This document summarizes a paper on the importance and application of social media in collegiate athletics. It discusses how social media has changed how media is consumed and how marketing must now focus on mobility, interactivity, and engagement through social platforms. It also presents a proposed social media rewards program for the University of Memphis athletic department called "True Blue Socialites" that would give points to students, alumni and fans for social media engagement and allow them to redeem points for prizes to increase game attendance and following of teams.

1. The Importance and Application of
Social Media in Collegiate Athletics
Marina Barrett
MALS
Summer, 2013

2. Review of the Literature – Key Points
• History of Digital Marketing
– Current marketing is shifting
to a digital platform and the
the change in how media is
produced and consumed
• Appropriate Resources
– Constant need for continuous
education and research and
transitioning a marketing team
into a research team
• Social Media in Society
– Digital media is changing the
nature of our social
connection, personal
communication means, and
creating the ability to
exchange messages without
being physically co-present.
• Importance and Application
– Web Analytics

3. Results – What I found
• Marketing concepts must change.
– The 4 P’s vs. the 4 C’s & E’s (see page 2 in Synopsis/PPT notes)
• Mobility and interactivity is key and social media
provides that. (see pages 3-7 in Synopsis/PPT notes)
• Increasing conversion rate by 1% can quadruple
your return on investment. (see page 8 in Synopsis/PPT notes)

4. The 4P’s to the 4 E’s and C’s of Marketing
The 4 E’s
• Product to EXPERIENCE
o Discover and map out the full Customer Journey of your
own brand – in your own country. Ask these questions to
determine your Customer’s Journey.
• Place to EVERYPLACE
o Develop your knowledge of new media and channels the
way a chef masters new ingredients. Try new things – do
something that doesn’t start with TV or print.
• Price to EXCHANGE
o Appreciate the value of things, not just the cost. Start by
calculating the value of your customers – and what their
attention, engagement and permission are worth to you.
• Promotion to EVANGELISM
o Find the passion and emotion in your brand. Inspire your
customers and employees with your passion. What makes
evangelism so powerful today is how it marries the oldest
form of persuasion – word of mouth – and the newest –
social networking and Web 2.0.
The 4 C’s
• Product becomes what the CUSTOMER wants and needs.
o If organizations listen to what their customers are saying
(their wants and needs), they can develop better products
and services for them. Sport organizations can collect
information about the customers and follow-up using a
variety of digital mediums.
• Price becomes the COST TO SATISFY the want or need.
o The consumer’s cost to satisfy takes into account a number
of other variables such as time, distance, or other activities
consumers could be doing instead of buying the product or
service.
• Place becomes CONVENIENCE of buying.
o Place implies a fixed location where consumers go to
purchase or consume goods and/or services. Convenience
focuses on the consumers’ involvement in a product or
service. How can we make it more convenient for them to
purchase or use our product? Can we make our sport
product more available to consumers at home?
• Promotion becomes COMMUNICATION.
o Communication is now interactive, giving consumers a
way to voice their thoughts, both good and bad.
Promotions and communication is now a two-way
communication channel.

5. Mobility
Cell phone usage by different ages (2011)
Based on adult cell owners
Send or receive text messages
Take a picture
Access the internet
Send a photo or video to someone
Send or receive email
Download an app
Play a game
Play music
Record a video
Access a social networking site
Watch a video
Post a photo or video online
Check your bank balance or do any online banking
Participate in a video call or video chat
Mean (out of 14)
18-29 (n=321)
95%***
91***
64***
72**
51**
49***
53***
58***
53***
50***
44***
37***
29**
14***
7.6
30-49 (n=535)
85%**
81**
54**
65**
46**
37**
44**
39**
42**
36**
32**
26**
22**
5**
6.2
50-64 (n=572)
58%*
60*
26*
40*
26*
17*
18*
16*
19*
13*
10*
9*
10
2
3.2
65+ (n=430)
24%
37
10
16
10
7
7
4
3
2
3
5
6
2
1.4
Source: The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, April 26 – May 22, 2011 Spring Tracking Survey. n=2,277 adult
internet users ages 18 and older, including 755 cell phone interviews. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish.
***significant difference compared with all other age groups **significant difference with 50-64 and 65+ *significant difference
with 65+. Due to sample size limitations, Twitter use is not included in this analysis.

6. Demographics of internet users in 2000 and 2011
% of each group of American adults who use the internet. For instance, 76% of women use the
internet as of August 2011.
% of adults who use the internet
June 2000
August 2011
All adults (age 18+)
47%
78%
Men
50
80
Women
45
76
White, Non-Hispanic
49
80
Black, Non-Hispanic
35
71
Hispanic^
40
68
18-29
61
94
30-49
57
87
50-64
41
74
65+
12
41
Less than $30,000/yr
28
62
$30,000-$49,999
50
83
$50,000-$74,999
67
90
$75,000+
79
97
No high school diploma
16
43
High school grad
33
71
Some College
62
88
College +
76
94
Race/ethnicity
Age
Household income
Educational attainment
^ Note: In the 2000 survey, this included only English-speaking Hispanics. In the 2011 survey, this
included both English- and Spanish-speaking Hispanics.
All differences are statistically significant except for those between blacks and Hispanics in 2011.
Sources: The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project’s May 2000 Tracking Survey
conducted May 19-June 21, 2000. N=2,117adults age 18 and older. Interviews were conducted in
English. // The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project’s August Tracking Survey
conducted July 25-August 26, 2011. N=2,260 adults age 18 and older, including 916 interviews
conducted by cell phone. Interviews were conducted in both English and Spanish.
More: http://pewinternet.org/Static-Pages/Trend-Data/Whos-Online.aspx
pewinternet.org
5

7. Other groups that are particularly likely to use social networking sites are adults with at least some
college experience (who have not yet graduated) and parents with minor children living at home. There
are currently no major differences in overall social networking site usage by gender, race, or household
income.
Online activities, by demographics
% of internet users age 18+ within each group who do the following activities online
Search
Email
Buy a
product
Use social
network
sites
Bank online
May 2011
Aug 2011
May 2011
Aug 2011
May 2011
All adults
92%
91%
71%
64%
61%
Men
Women
Race/ethnicity
White, Non-Hispanic
Black, Non-Hispanic
Hispanic (English- and
Spanish-speaking)
Age
18-29
30-49
50-64
65+
Household income
Less than $30,000/yr
$30,000-$49,999
$50,000-$74,999
$75,000+
Educational attainment
No high school diploma
High school grad
Some College
College +
93
91
89
93
69
74
63
66
65
57
93
91
92
88
73
74
63
70
62
67
87
86
59
67
52
96
91
91
87
91
93
90
86
70
73
76
56
87
68
49
29
61
68
59
44
90
91
93
98
85
93
94
97
51
77
80
90
68
65
61
66
42
65
74
80
81
88
94
96
69
87
95
97
33
59
74
87
63
60
73
63
32
47
66
74
Date of survey
Sources: The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project Tracking Surveys, May & August
2011. Interviews were conducted by landline and cell phone, in both English and Spanish.
pewinternet.org
13

8. The power of mobile
Currently, 88% of American adults age 18 and older have a cell phone, 57% have a laptop, 19% own an
e-book reader, and 19% have a tablet computer; about six in ten adults (63%) go online wirelessly with
one of those devices. Gadget ownership is generally correlated with age, education, and household
income, although some devices—notably e-book readers and tablets20—are as popular or even more
popular with adults ages 30-49 than those under 30.
Adult gadget ownership over time (2006-2012)
% of American adults age 18+ who own each device
100%
90%
80%
73% 75%
70%
68%
78%
60%
39%
30%
30%
83% 84%
87% 88%
Cell phone
59% 57%
57%
55% 52%
56% 55%
47% 47%
47%
37%
40%
85%
64% 62% 62%
65%
50%
85% 84% 82%
45%
37% 41% 37%
34%
42%
Desktop computer
Laptop computer
mp3 player
44%
Game console
e-Book reader
19%
20%
20%
10%
2%
3%
0%
4%
3%
5%
4%
12%
8%
9%
Tablet computer
19%
10%
Source: Pew Internet surveys, 2006-2012.
As our research has documented the rise of mobile internet use, we have also noticed a “mobile
difference”: Once someone has a wireless device, she becomes much more active in how she uses the
internet–not just with wireless connectivity, but also with wired devices. The same holds true for the
impact of wireless connections and people’s interest in using the internet to connect with others. These
20
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/E-readers-and-tablets.aspx
pewinternet.org
14

9. mobile users go online not just to find information but to share what they find and even create new
content much more than they did before.21
Mobile internet use, by demographics
% of American adults age 18+ within each group who go online wirelessly
with a laptop or cell phone, as of August 2011
% who go online
wirelessly
All adults (age 18+)
63%
Men
67
Women
59
Age
18-29
88
30-49
76
50-64
53
65+
21
Race/ethnicity
White, Non-Hispanic
63*
Black, Non-Hispanic
62*
Hispanic (English- and Spanish-speaking)
63*
Household income
Less than $30,000/yr
50
$30,000-$49,999
64
$50,000-$74,999
75
$75,000+
86
Educational attainment
No high school diploma
36
High school grad
53
Some College
72
College +
82
* All differences are statistically significant except for those between the
rows designated with an asterisk.
Source: The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project’s
August Tracking Survey conducted July 25-August 26, 2011. N=2,260 adults
age 18 and older, including 916 interviews conducted by cell phone.
Interviews were conducted in both English and Spanish.
21
See: “The Mobile Difference” (2009) http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/5-The-Mobile-Difference-Typology.aspx
pewinternet.org
15

10. The table below “demonstrates a before-and-after example of what making use of web analytics data can achieve. In
this theoretical case, the target was to grow the online conversion rate by 1 percent, using an understanding of visitor
acquisition and onsite factors such as checkout funnel analysis, exit points, bounce rates, and engagement metrics. By
achieving this increase, the value of total profit, P, and ROI, R, shown in the last two rows of the table, put the
analysis into context – that is, profit will rise by $37,500 and return on investment will quadruple to 50 percent. Note
that this is achieved solely by improving the conversion rate of the site – visitor acquisition costs remain the same.
(Clifton, 2010, p. 12).
Table 1.2: The economic effect of a 1% increase in conversion rate
Measure
Visitors
Cost per visit
Cost of all visits
Conversion rate
Conversions
Revenue per conversion
Total revenue
Non-marketing profit margin
Non-marketing costs
Marketing costs
Total profit
Total marketing ROI
Symbol
v
c
cT
r
C
V
T
m
n
cT
P
R
Calculation
v x c
r xv
VxC
m x T
v x c
T – (n + cT)
P / cT
Before
100,000
1.00
$100,000
3.0%
3,000
$75
$225,000
50%
$112,500
$100,000
$12,500
13%
After
100,000
1.00
$100,000
4.0%
4,000
$75
$300,000
50%
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
50%

11. Social Media Rewards Program
True Blue Socialites
#TBSocialites

12. Introduction
• Concept – to promote engagement at U of M
athletic events through out social media
networks among current students/faculty,
alumni, and the community.
• The True Blue Socialites Rewards Program will
utilize social media networks such as; Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Pinterest, Vine,
and Instagram, to promote engagement among
University of Memphis fans and Tiger Athletics.

13. How It Works
• A contract between the University of Memphis Athletic Department
and Row27 will be established, and they will provide the program
FanMaker which will be the host of the social media rewards
platform.

14. FanMaker - Overview
• Track every Touch Point
–
–
–
–
–
Social Networks
Sponsor Visitation
Ticket Purchasing
Attendance
Per-Cap Spending
• Lead Sourcing/Scoring
• Background information on Fans
• Grow Casual Fans to Fanatics

16. Participate
• Current students/faculty, alumni, and fans in the community will
receive points by attending different sporting events, checking in,
tweeting, posting, tagging, etc. on the variety of social media
networks.
Amount Limit
2,000
NA
500
1 / day
500
3 / day
250
1 / day
250
3 / day
100
3 / day
100
10 / day
100
3 / day
50
10 / day
Activity
Swipe your Student ID Card at University of Memphis Games
Post the Twitter Message of the Day from your Profile
Retweet one of our official twitter accounts
Use Foursquare to Check-in to an official event
Submit an accepted photo to CroudCameo during Tiger home games
Post a tweet with an approved Hashtag (see page 9 in Synopsis/PPT notes)
Invite a friend to earn points when they sign up
Share a video on Vine and tag Memphis official vine account
Re-pin content from Memphis official Pinterest account.

17. Monitor Participants Engagement

18. Prizes
• Merchandise
–
–
–
–
Hats
T-shirts
Sweatshirts
Jerseys
• Coupons from Sponsors
– Sonic
– Half Shell
• Hang with the athletes
– Tigers Basketball Bench
– Dugout at Softball or Baseball
games
– Field Pass for Football Games
• Sit in Presidents Box at a
Football or Basketball game
• Sit in the Press Box
• Autographed posters
• Tour of Athletic Facilities
• Gift Card to Book Store
• Tiger Dining Dollars

19. U of M Marketing
• Three separate target markets will be established
in order to gain as much participation as possible.
Students and Faculty
• Promote on campus
• Through email
• In Daily Helmsmen
• Memphis Mobile App
• U of M Website
Alumni
• Mail outs
• Alumni website
• Sponsors
• U of M Website
Community
• Billboards
• Media promotions
• Sponsors
• U of M Website

20. Discussion – Key Conclusions
• Implementation (see pages 10-11 in Synopsis/PPT notes)
– Cost to use FanMaker - $15,000/yr.
– Hire a salaried position to monitor and track the program along with
other social media networks
– Develop in-game promotions to advertise the program
• Analyze
– Utilize the dashboard and data provided by FanMaker to determine:
• How the program will be evaluated
• Where changes need to be made
• Report total engagement and engagement among three target markets
• Determine future of the program
– New prices
– Implement new social media platforms into social media/marketing
strategy
– Determine if contract with Row 27 / FanMaker be renewed?

21. Integration with Coursework
Sports Marketing, Media 2.0, Communication in the Internet, and
Strategic Management of Sport Commerce Organizations
• Academic Research
• History / timeline of society becoming avid users of digital technology for communication
• Research provided insight to individuals desires to engage via social media networks
Marketing in a Digital Environment
• Utilized peer research to uncover current and future trends in the social and digital world
• Showcased the importance of web analytics and how understanding the data can truly
transform how an organization can be successful in social media marketing strategies
Web Publishing
• Hands on experience in building websites and how to intergrade Google Analytics.

22. Comments
What went well:
• Research from past courses.
• Contact with representatives from Row27.
What didn’t:
• Lack of opportunity to implement a trial run or
survey students to gain their thoughts and
perspective.
What I would do differently:
• Take course during the Spring or Fall semester to
allow for more time to get students input and create
a marketing plan for the program.