sponsor over the next week.' And it goes both ways. What we're also doing now is we sit on the corporate partnerships weekly meeting...and we present to them 'Here are some upcoming initiatives that we're doing. Here is a content piece that is going to live on social. Here is our 2017 marketing campaign.' And making that a two-way street, so they can see it and say 'This is perfect for some sponsor we're talking to...'”



PodcastHow Greg keeps track of all the content and platforms

“We have a fantastic digital team that is publishing content, is looking at the analytics, is strategizing. That is, by far, how we're keeping up with everything; both, platforms that are at our disposal, new platforms that come to fruition (Greg mentions Instagram Live)...That helps us stay on track and really understand everything we have at our disposal.



Podcast“One of the things that we really want to do a good job of next year is really starting to differentiating (content across platforms)...Let's figure what makes the most sense (for each individual platform)...Also, too, working with our production team to make sure it's shot in the right way. A piece of content on Instagram, and Facebook and Twitter; and something we want to do on Snapchat – they should look and function extremely differently. So really keeping in mind what makes the most sense for Facebook doesn't make the most sense for Twitter. So really being diligent on looking at customized content for all those platforms (is) something that we'll be working very hard on next year.”

[Greg talks about the growth of platforms necessitating more manpower]@njh287

DSMSports.net


Podcast“I think the biggest evolution has been the introduction of

live...If you're using your phone to Facebook Live batting practice, that's all that phone is doing. So you also can't use that to get a couple of photos that you can (post) on Twitter, and then a couple photos you can use for Instagram. So it has really lent itself to having a strong team and really understanding people's roles...It really makes the on-site collection of content definitely more of a challenge, but it provides so many opportunities and ways for fans to engage...



Podcast“I think specialization is important because, for the individual running it, there is a sense of pride and a sense of ownership. And, again, all of these platforms function so differently, so we definitely have owners for each platform. And some people have more than one platform they're responsible for. But, by no means does that mean that you're the only one publishing on that platform. So you're helping with direction and leading, whether it's the voice, the type of content. But also (versatility) is key, because we want people who are well-rounded and understand all these platforms at our disposal. Both for their personal and professional development, but also because someone (may) be sick one game...It's definitely a mixture of both. We feel to get the best content we want to have as many different options as possible.”@njh287

DSMSports.net


PodcastContent strategy when the team is not winning on the field

“We're very cognizant. So much of what we do is understanding our fans and what they want. You have to know that – if you're mired in a significant losing streak, you gotta dial it back a little bit. When things are going well, you gotta turn it up a little bit...

[Greg talks about the different approaches of different general managers focusing a little on instinct/gut and analytics]



Podcast“We employ that exact same approach on social. We have

to have a healthy mix of understanding the content that our fans want, what their appetite is, what they are wanting to engage with, the type of stuff that they want to see. But then also basing that on the analytics – what is working, what are people engaging with? And knowing when to turn it up, when to turn it down is very important. We use both our gut , but also what the numbers are telling us to understand what we do when we do it.”



PodcastWorking with team operations when producing content, specifically focused on players

We definitely have great lines of communication with Coppy (their GM)...He understands the power and the value of social media. We're communicated with on a need-to-know basis...We'll get a heads-up when something is happening – whether it is someone we're acquiring (or a signing)...so we can prep content...We'll get a heads-up, so we can help prep it, so we can make sure we're covered from a social and digital space...But we're definitely not in constant contact with everything they have potentially going...”



Podcast

On the Braves GM being so engaging and active on Twitter → “We've done these [Twitter] chats with players and alumni, and the way it has worked is, a lot of times, it's us on the keyboard and we're sitting next to the individual and they're picking questions and answering, and then we're transcribing them...



Podcast“So the first #AskCoppy that we did, we just kind of assumed that this is the way we'll treat this. And he sat right down and goes 'Nah, I'll do it.' That's literally him on the keyboard, going through questions, and just ripping off answers left and right. I don't know how other teams handle these...but I would venture to say that ours are the most unique, and definitely give the most real perspective. He's not afraid to (hear) criticism.

[Greg talks about a fan asking 'Why should I even bother coming to a game this year?' Coppy took it and answered it]



Podcast“I am pretty confident in saying that he is the first

professional GM to answer a Twitter question directed at him that had a poop emoji in it...He understands and it's authentic and it's real, and that's why it works...We owe transparency (to our fans). Not to say we're gonna open the playbook and let them know everything that's happening...but, directionally, we want to be able to communicate and help them understand what's happening. We think that helps build fandom, and it'll make our future success that much more enjoyable for us and our fans.”



PodcastHow MLB works with all the clubs to educate, empower,

and communicate

“There is a couple of weekly emails that go out – there is one specifically for social (and) one specifically for digital ticket sales. There are calls that happen throughout the season with all clubs, as it relates to social (and) as it relates to ticket sales. There is an offseason summit that happens with all the teams to focus on digital advertising and social media. The league and BAM really do a good job of fostering that communication. Obviously, we're competitive on the field, but if the Astros did something that we thought was interesting that we could apply for us here in Atlanta, we're gonna do that. And vice-versa...There is definitely this culture of collaboration.”



PodcastOn the Braves' campaigns on digital and social to

commemorate the last season at Turner Field

“It was so much fun. Really, our approach was, capture anything and everything that we can, as it relates to that final game. Because the roster of alumni that we had coming back...it was really nostalgic and really just a great celebration of the Braves...



Podcast“Our approach was just capture as much as of it ans get out as much as we could. For people who were there, but also to provide a perspective for people who weren't there. In the lead up, all throughout the season, we really wanted to get fans involved. We were encouraging them to share their Turner Field memories. We were collecting all those submissions on social and aggregating it, and allowing people to scroll through and see what other people's memories were of Turner Field. We got celebrities involved. Each game, we had a countdown, where we would tear down a number of home games remaining. And that was just so much fun – whether it was notables, whether it was musicians, actors, local athletes, and then just general fans. And that was the fun part, when we got fans involved.



Podcast

“It was a great celebration of Turner Field, a great celebration of the Braves, in general. And I think we learned a lot. Because we're going to want to do a lot of this next year, as well, from Sun Trust Park. Opening Day and Opening Weekend, there is going to be so much content for us to capture and share. We're really excited to be able to do that.”



Podcast

Share-able Stat: 150 million daily active users on Instagram Stories (wow!)



PodcastGreg's favorite campaign or piece of content working for Turner Sports, specifically in NASCAR

“We did a companion stream – it was a mosaic of streams called Race Buddy...Race Buddy was available both on NASCAR.com and in the app, as well. It was a four-stream mosaic that allowed fans to customize different views from their favorite drivers. So you could get within Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s in-car camera. Or you could get a high camera where you could see the entire track...

“There are 43 drivers and every fan has a driver that that's who they care about...so Race Buddy was a great tool to augment that, and allow this companion viewing experience that gave fans some customization in allowing them to watch the race (in the way) that they wanted to watch it.”@njh287

DSMSports.net


PodcastGreg's favorite social media and sports guiding principle or

mantra

“I'm gonna say that 51-49 split. 51% gut – knowing your fans, knowing your team, knowing your players, who we want to showcase, where the fan appetite is. And then combining that with analytics – what's working from an engagement standpoint? What's working from a monetization standpoint? The sweet spot is to where those two things come together (and) can help you get to the best and most effective content.”



PodcastThe best quote and/or player personality on the Braves

“Best quote was probably John Coppolella during #AskCoppy, where he extended his condolences to Harambe...I think from a personality standpoint, we're lucky. Especially for a lot of our younger guys – they have such unique personalities. You have Ender Inciarte – Gold Glove winner. He is so humble and he is very active on social, whether it's talking to fans or...he's just liking Tweets from fans saying stuff about him...



Podcast“Dansby Swanson, really just grounded (and) really humble. My favorite Dansby Swanson moment from last year was, we did selfies on the field for one of the final games at Turner Field. We allowed fans to come and lined all around the warning track, and our players came out in shifts and just walked fan-by-fan-by-fan and allowed them to selfies with them. And there was this one fan for Dansby that held this sign that said he was his elementary school gym teacher. And Dansby was going person to person to person and stopped and read the sign, and had this smile that came on his face and looked at his teacher and just went up and gave her a big embrace.

“He's a guy that will never forget his roots and where he came from. And we're so lucky he grew up right down the street...from Sun Trust Park...”@njh287

DSMSports.net


Podcast

“The younger players – they grew up on social media. That's how they communicated. There isn't really this learning curve as to 'what are these platforms?' They know what they are, because they're on them and they've been on them...There's a high degree of both the platforms, in general, but also the power of these platforms.”



PodcastThe social media on which the Braves have the most success and why

“I think Twitter, and I'd say that probably because it's the most visible. And I think, too, between Twitter and Facebook, we're able to get a really robust set of analytics as to what's working. But we're really proud of a lot of stuff that we've been doing on Twitter.”

[Greg mentions GIFs featuring newly acquired players

animating a Braves jersey + cap being gradually animated onto players' previous gear]pared.”



PodcastThe most memorable trade Greg has been a part of for the Braves and how it went down fro ma digtal perspective

“I've got two – both on very different sides of the coin. The first one was after the 2014 season, which was the Jason Heyward (to St. Louis) trade. That was the start of our rebuild. That was one of those trades where you pull the trigger, you put it out there on social media, and you just tiptoe back, and you just let it out there. I think, in time, fans have come to appreciate that trade, especially being able to see what that trade has led to (in terms of player acquisitions)...

“My second answer was the Ender-Dansby-Aaron Blair trade. I think that was the first trade where fans understood what was happening (with the team's vision and plan)...I would say those two for very different reasons.”@njh287

DSMSports.net


PodcastGreg's favorite non-Atlanta MLB ballpark and why

“Fenway (Park) and Wrigley (Field) stand out just because of their historical significance. Even the old Yankee Stadium just because, you walked in there, and just years on years on years of history that has lived in those cathedrals. I also love Target Field, where the (Minnesota) Twins play. That was also designed by Populous, who was the architect on Sun Trust Park. (It) has a very modern feel, but it also very classic in nature, and that's what we're striving for in Sun Trust Park...”



PodcastThe MLB player that is not on the Braves who does the best job on social media and why

“I enjoy Chris Archer, from the Tampa Bay Rays. He's very real on social. He truly captures the essence of what the true power of social media is for athletes – it humanizes them. It makes them a person. It takes them from this All Star-caliber player to someone that someone can recognize, and relate to. I think he's very inspirational on the platforms, but he's very real...He's authentic and you can really see that personality that you see in the dugout and during interviews really translate to social, as well.”



PodcastThe best food to get in Atlanta and the food Greg is most excited to try at Sun Trust Park next year

“No doubt, we've got some fantastic BBQ here in Atlanta. Fox Brothers BBQ...They're going to have a restaurant in collaboration with a Terrapin Brewery...they're going to have a location at Sun Trust Park...I'm a little concerned about what's going to happen to my weight next year, once we move, with all the food options we have...

“Antico. Atlanta is really not known for its pizza, but Antico Pizza is some of the best pizza I've ever had...Starting in April next year, you can get (both restaurants) in conjunction with a Braves game.”



PodcastThe Braves player whose name we're all going to know

next year

“Can we count Dansby (Swanson)? Do people know Dansby?...They will. He hit .301, .302 this year after being called up, played fantastic (shortstop). If you don't know Dansby; first of all, you should. And, second of all, you definitely will next year.”



PodcastGreg's Social Media All-Star to Follow

(Greg mentions me, first! ha)

“The guys at @SportTechie do a fantastic job. Obviously, a heavy Twitter presence, but their blog is fantastic, and, good for them, they now have a content partnership with Sports Illustrated. They're covering the convergence of sports and technology. And not just on the national level, on an international level. It's a great place for inspiration, to see what's happening, what people are doing...And they're really great people, too...I assume most of, if not all, your listeners are already following them.”@njh287

DSMSports.net


PodcastWhere to find Greg on digital and social media

@Braves on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and...everywhere

They also have the Sun Trust Park social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter

Also Battery Atlanta (their mixed use development) on Twitter @BatteryATL

Greg is @gmize on Twitter @njh287DSMSports.net


Podcast

Thanks so much to Greg Mize for joining the Digital & Social Media Sports podcast!

For more info on the podcast, check out DSMSports.net and follow me @njh287
