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Sport and Social Media – BBC comes up trumps

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We were fortunate enough to grab tickets to one of the hottest media tickets in London town last night, the Sport and Social Media event hosted as part of London’s Social Media Week.

With an exceptional line-up covering a wealth of sport’s – from cricket to rubgy to football and Formula One – and a fascinating insight into the BBC’s approach to social media with input from presenter Jake Humphrey, former swimming world champion Karen Pickering and British 100m champion Jeanette Kwakye, it was an appealing draw.

Having been to a number of social media conferences over the last year, it is inevitable that some of the basic content becomes a bit Dummy’s Guide to Social Media, but last night’s event brought together an eclectic mix of speakers and a diverse range of content from across sport’s social media channels, making it quite a palatable and informative few hours.

Opening batsman was Adam Mountford from the BBC Test Match special team, reviewing a successful Ashes campaign, which more than anything reminded us that social media really thrives when it is used spontaneously. While it is sensible to have a social media strategy in sport, it is often the campaigns that you have to deconstruct retrospectively that work the best. The case of American Ashley Kerekes and her now infamous @theashes Twitter account was more than a case in point. In hindsight, @TheAshes was a fantastic example of how social media can be used to good effect without being contrived or pre-planned – all that was needed was the right social media platform, a bit of PR nous and a willingness to go with the flow.

What was billed as the football’s first ever social media derby followed with representatives from Chelsea and Arsenal pitching their social media case to the attending audience of 120 and 150 online viewers. I was interested in Chelsea’s clearly defined objectives for social media use – revenue growth, data capture, website traffic generation – perfectly highlighting the challenge that social media faces; it can’t be a segregated nice-to-have activity, it must be integrated within the wider Marketing and Communications that work towards driving the business as a whole. Despite the strength of Chelsea’s argument, it was Arsenal’s better presentation that won the evening’s vote.

Tom Hines acquitted himself well when looking at how rugby uses social media, but it was the second half of the event that really brought the event to life.

Roger Mosey, BBC’s Director of London 2012, chaired a discussion between Jake Humphrey, Karen Pickering, Jeanette Kwakye and Lewis Wiltshire, the Corporation’s digital lead for sport. It gave an honest and personal insight into how BBC journalists and athletes use social media to engage the fans. Jake Humphrey summed things up nicely when talking about next year’s Olympic Games saying that (the BBC’s use of) social media will aim to make everyone feel like they are a part of London 2012 even if they are miles away. That’s the essence of social media and sport – breaking down barriers between sport and its audiences, while retaining the allure and the mystique that keeps fans fanatical.

View the recorded live streaming of the Sport and Social Media event at The UK Sports Network:

Chris Hughes

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