episode 70 of the dsmsports podcast w/ julian valentin of the colorado rockies

Snippets from Julian Valentin on the Snippets from Julian Valentin on the Digital and Social Media Sports PodcastDigital and Social Media Sports Podcast

Episode 70 featured Colorado Rockies Assistant Director – Digital Media and Publications,

Julian Valentin

What follows is a collection of snippets from the podcast. For the full episode, visit DSMSports.net

@njh287 DSMSports.net

http://www.dsmsports.net/


Julian's Career Path

Played elite soccer as a youth and then played in college and in the pros → Started with the Rockies five years ago, sending in writing samples and interviewing

“My job initially was more based in publications and writing, kind of like a club journalist...But the digital media has evolved...and has become what takes up the most time and what I'm most passionate about...”



On social media when he was playing pro soccer

“I wasn't incredibly in tune with it, but I had always been interesting in blogging and journalism and writing...digital just kind of fit with that...As a player, you're not really in tune with that. At least at that time, (though) I think it's a little different now...Part of what a good social media manager does is has good relationships with their players and can show them the importance of it and how you can help them out with their brand and be advocates and spokesmen for your club.”



“I had never really been around baseball...[Julian tells about his first spring training experience and how open the clubhouse was to media]...I was a little bit shell-shocked because the access is so different from soccer to baseball. In baseball, writers can pretty much have free reign in the clubhouse...and in soccer, it's a lot more strict with media time.”



On how club leadership bought in

“It took us years to change the mentality of (the organization)...the first question we were always asked was how many followers?....Gradually, we were able to change the culture and the view of what we were doing and really be able to explain why it's important in a larger sense. In terms of building community and building brand awareness...and really trying to get our name out there on a national level and let people know who we were and what we're all about...Now we're at an incredibly positive point (with our leadership, who) understands what we do and why it's important...”



Getting support from team operations

“When I started, my department was under ticketing. So when I came up...I was drilled in that we're here to sell tickets...[share] ticket links. But [now] our department moved to communications, so now marketing is no longer under ticketing...it's marketing and communications...So there's been a little bit of a shift in...overall goals, but, with that said....the goal with all these tools is ROI. You might not be able to quantify it as easily as you'd like, but we're trying to sell our brand, we're trying to sell merchandise, we're trying to sell tickets, whether we do so explicitly or not. That's an inherent part of who we are and what we do, but there's definitely been a shift toward the communications and the baseball operations side as opposed to when we started out 2-3 years ago.”


Snippets from Julian Valentin on the Snippets from Julian Valentin on the Digital and Social Media Sports PodcastDigital and Social Media Sports PodcastWhen social media became among Julian's primary roles

“Digital just kind of emerged in the last few years. Especially these last two years, there has been a great amount of interest in the ability to use these tools for every part of the organization. I know in the SMSports industry, there's some debate as to how much saying no [matters]....and I'm of the belief that these are our tools for the organization and I seldom say no. I think the mark of a true pro in this industry is being able to say yes and make it work in a way that fits tour brand and fits what you're trying to do on a daily purpose and makes it a positive and engaging experience for your fans...

We actually just started a work order system...that people have to submit to us and we schedule it out and fit it into our content that makes sense for us. Being able to think ahead and put the onus on (people requesting)...we found that it's been incredibly valuable for us in making sure we're able to over everybody and maximize our larger goals at the same time.”



Helpful Tool: Snapchat hacks to add multiple filters to a single snap and to et extra lines for text on snaps.



How Julian works with other departments

“It's literally a word document and all the people I work with...are asked to essentially write out their requests, send pictures...and we work it into our content calendar when it makes sense. And my greatest request...(is) allow me and my team to craft the message to the best way we know it will be received by our fans...Give us the bullet points and allow us to craft the message in a way that our fans will receive it positively...

We're a few months into it...we're still learning as we go but it has been a positive thing throughout.”


Snippets from Julian Valentin on the Snippets from Julian Valentin on the Digital and Social Media Sports PodcastDigital and Social Media Sports PodcastBalancing real-time and planned content

“The stuff you do on the fly...is what separates the best and the (rest)...Being able to identify content is at a premium and if your organization has a asocial media manager that is able to identify content and deliver in a way that's interesting, that's a recipe for really great things...The ability to identify those moments and, once they do identify them, deliver them in a way that's going to maximize them in a way that (they're) going to be consumed...And then we supplement and sprinkle in the mandatory stuff when it makes sense...But always making sure we're not doing multiple sales posts in a row...trying to mix it up to keep people really engaged...

I always tell people that our overall strategy is...just be interesting...At times, it kind of blends together, so what can we do...to separate ourselves from someone's Twitter or Instagram feed...What can you do to make someone stop and engage with it?”



“One thing that we're really smart and subtle about is getting our sponsor signage into pictures that we select. We've gotten calls from our corporate sales group...that's really thankful for choosing specific pictures that have (sponsor logos visible)...and we think about those things and we are very aware of keeping our clients happy and being able to give added value in a subtle way...”



On carrying the brand and voice for the Rockies

“That is an incredibly important part of my job...you are essentially the keeper of (the organization's) brand...If you make one mistake on social...it's incredibly detrimental to (the organization)...Access is incredibly important to make sure you know the messages that are coming from the clubhouse...that is something I take very seriously...Credit to everybody in my organization that has entrusted me with the power...to control that brand...”

[Julian tell about how the content team travels on road trips with the Rockies and on one road trip, star player Nolan Arrenado was seen visibly upset in the dugout after a physical play]



“My specialty is thinking in terms of what our community would think, what our fans are gonna think, how are they going to perceive this...After the game, the first thing I wanted to do was get exactly what happened...The whole time I'm looking at Twitter and seeing what the community is thinking...so I realized the best (thing I could do) was get out in front...rather than allowing people to go to all the media sources and read their stories and the way they're going to spin it...I knew that was a moment when we could use our own tools and turn it into a positive thing...That's a long way of saying (that) we have great working relationship with our communications department...I take a great amount of protecting our players and making sure they're perceived in a positive way...We wanted to drive that conversation...”

[Julian explained how he made graphics with the quotes, noting that most people won't click through, so he wanted to assure that message got out there]



Defining the Rockies brand

“We're about being a fan-friendly and family-friendly atmosphere and organization. That's definitely reflected in our digital strategy. We try to be fun and try to be a voice that everybody wants to talk about at the dinner table. And we try to be on the field and at the ballpark a place that everyone wants to take their family to...”



Marketing the team when the team is struggling performance-wise

“The last five years has been tough, but one thing I've learned over the years is you definitely can't take things personally and you have to have thick skin...The other thing I've learned is the worst thing you can ever have in sports....is apathy...There's nothing worse than (putting out content and wondering if anyone is seeing it or caring about it)...

To combat that, there have honestly been times where I've specifically chosen language where I know (it will) make fans unhappy just to get a rise out of them, to (assure) they're still connected to the club...Nothing we ever put out is by chance. Every image, every word is well thought-out...Sometimes you have to be happy and put forth the positive message even when fan aren't in a positive mood...Our job is to keep things positive and keep things moving forward...



“I'm no longer bullied by those bad moments. I've learned how to find positives in every single loss. Every single situation, there's always something positive to find...Sometimes our fans don't like it. Sometimes they want to be unhappy and want to yell at us...(but) the last thing we should ever do in sports and social media is troll your own team or organization...If I like content and people who I work with think that it's good content, most fans will think that, as well.”



On how the team performance affects the tenor of the clubhouse and the type of content the Rockies can produce

“There is nothing better than a winning Major League Baseball clubhouse and there's nothing worse than a losing (one)...But the reality of it is that baseball is the hardest sport to be fan of, because you can be a fan of the best team...and they're still going to lose 60 times in a year...So part of baseball is learning how to shake it off...and that's reflected in our digital strategy, too...[Julian tells about how he'll start the next day reminding fans that it's a “new day”]...

At times, it does dictate our content. If we're on a five game losing streak, I'm not going to do one of our Facebook Live chats...but, generally speaking, there are a few situations that are subject to the way we're playing, but it does happen from time to time.”



“Snapchat is one that we haven't quite figured out. The point we're at right now is if I don't have anything compelling that is worthy of multiple snaps in a row, I'm not gonna do just do one snap just for the sake of doing it...We're trying to identify as many story-worthy situations and stories around our club as possible...Using Snapchat as an afterthought (just to fill the space) is not what we're doing these days. We're trying to add real value and create real stories instead of just throwing stuff up there just because we feel like we have to.”



MLB Advanced Media is a great resource for all clubs. We've always been independent and MLB doesn't do much for us besides in-game GIFs...That is a nice resource to have, so we don't have to invest resources internally...They offer anything from Twitter game coverage to live highlights to actually posting on platforms if clubs need that support. It's a great support system, but we have such great internal buy in...we (remain) independent and we like controlling (the message)...MLB is a resource for whoever want it...but we are quite independent in what we do.”



On strategy as a league for MLB and its member clubs

“I think in the last couple of years, there has been an influx of really good, smart digital and social professionals joining club on a full-time basis...you're seeing better people, in general...For people like myself (more experienced)...having some new blood in the game to keep things fresh and push the envelope...has been a really positive thing and I'm looming forward to seeing how other industries are going to evolve, too. Nowadays kids graduate from college wanting to do social and digital, and they've done internships their whole life trying to get that opportunity...I think that's great for...our industry, in general. Passion is one of the most powerful things in lie and it's great to see that.”


Snippets from Julian Valentin on the Snippets from Julian Valentin on the Digital and Social Media Sports PodcastDigital and Social Media Sports PodcastOn game day coverage

“We're pretty consistent. There are certainly some things we do daily that we like to make sure that is right. We do a lineup as early as possible or else the daily fantasy sports community will start blowing up our mentions...We always do some kind of beginning of the game tweet and (then) it is just kind of a feel thing...and you sort of watch how the game unfolds and adjust to that...We also produce a recap graphic...(But) the best stuff is what you think of on the fly and (having) the creativity to present the same exact thing in a different way.”

There are certainly times when know there is going to be more conversation or it's going to be slower...

Honestly, game updates are the most boring things. We just try to provide as much color as possible, rather than play-by-play...it's all about color commentary [and] providing things to fans that they can't get anywhere else.”


Snippets from Caitlin Moyer on the Snippets from Caitlin Moyer on the Digital and Social Media Sports PodcastDigital and Social Media Sports Podcast

Share-able Stat: 5 million video views on Facebook of the Cleveland Cavaliers 3-minute locker room celebration video after their NBA title victory


Snippets from Julian Valentin on the Snippets from Julian Valentin on the Digital and Social Media Sports PodcastDigital and Social Media Sports PodcastThe best story from Julian's soccer days and the best player[s] with whom he was

ever on the pitch

Best player → “The best player now would probably be Luis Suarez...We played him in the Under-20 World Cup...Although, to be honest, he didn't seem that great at the time...

At the time, the best player I ever played with was Landon Donovan. I was fortunate to h ave him as a teammate. He was just so explosive, so smart. David Beckham wasn't too bad, either, as a teammate. The other b est player I played would be probably be Michael Bradley, who's still playing...”

Best story → “As an athlete you can't really tell the best story...

Winning a national championship at Wake Forest was an incredible experience, having a ring from that...and kind of getting kicked in the face.

And playing the Under-20 World Cup. Those are the two things I'll tell my grand kids as I look back...”



The social media MVP of the Rockies' clubhouse and why

“The first guy that comes to mind is Charlie Blackmon. He is an All-Star outfielder for us and I'm lucky because my go-to guy for social also happens to be an All-Star and a fan favorite. He's always really great. He's on his Twitter and his Instagram. He's really funny, great personality. Fans love him because he's just like that guy next door, who happens to be a Major League Baseball player.

(Also) Carlos Gonzalez is great. He understands social media as it relates to spreading his brand. He does a lot in community work that uses social for...

Jason Motte is another really good one we have...He does a lot with cancer research and he's a great humanitarian...”



The biggest and most persistent challenge in Julian's job

“The stock answer, which is honestly the true answer, is just managing schedules. I'm lucky to have two people full-time who are dedicated to social, working alongside me...We try to manage our schedule as much as possible. Myself, have two young boys....it's definitely a grind trying to manage all of that – making sure I am being a good father, being a good husband, but also trying to be a good teammate in my job...Like everybody who works in this industry, I think it's probably the hours and the management of your time that's definitely a challenge.”



Julian's favorite digital/social media campaign he has worked on during his time with the Rockies

“I would probably say when Told Helton retired back in 2013, I think...That is work I was incredibly proud of and still am because I think, I go back and forth sometime as to how important sports are and how important digital and social media really is. That was the first time I really understood the power of what we do in terms of building a community. Todd had played with the Rockies for his whole career...and families had grown up together, literally, watching him play...and some of our fans' best memories were surrounding our cub and Todd Helton. Being able to lead the discussion and lead the conversation surrounding his retirement was incredibly special and seeing what it meant to our fans in a larger sense...being able to see how that man was able to tie our community and tie our fans together was really incredible...”



“There are times where I'm like 'This is sports, it doesn't matter at all. And then there are situations where something like the tragedy in Orlando happens and to see what the power of sports to bring everybody together and what Orlando City Soccer Club was able to do and what it means to that community to have a team to rally around. It really does matter, it really truly does matter. We as social media and digital professionals, in a lot of ways we're the ones who drive that conversation and bring people together.”



Who is the best player in Major League Baseball...and who is the best soccer player in the world currently

Best MLB Player → “I swear I'm not being a homer here – Nolan Arrenado. This kid is so ridiculously good...If Nolan Arrenado played for the Yankees or the Red Sox or, frankly, any other time zone aside from ours, he would be the biggest star in baseball. This kid is is special, he's got great personality. He's the best player in baseball, hands down, offensive, defensive, best player in baseball...”

Best soccer player in the world → “It has to be (Lionel) Messi. Just the stuff he does off the ball, his movement. He's always a step ahead of everybody. His explosiveness and quickness is second to none. His game is different than what Cristiano (Ronaldo) does and they're both phenomenal players. But if I'm starting a team, Messi is the guy that I want.”



The 2-3 metrics that Julian tracks most closely for the Rockies

“The biggest one for us is probably clicks...image clicks, more specifically. We spend a great amount of time selecting images and photos. We have an amazing team photographer...Quick side note: In digital and social, we get so much credit that we don't deserve – whether it's production teams who make videos or mean tweets...there's so much great content coming from other parts of our organization that somehow digital managers get credit for that we don't actually deserve...

We spend a lot of time selecting our images and selecting our GIFs and we take a great amount of pride in creating fun stuff for fans to look at and click on. If we can get people to click on our pictures and stop what they're doing on their feed and check out what we're doing - that's what I think our overall goal is...”



The other MLB team that does a great job on social media and why

“There are so many good teams in all sports. My favorite team in baseball is the Pittsburgh Pirates. They do such a great job with their visuals. Something that doesn't go unnoticed to me or the people who work in baseball is we spend a lot of time doing other stuff and they just always have great visuals that I just frankly don't have the time to invest in, in doing that...They have an amazing look and feel. They're consistent. Their brand is really professional. I think that's a reason why they don't get enough credit nationally is because they're not a team that's in it for shock value. They're not in it for interacting with other clubs. They're just a good, solid voice [and] good solid presence.

And, of course, I gotta shout out my Indians and Joel Hammond. They do a great job. Of course, people know the Rockies and the Indians have a little thing going on. They do a fantastic job and we've used a lot of the stuff that they've been in for years and years and try to incorporate it into what we do...”


Snippets from Julian Valentin on the Snippets from Julian Valentin on the Digital and Social Media Sports PodcastDigital and Social Media Sports PodcastThe best food to get in Denver

[First, Julian tells about his experience trying Rocky Mountain Oysters at Coors Field – deep fried bulls' testicles]

“Probably whatever my wife is cooking or I'm cooking. I'm such a homebody (that) any time I'm able to be home, I like a good, home-cooked meal...I just like being with my family as much as possible and there's nothing quite like a home-cooked meal...That doesn't answer your question, but that's what I'm saying...”



More likely to happen this season – Nolan Arrenado wins MVP or Trevor Story wins Rookies of the Year

“Well, Nolan should've won an MVP last year, but, unfortunately, voters took the team record into account, which is fair or unfair...

I think Nolan will win MVP this year. I think both of those things...is possible...so, if I had to pick one, I'd say Nolan MVP, just because his consistency; he's been around for four seasons now. He knows what it takes and he's truly an elite player in this game...”

(Julian also tells about the “Nolan Arrenado Word Generator at www.rockies.com/nolan ← Check this out!)


http://www.rockies.com/nolan


Does Julian notice the thin air in Colorado?

“I don't. Ever since I've been coming here...I have never noticed coming here and working out at altitude. But I've definitely noticed it on the opposite. So when I go down to sea level from the mountains, I can notice that I feel like I can run forever (and) my legs feel great...”



Julian's Social Media All-Star To Follow

Julian's brother @ZarekValentin → “I can't promise anything good or interesting or funny, but I'll just give him a shout-out. He plays for the Portland Timbers Major League Soccer team; one of my best friends and he's great.”

Also Julian's brother-in-law Taylor Kemp (TKemp02) → “Also not promising anything, but my brother-in-law Taylor Kemp, he plays for DC United.”



Where to find Julian and the Rockies on digital and social media

@Rockies pretty much everywhere – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat...(and everywhere)

@JulianValentin on Twitter



Thanks very much to Julian Valentin for sharing his experience, knowledge, and stories with us on the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast!

For more, visit www.dsmsports.net and follow me, Neil Horowitz, on Twitter @njh287


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