NFL Audit Report

Miles Romney, Faculty Associate Avery Feyrer Zachary Holland Michael Nowels Miranda Perez Nick Shaw Rebecca Winn Nick Shaw

Social Media and Technology Audit

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Table of Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 3

Popular Social Media Platforms............................................................................................... 4

Audit Objectives ................................................................................................................................... 6

Super Bowl ............................................................................................................................................... 7

Pro Bowl ................................................................................................................................................... 10

NFL Experience .................................................................................................................................. 13

Super Bowl Central ........................................................................................................................ 16

Gameday App ....................................................................................................................................... 19

Social Media Command Center ............................................................................................ 22

Best Practices of Other Organizations ........................................................................ 25

National Hockey League .......................................................................................................... 26

National Basketball Association ....................................................................................... 28

Major League Baseball .............................................................................................................. 30

World Cup .............................................................................................................................................. 32

Other Suggested Practices .................................................................................................... 34

The Audit Team ................................................................................................................................. 35

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Executive Summary

The emergence of social media offers brands like the National Football League the opportunity to reach more fans than they could 10 years ago. The league has done well to grow its social media presence over the past several seasons largely through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Social media will only become more prevalent in the future, so it is critical for the league to continue pushing its social media presence in multiple ways.

To assess the effectiveness of the NFL’s social media interaction with fans in the Super Bowl host cites, the audit group attended four events: the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, NFL Experience and Super Bowl Central. The league provided passes to each event that required them. The audit team looked for three specifics related to social media and technology — instances of effective use, chances for improved effectiveness and missed opportunities.

Over the course of the Super Bowl activities, it became clear that, though the NFL certainly had a strong social media presence, there was room for the league to improve. The audit group suggests the NFL consider the following measures:

With regards to Super Bowl events, the local fan base could be approached more effectively, whether through traditional advertising such as signage displaying hashtags or through increased interactivity on social media preceding Super Bowl activities. Even at events, fans were not encouraged to interact on social media as much as they could be.

At both the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl, there were attempts to push fans to share their experiences on social media. Still, there was not much framework to guide them. Hashtags for each event should be displayed more visibly.

The Gameday applications should allow for posting on various platforms and the NFL should increase interaction with fans who are attending the games by showing their posts more prominently.

The league should also work on more social media platforms — specifically Snapchat — to reach a wider audience.

One step the NFL has taken to enhance fans’ gameday experience is boosting the Wi-Fi capabilities at stadiums league-wide. The league should continue pushing that effort and should also work toward increasing charging stations within stadiums. Realistically, fans can only engage on social media as much as their devices allow, so the league should push those boundaries out as far as possible.

The contents of this report are divided by event, and the audit group added outside research on social media practices of other governing bodies similar to the National Football League. There is also a section devoted specifically to the Gameday stadium applications the NFL created for the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl.

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Popular Social Media Platforms

Twitter People use Twitter to follow friends, celebrities, brands and others to connect socially within 140 characters. Its simplicity is useful for minute-to-minute updates on news, politics and sports. Twitter’s hashtag and list functions are widely used to follow topics. The platform allows for picture and video sharing, as well as location updates. The average age for Twitter users in the United States is 25 years old, according to

the Pew Research Center.

Facebook Facebook is more often used for personal interaction than Twitter. Users can share longer status updates, photos and videos. Similar to Twitter, Facebook users receive notifications when another profile interacts with theirs. The social network has more infrastructure than Twitter, allowing for groups and messaging. Pew Research shows that 25-34-year-olds are the most prevalent age demographic on Facebook.

Instagram Instagram is an application used to take, edit and share photos and videos with followers. People can use several filters and editing tools to share their own photos and videos. Users can follow friends and celebrities and search through Instagram’s suggestions for others they might like to follow. Pew data shows that the most common age demographic for Instagram users is 18-24.

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Snapchat Snapchat is focused on capturing and sharing moments. Users can take photos or videos, change filters, add captions and send them to friends for up to 10 seconds. The Story feature allows users to share all Snaps from a 24-hour period with friends. One of the newest and broadest-functioning features, Discover, allows people to explore Snaps from different editorial perspectives. This portion of the app allows organizations to share video and text stories. CNN, ESPN and National Geographic are a few organizations using Discover. Business Insider reports that more than 70 percent of Snapchat users are under 25 years old.

Vine Vine is a video-specific application that allows users to create looping videos up to six seconds long. The technology allows users to adapt the video by trimming it and slowing it down, among other functions. Vines can be shared on Twitter and Facebook. According to Statista, Vine is also popular with the 18-34 demographic.

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Audit Objectives

The objective of this audit is to assess the utility of the NFL’s local social media measures surrounding Super Bowl events and suggest new ways the league can reach on-the-ground fans through social media.

The social media interaction observed and reported in this audit focused on the methods

the NFL employed to engage local audiences, while also assessing the overall experience of fans who attended Super Bowl events (Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, Super Bowl Central, and NFL Experience). Our goal was to isolate three types of NFL social media interactions: effective use, improvable use, and missed opportunities. This was the framework for each event the audit group examined.

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Super Bowl Each year, the Super Bowl consistently ranks as one of the most-watched events on

television. CNN reported that a record 114.5 million US viewers tuned in for Super Bowl XLIX, peaking at 118.5 million viewers during Katy Perry’s halftime performance. As for those on site at the University of Phoenix Stadium, 70,288 people attended the game. The audit team focused its attention on the NFL’s social media presence within the stadium and surrounding area.

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Strengths The game had an official hashtag of #SB49 that trended across the major platforms. This

shows that the league’s effort to get fans using a unified hashtag worked, which can be a struggle in social media.

The stadium’s video board showed Tweets and Instagram posts from fans and attendees at several points throughout the game, mostly in the second half.

The video board and the application showed “Commercial Spotlights,” which allowed fans at the game to watch a few of the always-anticipated Super Bowl commercials.

The NFL was active on social media during the game, posting highlights, information, and analysis on its various social media accounts.

Outside the stadium, there were photo sets with mannequins wearing uniforms of the two teams encouraging fans to pose for photos.

Limitations There was little social media signage at the game for the official #SB49 hashtag or the

league’s and teams’ Instagram and Twitter handles. The photo sets outside the stadium are one example of a prime position for pushing social media that was missed.

There were not enough charging stations and outlets. The Verizon Biometric Charging Station was impressive but it was the only charging area that serviced the stadium.

The Twitter and Instagram feeds on the video board were brief and infrequent. There were no public address announcements made within the stadium to encourage fans to post on social media.

Katy Perry’s halftime show was an important and highly-publicized part of the day, but there was no official hashtag for halftime displayed or mentioned over the stadium’s public address system.

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Recommendations Increase signage with the official hashtag and team handles. This can be done unintrusively

by using the video board and ribbon scoreboards.

Include Super Bowl hashtags on game day jerseys and official sideline apparel.

Include hashtags on game day tickets.

Use public address announcer to issue calls to action and encouraging fans to post items to social media.

Though this group understands the NFL has increased in-stadium Wi-Fi capabilities, it should push even further for mobile connectivity. More charging stations should be available on multiple levels in the stadium to continue inviting fans to share their experience on social media. Fans cannot share if they do not have the infrastructure to do so.

There should be photo frames or booths with team-specific Instagram or Snapchat filters or frame designs. This could be part of a bigger social media zone or center for fans within the stadium. Zones can be separated by team or each zone could contain items promoting both teams.

Use the video board more frequently to show a #SB49 Twitter and Instagram feed from fans at the game or popular game-related trends during game breaks.

Promote social media interaction by offering prizes for correctly guessing parts of the halftime show’s set list or the game’s MVP on social media.

Verizon and the NFL should consider including multiple Biometric Charging Stations spread throughout the stadium to increase awareness of the feature and cut down on wait times.

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Pro Bowl The Pro Bowl is an opportune incubator for the league to test new ideas and push

boundaries. This has been made evident by the experimentation with rule changes and the Pro

Bowl Draft, which are made available by the unique nature of the game. That outlook can be

applied to game presentation as well. Why not push social media at this event beyond normal-

game use?

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Strengths There was an official hashtag (#ProBowl2015), allowing fans to congregate around the

game on social media.

The Pro Bowl Draft creates another event for fans in the area to attend and share on social media.

There were fan photo galleries displayed on the video board at least twice during breaks in the game.

Limitations There was little in-stadium advertising prompting fans at the game to use the official

hashtag.

The NFL showed fan photos on the video board throughout the game; however, the same photos were consistently shown.

While some players utilized social media during the game, it appeared infrequent and unorganized.

Limited opportunities for fan engagement leading up to the game (fans voting via social media for captains, team colors, etc...).

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Recommendations

To increase its emphasis on social media, the NFL should paint the hashtag on the field in the end zones. It is a small change for a potentially large payoff: a more unified social media voice for fans discussing the game.

Some fans bemoan play-calling from their favorite teams, while others think they can coach. Allow fans to pick between three plays per team on the Gameday application in the first half—each team has to run its top-voted play at some point in the second half.

The NFL should set up a drawing contest for fans in the host cities to create the jersey design for each of the two teams prior to the game. The fans can submit their drawings on Instagram. This could be a contest for kids, with parents or teachers sharing on social media. The winner’s school could earn a visit from Pro Bowlers or the host city’s team.

Send promotions staff to sections based on social media engagement. For example, the section that tweets its section number the most along with an official hashtag should get t-shirts tossed to the fans in the section.

The NFL can have a draft trivia question on Twitter for host-area fans congregated around a hashtag and the winner gets to announce a draft pick at the draft.

Players can participate in a Punt, Pass, Kick competition at halftime. Fans vote for their preferred off-position players through the app or on social media.

The league should create a Snapchat Story from an official NFL account allowing fans to upload photos of themselves wearing their team’s colors.

Allow players to display their personal handles on their jerseys.

Include the use of point of view cameras such as GoPros to enhance the viewing experience, which would also allow for the quick transfer of video to social media outlets.

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NFL Experience The NFL Experience was an interactive event aimed at NFL fans in the Phoenix area,

and it included several opportunities for social media sharing by those in attendance. One example was GMC’s “Professional Grade Photo Opp” and “Look Like A Pro,” which encouraged fans to take photos. Fans and families explored three levels of activities, shops, promotional setups, and football-related maneuvers.

Some examples of social media engagement present at the event were the Social Media Command Center, the #WhosGonnaWin tag and the integration of mobile apps like Fan Mobile Pass, NFL PLAY 60 App Station, and NFL RUSH App Station. The event allowed fans the chance to walk around the “Bridgestone Fan Gallery,” giving them access radio row, a longtime staple of Super Bowl week. The NFL Experience is geared towards families with children and young adolescents, but there are events and displays for various age groups.

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Strengths The Fan Mobile Pass was a smart way to get fans registered for the NFL Experience and

provide indoor mapping of the Phoenix Convention Center. The app also allowed fans to add to their calendars, share via social media and stay in touch with events around the city.

Some photo booths, like the “GMC Professional Grade Photo Opp” and “Look Like A Pro” offered opportunities for fans to capture and post photos to social media.

This event created an immersive football experience for fans of all ages. The array of memorabilia from teams and the league created many photo-sharing opportunities for fans.

Limitations Registering for the Fan Mobile Pass seemed like a proper idea to cut down on wait times for

activities, but the payoff was not great as some wait times exceeded three hours. The social media aspect of the app was amicable but was not widely publicized for fans interested in sharing their experiences.

There was little to no signage promoting social media usage at the event, even on set pieces designed specifically for photo engagement. Most of the visible signage was

provided by a sponsor rather than the NFL.

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Recommendations Increase the visibility of social media hashtags and interaction at photo opportunity locations

such as the “Look Like A Pro” and Vince Lombardi Trophy display.

Create an NFL Experience app that includes an interactive map, information, and schedule of events, among other feature.

Hire a social media team to engage fans and cover the event on each social media platform.

Increase awareness for NFL Experience app through signage at the entrance and other areas within the exhibit.

Push to create a more efficient system through the mobile app that allows for quicker access to events or early sign-ups for popular games. Greater integration with electronic automation within the NFL Mobile App could allow customers to sign up for activities and receive alerts when it is their turn at a particular event.

Use social media polls to determine which events are most popular and cater the experience around those events.

Encourage fans to “check-in” on social media at specific exhibits for the opportunity to win prizes.

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Super Bowl Central Super Bowl Central was a 12-block area in Downtown Phoenix that was transformed into

the epicenter of Super Bowl XLIX festivities for the week leading up to Super Bowl Sunday. Free

to the public, Super Bowl Central offered an array of activities including games and displays that

prompted attendees to take pictures and share the experience in downtown Phoenix on social

media. Super Bowl Central also included features such as autograph sessions with NFL

players, a 30-foot rock wall and live concerts.

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Strengths Many displays lent themselves to photos that could be shared on social media platforms.

The concerts were a hit, drawing large crowds and prompting many attendees to share their excitement on their social media accounts.

Volunteers took photos of fans and gave them directions to find the photos online. Those types of set photos with friends and family are often shared on social media.

Limitations The event consisted of minimal signage regarding social media, and most of that signage

was from individual organizations rather than the NFL. There was no signage to promote the NFL-designated hashtag #SB49.

The concert turnout was high because of the stage’s location, but many attendees did not know who was performing.

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Recommendations

Super Bowl Central was an ideal example of an event that could have been directly promoted on various social media platforms. With an abundance of photo and autograph opportunities available, a highly-visible hashtag would have been perfect to aggregate the many fan photos that were taken and posted.

Official NFL accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat would have been an effective means of promoting the upcoming day’s events to fans and followers and increasing attendance at events.

Improve communication via social media of items such as concert schedules and featured acts.

Improve promotion of events and locations of sponsored, but less prominent stages, for example the “Budweiser House of Whatever.”

Create an official Super Bowl Central hashtag.

Snapchat often has sponsored stories for specific events. This would have been an ideal time to utilize this aspect of the social media platform and would allow fans to follow and engage with the event more easily.

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NFL Gameday App The National Football League launched Gameday stadium smartphone applications for

the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl. These applications were aimed at fans on the ground

attending the games and much information was only accessible once fans connected to

University of Phoenix Stadium’s Wi-Fi. The applications offered live statistics, replays, and

pertinent stadium information for fans attending the game.

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Strengths The Super Bowl app included televised commercials, which was a wise move. Missing them

is one potential drawback for some attendees and the ability to watch the commercials on their smart phones was a positive for bowl attendees.

The live statistics were also useful and well maintained. Even with video replays and public address announcements of statistics, it can be hard for attendees to see what happened on a given play. The replay system in the application is a strong idea, given that it updates quickly.

The stadium information was accessible on both the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl app.

The Pro Bowl app contained easy access to rule changes, which was helpful when following action on the field.

Access to team rosters in the Pro Bowl app was useful.

Limitations There was not significant signage encouraging use of the apps. Some small posters were

hung up on walls in the stadium but in several cases they were obscured by vendors’ larger signs attached to their carts. The applications were not widely publicized prior to events, either.

It was simple to create “Memories” on the application but there was no option to share them on social media platforms.

The applications did contain stadium maps but did not provide information on the length of lines or options for ordering concessions prior to approaching the counter.

As mentioned in earlier sections, the basics of smartphone applications limited the utility of the apps: Wi-Fi and battery life.

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Recommendations The applications should also offer more opportunities for interaction. Fans should be able to

vote for “Play of the Game” or “Fan of the Game” or even “MVP” exclusively from the app. Sharing “Memories” on social media should be a priority in the applications.

The logistical sections are a strong idea that should be pushed prior to the game. The audit team suggests the transportation, parking and security become the prime focal point of the apps before the day of the game. These should be on the home screens because they are the only functions available before the game.

The applications could include up-to-the-minute information about wait times at concession stands, though that may be difficult. A more plausible option may be to allow fans to order from their seats within the apps and pick up their food from a designated station at the concession stand when it is ready.

The applications themselves present a plethora of opportunities for expansion, particularly in the Pro Bowl app. During games, fans should be able to play fantasy football on the app. This would be especially effective for the Pro Bowl, where all the NFL’s teams are represented.

The audit group applauds the league’s effort to increase Wi-Fi capability and recommends the NFL go further in that regard. Likewise, the battery charge station at University of Phoenix Stadium is a good concept that should be furthered, whether by increasing the number of stations or adding outlets within the seating sections of the stadium.

Another possibility is to sell or give away portable chargers.

The applications should provide information on the length of lines or options for ordering concessions prior to approaching the counter.

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Social Media Command Center The Social Media Command Center (SMCC) was designed to interact with fans through

the NFL’s and Super Bowl host committee’s social media accounts. The center was charged

with answering questions and sharing information about Super Bowl week events. Students

from the Walter Cronkite School of Mass Communication and Journalism manned the center

using Spredfast, a social media aggregator and response software, and were assigned to find

and answer questions and concerns shared on social media by fans in the Phoenix area.

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Strengths The idea of using Cronkite students was forward-thinking. It offered students the chance to

work with a well-known organization like the NFL and helped the league find people who are generally media-savvy to work in the center.

The Social Media Command Center addressed the issue of fan confusion with so many moving parts surrounding Super Bowl activities. It also helps fans feel valued by the league and host committee.

Limitations Those who worked in the center were not well versed in the Spredfast technology prior to

working with it. They attended one-hour sessions to gain familiarity with the software but did not get much hands-on time to learn its functionality.

Because there was a set selection of approved responses to choose from, many questions went unanswered. There were not approved responses applicable to all questions.

Even with the ability to craft professional responses to individual questions, there was no streamlined way for SMCC workers to get information from the league to the fans.

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Recommendations Publicize specific accounts or hashtags for fans to include in social media questions so they

are directed efficiently. Many people mentioned the Super Bowl or NFL without questions, flooding the software with posts that didn’t merit or ask for a response.

There should be increased training and responsibility for those in the centers. There were many students who did not go to their sessions because there were no repercussions for their absence. Those who did attend their sessions did not have enough training in the software or understanding of the job’s expectations.

The league, social media directors and individual workers should all have increased communication before and during the course of Super Bowl activities. Greater communication means greater clarity and better understanding of job requirements, workflow and chain of command.

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Best Practices of Other Organizations

One important portion of any internal review is placing it in context. That is often best done by looking outside of the organization to see how similar entities approach comparable issues. The NFL has the luxury of being in a community of similar organizations which are quite visible. While the leagues and governing bodies all have their own strategies for engaging fans on social media, some practices from other similar leagues and events could be useful to the NFL. These best practices are outlined in the following section.

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National Hockey League The NHL is at the forefront of embracing social media and establishing an online

presence with fans. Prior to its heavy emphasis on social media, the NHL was often overlooked during a large portion of its lengthy season. As a result, the league had to come up with techniques to increase fan interaction. Because the NHL was an early adopter of social media, hockey fans are now considered to be some of the most tech-savvy in sports. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has even gone as far as to say that the league’s recent growth over that last couple years is due in large part to its adoption of social media.

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Applicable Practices The NHL has encouraged players to be active on social media. The NHL is working to

engage with its fan base since the league knows fans want to feel connected to their favorite teams and players.

In trying to constantly drive conversation on social media platforms, the NHL and its teams have created centralized voices for their organizations on social media. The teams’ social media personnel interact with one another on Twitter, behaving playfully, and talking a bit of trash once in a while. This engages fans that chime in and offers personality as something fans can connect.

Early in its social media involvement, the NHL created “Fan Photos” that captured fans in the moment of the game and posted the photos to social media and team websites.

Because of social media’s visual nature, the NHL has made a conscious effort to push image-rich content to help immerse the fans in the sport and show the greater world of sports fans their sport’s beauty.

Some NHL teams have seen increased fan growth using “Social Activations,” on-site promotions, and giveaways from local business. For instance, fans who have checked into a game or event on social media received a voucher for a meal or item at a local store.

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National Basketball Association The NBA is very active on social media, specifically Instagram. Over the course of the

NBA All-Star Game festivities, the NBA posted numerous photos on the platform. Photos

ranged from the sneakers players were wearing in the game to coverage of the weekend’s

events. The NBA encourages fans to follow the outlet by adding behind-the-scenes pictures in

addition to newsworthy information. The NBA also allows fans to use various social media

outlets to pick what game they want NBA TV to play each Tuesday night throughout the season.

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Applicable Practices The NFL could use fan interaction in determining which games are flexed to Sunday Night

Football a few weeks in advance of the game date.

The NBA advertises its Twitter handle on its basketballs. The NFL should consider placing either its own or the teams’ social media handles on game balls and other less conventional areas.

On Instagram, the NBA uses the “Phantom Cam” to post slow-motion action videos of impressive or important plays. The NFL could use this to increase the viewing experience on the platform.

Each night on Instagram, the NBA posts the top performer from games, as well as the overall top performer of the entire night across the league. The league also shares its recognition of players such as “Player of the Week,” “Rookie of the Month,” and other awards. The NFL shares some awards on social media, but it can share more in this regard.

The Golden State Warriors have a designated Social Media Night. In this year’s iteration, players wore warm-up shirts that replaced their last names on the back with their personal Twitter handles. Replicas of the warm-up shirts were made available for fan purchase.

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Major League Baseball Major League Baseball has made a conscious effort to have a thought-out and engaging

social media strategy that allows it to interact with current fans while reaching out to new fans. One way MLB accomplishes this is by ensuring all of its social media handles and links are located in a central and easy-to-find location on MLB.com labeled the Social Media Clubhouse.

Major League Baseball has also succeeded at putting a human face on a digital space.

By posting behind-the-scenes or exclusive photos of popular players on and off the field, MLB gives followers a sense of being more connected to their favorite team and the league in general.

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Specific Practices The Cleveland Indians launched a social media stadium suite in 2010, a Wi-Fi-enabled suite

where social media-savvy fans can both mingle with one another and maintain their online presence during the game.

The Miami Marlins also launched a similar initiative they call the Marlins Social Media Lounge. The team says its attendees have ranged from “bloggers related to non-baseball topics such as fashion, food and parenting to the most loyal of Marlins social media users.”

The Oakland A’s website offers personalized service to fans, even allowing some ticket holders to choose food for upcoming games. Season ticket holders have access to e-brochures with personalized information, including a 360 view of their seats.

The Kansas City Royals build a bridge with their fans by offering ticket packages, charity events and giveaways through posts and Tweets.

Applicable Practices MLB encourages fans to Tweet during the All-Star Game using the #ASG hashtag. Nearly a

third of Tweets about the game included the hashtag, which spent hours as the top worldwide trending topic on Twitter on the night of the game. This is a testament to the importance of a unified hashtag.

The league also had a successful social media week leading up to the All-Star Game by opening up Twitter as an avenue to vote for the game’s final two slots. The NFL could use a select number of roster spots in a similar way or it could have fans on social media vote for replacements for Super Bowl-bound Pro Bowlers.

During the All-Star Game, players who were removed from the game were allowed to post social media comments from a designated room. The NFL did allow players to post from the sidelines during the Pro Bowl and should continue to advocate for player interactivity during that game.

MLB plans to continue to push social activity during their All-Star Weekend by offering social media stations on both sides of the stadium for the American and National League players to use.

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World Cup

The World Cup has the highest viewership and greatest fan engagement of any sporting event in the world. FIFA, the governing body that controls the event, established itself as one of the sporting world’s most innovative organizations though its use of social media at the 2015 World Cup in Brazil. They utilized social media applications that allowed them to increase dialogue between fans and also took advantage of Snapchat’s new feature, Global Story. The Global Story allows every Snapchat user to view Snaps from users around the world that are relevant to a particular event. This feature connects Snapchat users around the world and encourages fans to feel a part of the event regardless of their physical location. The use of this feature, in conjunction with other social media efforts, resulted in tremendous fan engagement. The event set numerous social media records, including the most downloaded sports-related app and the highest volume of topical posts.

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Applicable Practices FIFA created a Snapchat Global Story for all Super Bowl-related events. This allowed fans

to stay connected with each other and also encouraged a broader worldwide interest in the organization’s events. An important component of this the successful implementation of strong social media promotion.

FIFA promoted the games via Snapchat’s “anywhere, anytime” function of the app. This encouraged users to share World Cup experience from a variety of locations. The quick-use nature of Snapchat allowed fans to share stories with relative ease.

FIFA used the hashtag #WorldCup to help unify social media users.

FIFA allowed its players to have smartphones on the bench and to take “selfies” from the field. This fueled fan participation and drove traffic around designated hashtags.

FIFA controlled social media accounts did a commendable job curating and reposting trending themes and hastags as a way of participating in the worldwide dialogue. This kept the organization relevant and involved.

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Other Suggested Practices Add Social Media Awards to reward the most engaging players and teams. This could

create more competition online for engagement with fans as well as more interaction between teams or among players on social media.

Add more contests for tickets, meet-and-greets and giveaways via teams’ social media accounts. Many teams participate in events like these but the more personal interaction fans get, the stronger the connection they feel with their team.

Allow fans to vote for on-field entertainment or other in-game features via social media polls. Some teams in various sports have halftime entertainment. Voting for this type of entertainment would be engaging for fans, even if there are just two options or if they are determining the order of entertainment.

Display fans’ Tweets about the game on the video board. Fans enjoying seeing themselves on the video board and many would love to see their thoughts shared similarly.

Make social media posts more interactive. For example, instead of Tweeting that a game includes a t-shirt giveaway, ask followers in advance which of a few t-shirts they’d like as a giveaway item.

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The Audit Team

The team consists of multimedia journalism students at Arizona State’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Each member works in the Cronkite School’s Phoenix Sports Bureau and uses various forms of social media regularly. The bureau provides content for the school’s student-produced Cronkite News and other media clients throughout Arizona and the United States.

The group recognizes that as the landscape of media continues to moves into the digital space, social media have become increasingly important platforms in connecting with the general public. The individuals in this group were chosen to participate in the audit because they

exhibited expertise in sports journalism and social media.

Avery Feyrer Avery Feyrer, a senior at Cronkite, has experience in public address announcing and print editing. He attended South Mountain Community College for two years before arriving at Arizona State. He spent two years as an intern with ASU Athletics’ sports information department and is a video journalist in the bureau.

Zachary Holland Zachary Holland is a senior at the Cronkite School. He has worked as an intern at WMUR 9 in Manchester, New Hampshire and D-Mak Productions in Tempe, Arizona and works as a photojournalist for the sport bureau.

Michael Nowels Michael Nowels is a Cronkite graduate student. He received his bachelor’s degree from Northern Colorado, where he was the sports editor of the student newspaper, The Mirror. He is a digital reporter at the bureau.

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Miranda Perez Miranda Perez is a junior majoring in journalism at Cronkite. She was a media relations intern for Sun Devil Athletics for two years. Currently, she is a social media intern with the Arizona Diamondbacks in addition to her work as a photojournalist for the sports bureau.

Nick Shaw Nick Shaw is a Cronkite senior with a minor in economics. He has previously worked on a social media campaign for Fox Sports Arizona that focused on improving Arizona Diamondbacks viewership in the 18-30 age range. He is a digital and video reporter at the sports bureau.

Becca Winn Becca Winn is a graduate student at Cronkite. She received her bachelor’s degree from Arizona State, as well. She currently works for Rivals.com as an on-camera reporter covering Arizona State football. She is a video reporter for the sports bureau.