episode 33 of the dsmsports podcast w/ nate bain of the @stlouisrams

Best Of...Nate Bain on theDigital and Social Media Sports Podcast

Nate Bain, Digital Media Coordinator for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL), was the featured guest on episode 33 of the DSMSports 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

Enjoy...

@njh287DSMSports.net


Nate's career path:

Grew up outside Nashville, TN and wanted to do something different for college → Attended University of Oregon and helped out with basketball team → Did internship in Cleveland, OH with NACDA, learning across college athletics departments

On NACDA: “It's connections. I had a lot of good mentors and I worked hard for them...I had a couple people in my corner who reached out (to NACDA, on his behalf)...That really puts you over the top and sets you apart from everybody else.”



→ Nate went to University of Tennessee and earned master's degree while also working with sports teams, including Men's Basketball Sweet Sixteen and Master's with a Volunteers golfer

On going for the master's degree: “I really enjoyed the college atmosphere and didn't know what I wanted to do (in sports) yet...It was a best opportunity available kind-of-thing...It made sense to do it at the time.”


Best Of...Nate Bain on theDigital and Social Media Sports Podcast→ After finishing at University of Tennessee, Nate decided

he wanted to work in pro sports and broadcast he was looking for a job → Got hired by Rams this past summer

“I worked hard on my resume...You have to stand out a little bit. You (need) people to have your back and you have to have a little bit of talent.”

On what helped Nate stand out: “Doing things the right way...” (Cites following up on interviews with thank yous and reaching out)



On his role with the Rams:

“I got thrown into it pretty quickly (his position DID exist prior to his arrival)...I've been trying to just tread water for a while. Trying to continue stuff (his predecessor did) while also trying to implement some of my own ideas...We have lot of room to grow. Our goals are to interact, to sell tickets...It's a challenge when you;'re not 10-1, but it's been a great experience so far learning. And when the wins come, we'll be ready.”



“Social is involved in every single thing...Community...tickets sales...PR...marketing...football operations. I've got my hand in everything and it gets pretty busy. But it's all-encompassing. You want to be the voice, representative of the entire organization, so you need to know what is going on in every single department.”

”I want to be relevant, but also respectable, on our social accounts...We've pushed a little more GIFs, Vines, and pop culture...that amplifies stuff more and gets more people talking about you.”



“I've never been in so many meetings. It's good, though. You want to know what (others') goals are...IT can be tough, but I definitely don't want to be silo-ed....IT takes effort to all be on the same page and that's what we're striving for...Communication is the biggest thing.”

“For the most part, you want to be consistent (across fan touch points).”

Nate cites working in harmony on 1999 team reunion campaign for ticket sales push with social and traditional content



“Sometimes we can be more reactive (with social content) than proactive. We definitely try to be more proactive (in developing strategic content).”



“A lot of times (sponsored social posts) are just kind of thrown in...I have been trying to get a better relationship with (partnership) sales...you always want to have a purpose for what you're doing and have it somehow integrated with the Rams.” (tells about player pregame playlist, sponsored by Bose)

“Sponsorship knows I don't want to sell something that doesn't make sense (with our online brand). It's an uphill battle, but it's necessary.”


Best Of...Nate Bain on theDigital and Social Media Sports Podcast“They (sponsorship) have come to me with analytics and

past (performance)..., but it's also a lot of new content (we develop)...We're trying to build it all out now, so we can do it and they can sell it...

For them, it's best if they can know exactly what we're doing from a content perspective and they can sell it. Social is hard to sell. Parts of it make sense, parts of it don't...

In the past, (social) was kind of throw-ins...we're trying to get to that point where we can monetize what social is...the future, I think, is (a rate) on social posts and not just a handshake agreement.”



“It takes communication and working through it and a little trial and error. If we can integrate where it makes sense, it definitely helps both the partner and us.”



This episode's Helpful Tool: PlaceIt.Net

A free web tool to create personalized, customized (in style) promotional mock-ups for mobile apps

(i.e. superimpose an image of your app on a device being used in a given setting)


http://www.placeit.net/


“I was terrible [with balancing social and marketing/sponsor posts] at first...Now I'm understanding why it's important...If we can make it make sense, then (it works)...There are different ways to do it...(Some) have their own separate accounts for promotions...It's a new avenue for me, but it's fun to learn.”



On how NFL regulates content:

“The NFL is really cool...We have guys at the league (to help us)...And our video department here is outstanding...YouTube is frowned upon because you want the videos on your site and traffic to go to your site...It makes the most sense when all the traffic is going to your website.”

“The league is good about sending (content relevant for the Rams)...Content is (plentiful). I have too much of it now...It comes in at a fast rate. It's a good problem to have.”

“Even in-game, the NFL will send you (video of) that play to put on your site...and we have a league photographer shooting photos in live-time and sending it in our Dropbox.”



“There are (national) NFL deals that overlap with each other...It's a constantly evolving thing and you gotta stay on top of it...We have some (national) deals we have to put out. We do our best to integrate into our content as best we can.”



Nate mentions analytics are done by him and his department when time permits

“We're getting to the point where (social) is becoming a bigger part of (media) deals...everything we do is based off numbers. Analytics (directs) everything...I'm looking at analytics for what posts have done great (and) mimic that success into our accounts.”

Nate mentions Rams have data analyst reporting on website and traffic and sales data



On deciding which social platforms for Rams to join:

“My thing is if we're going to do it, we're going to do it well...I try to stick to stuff I know I can control and know we can do well...As we get more (resources and staff), then hopefully we can branch out. Some teams do Snapchat super well. I try to use Vine on game days. When I try to do something, I want us to do it well.”

“As awesome as it would be to be on everything, it's still important to just be on those that you do well.”



Share-able Stat: Time spent with sports mobile apps leaped 210% between Aug 2013 and Aug 2014 (source: eMarketer)

Nate: “A ton of our focus is on mobile...We're consistently trying to find new ways (to connect with fans on mobile)...”



The moment/play this season that made the Rams' social networks “blow up”:

The two trick plays they ran in their upset win over the Seahawks, blowing up social, getting on national news shows, blogs, and more



Describe the Rams social media personality:

“I want to be relevant, but respected I'm big into pop culture, so we'll be pop culture heavy...Be humorous, but also respected...When news comes out, you're going to come to us.”



The Rams player who's the best on social media:

Chris Long → “He is outstanding on Instagram and Twitter...he is completely authentic. He'll argue with fans, he'll call them out, he's funny. He's a good guy. The perfect social media athlete.”



The best non-NFL pro sports team on social media and why:

“I love most all the NBA teams...They integrate their basketball guys into TV sitcoms and candies...the stuff they do is great. The Grizzles, Hawks, Warriors. All the NBA teams do a great job.”



The strangest/most notable Rams fan pic he has seen on social media:

“In Arizona, someone at the stadium sent us...they did their hair shaped like the Rams horn helmet...I don't know how he did it, but it's pretty rowdy.”



Nate's remarks on “scent-based marketing” Edward Jones Dome supposedly tried in 2013:

“It doesn't surprise me...Our VP (Brian Killingsworth) loves to try new stuff. We set the world record for most mustaches (giveaway related to Jeff Fisher)”


http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/tech/post/_/id/4433/rams-pump-cotton-candy-smell-in-stadium


Nate's philosophy on fan engagement and creating conversation:

“It's social media, so it's all about interaction...”(cites examples of Rams reunion and doing Storify of fans' best memories of the 1999 team) “To have everyone send in old photos was pretty cool. A lot of people in our office liked it and our fans loved it.”



The most important skill for a digital media coordinator:

“Positivity is a good thing. You have all these people coming to you with all these different ideas and crazy stuff. And the art of communicating. You have to be ready for everything and keep people in-the-know, and be positive (all the way).”



The best food at Edwards Jones Dome and at another venue:

Some of the new BBQ concessions recently put in Edward Jones Dome this season

The BBQ nachos at FedEx Field in Memphis: Nachos, jalapenos, nacho sauce, BBQ sauce



Nate's Social Media All-Star to Follow:

@FallonTonight [Jimmy Fallon on Tonight Show]

Nate: “They do a great job of interacting with their fans and doing cool content and putting it online.”


https://twitter.com/fallontonight


Where to find Nate:

@StLouisRams on Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms

@natebain on Twitter and Instagram


https://twitter.com/stlouisrams

https://www.facebook.com/Rams

http://www.twitter.com/natebain


Thanks so much to Nate Bain for joining the Digital & Social Media Sports podcast!

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