Social Media RxD

Social Media has become the most efficient, effective, and inexpensive means of Marketing in the CrossFit industry, amongst most other industries.  Athletes use SM to gain a following and make themselves more marketable to sponsors.  Affiliates use it to keep in touch with the CF community and their own community.  Brands use it as free advertising and customer service. 
Who are some exceptional users of SM?

RX:
Shaquille O'Neal (Athlete): Shaq was one of the pioneers to use SM as a tool to become more marketable as an athlete (as if his championships weren't enough).  With the help of a Digital Media company, in 2011 Shaq released a video of his retirement to his fans that went viral. 
More Followers/Views= More Influence= Higher Marketability= More Sponsors= More $
Check out his video HERE

Christmas Abbott (Athlete): In the CF world, Christmas hasn't ever won the CF Games but she has over 12K followers on Twitter (a whole lot in comparison to other CF competitors).  She's authentic in her tweets meaning they're always in her own voice and and she answers her followers questions on a daily basis.

CrossFit Mission Gorge (Affiliate): I don't follow every box but I do follow many, as I'm sure there are many boxes with a great SM plan, CFMG is one of them.  They're on all 3 of most popular means of SM in our community (most other businesses value LinkedIn over the latter 2)- Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Besides using SM to post the daily WOD, they use it as a means of customer service to deliver important box news, class cancellations, new products in stock, food orders, etc.  They boost their community by showing off their community- photos, events, athlete of the month, testimonials, etc.  One of my favorite things they do is at the end of the month they post a photo of their PR Board and ask their members to tag themselves if they are on the board.  Simple, effective way to give their members a sense of accomplishment and also spread their name to their members' followers.

 

WHICH BRANDS DO YOU THINK USE SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECTIVELY?


DNF:
Negativity (Many):  I thought about calling out negative uses on SM but 2 wrongs don't make a right.  We saw that last week with the SoCal Regional incident; an athlete posted negative about 'no reps' at an event, CFG posted the 'Dave Castro: Rules Clarification' and then hate comments pursued.  Remember what your mom told you in elementary school, "If you have nothing nice to say, don't say it all."

Non-existent (Many): The real DNF'ers here are the non-existent, the ones who don't believe in SM.  Even those who think just communicating on 1 type of SM are missing out.  Each medium has it's advantages and disadvantages so its important to keep in touch on at least the 3 major ones.  I've heard repeatedly Twitter is a dying fad, if you need proof why it's not then read my 'About the Author' section. 

Social Media is FREE Marketing, Advertising, Customer Service, PR, etc. for you and your Brand.


Click here to read more about building your Personal Brand

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The CrossFit Games SoCal Regional- The Strong and The Weak

I had the honor to attend and work behind the scenes at The CrossFit Games SoCal Regional this past weekend.  The athletes were obviously all STRONG, but what about the marketing aspect of the event?  Who was a stand out?  Who had room to improve their brand game?  Here's my take on the event.


2013 SoCal Regional

The Strong:
KillCliff (Recovery Sports Drink): It was everywhere!  Athletes were drinking it, volunteers and crew had it in n, and spectators were asking where to get it.  Simple grassroots approach to marketing with seeding product.  Catchy tagline "Test Positive for Awesome" and Social Media support of the event and sponsored athletes.  The rumor on Sunday was someone offered to buy 50 cases on the spot, the crew brought 50 for the whole weekend.  I'd say they met their goal in getting the masses hooked.

Andrea Ager (Athlete): While Andrea may not have been strong enough on Day 1 to overhead squat 175 for 3 reps, her personal following and brand got a boost.  With a controversial call on the line to allow Ager to continue to compete, she decided to take the high road and withdraw so she could "win the right way".  She posted her statement on Instagram (and Twitter) and received close to 3,000 likes and 300 comments.  Appropriate use of Social Media to stay connected to fans.


Andrea Ager- Event 2

Rx Jump Ropes and RPM Fitness (Jump Ropes and other fitness equipment):  Yes 2 competitors, both winners.  The 2 booths drew the largest crowds with their interactive set ups.  Rx featured jumping stations, rings, wall balls, HSPUs, and a daily WOD.  While RPM had a jump testing area and a challenge of 1 minute max double unders.  The interactive set up was the ice breaker for crowds to approach and sales associates swoop.


Rx Jump Ropes Set Up

The Weak:
Reebok (Title Sponsor, Apparel and Shoes): As the title sponsor, you'd expect to see an overwhelming presence and true Reebok experience.  While the Reebok tent/booth was 2-3x bigger than the majority, it was separated from the pack and easy to walk past as nothing was drawing you in. The Reebok name is included on the CrossFit Games logo, its almost legible.   There was just an overall lack of Reebok and their commitment to be in the CrossFit world and grow the sport.

Ryan Fischer (Athlete): I know Ryan personally so this is hard for me to write.  I can't comment on the "fairness" of his judge but it was his poor reaction to repeated 'no reps' that puts him in this category .  I can't say I would have handled it differently; its not just a sport but his livelihood, what he has worked for over several years and it came down to 1 judge ruining his chances for a ticket to the Games.  But at the same time it is his livelihood and his career that puts a roof over his head and food on the table, so I wouldn't recommend turning to social media to berate your "employer."


Ryan Fischer- Event 6

In the Middle:
CrossFit Games (the entire event):  CrossFit has stepped up their game again, I heard repeatedly "this is so much better than last year."  The venue, set up, signage, social media, etc. were all on point and even exceeded expectations.  Some minor suggestions would be to amp up the technology, athletes in the warm up area didn't know what was going on the floor and spectators had to pull the scoreboard on their smartphone to see who actually won an event.  Monitors and digital scoreboards would have enhanced the experience.  The food lines were long and the expo was small.  Quality vendors (not quantity) are important, there was plenty of room to sell more spaces, entertain the crowds, and promote commerce within the CF community.

Did you attend SoCal or another regional?  What is your take on the marketing scene?

The Digital Pitch

Building a personal brand has historically been dominated by celebrities and professional athletes, so what's the value in putting energy in "little ol' me's brand"?  Think of it more like the digital-age version of the the elevator pitch.  It's answering the question "tell me about yourself" but without saying a word.

Harvard Business School has a site dedicated to the Art of Pitchcraft.


Give 'em your best pitch!

"Whether you are trying to raise capital, promote your company, or promote yourself, it's essential to have an elevator pitch.  You need to communicate your main message quickly, clearly, and distinctly to someone who doesn't even know you... a good pitch takes planning and practice to deliver..."

But with the accessibility of social media, who rarely doesn't know somebody?  Admit it- you've Facebook stalked, I mean who hasn't?! The first thing my boss does before an interview is look them up on Facebook or LinkedIn.  You can have it set to strict privacy but with all the content means and changing policies, there's bound to have that one embarassing photo slip through.  And face it Human Resources have accessibility to "special" tools readily available to view so-called "private" content. 

Regardless if you are trying to advance your career or you're looking for a job, you should be presenting yourself, talents, and interests with your best cyber-foot forward.  Social Media is now your digital portfolio- professionally and personally.  This doesn't mean you have to untag every photo from a fun Friday night with a drink in hand (depending on your line of business), but you should  think twice about any tags or posts of potential controversy- an overboard night, political views, religious views, etc.

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Why Marketing RxD?

To kick off my blogging debut, I thought it would be a good starting point to share The Why?  You can also find this on my permanent page.

"If you had an opportunity to present to a room of executives and influential people what would you be able to give a captivating speech about for 30 minutes without hesitation?" 

A friend of mine recently asked me this question and I really couldn't profoundly answer it.  What am I truly passionate about and why?  I couldn't think of 1 particular item that defined who I am.  My career doesn’t define me, my activities don’t define me, where I live doesn’t define me.  But what does?  Your reputation is your personal brand, as stated in a presentation by WISE (Women in Sports and Events).  “In the digital age, like it or not, your brand (or lack of brand) can have a profound impact on your success.”

Fast foward several months later, the Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Brand Development at Oakley called me into his office.  "You're known as the CrossFit girl I hear, tell me what you know about it."   Without hesitating I began with the history of CrossFit- starting dates, growth, reach, etc. backed by hard numbers and statistics.  The conversation continued into CrossFit HQ's relationship with Reebok and a discussion of other brands in the CF space.  I spoke of some of the top CrossFitters in the world, their social following, and those who are already wearing Oakley sunglasses.  He asked if Oakley had a place in this market- absolutely!  I gave my thoughts on the opportunity and the products that would work and what wouldn't.  Before I knew it, I captivatingly held his attention for 40+ minutes. 

Fast foward again to 2 weeks later, Oakley signs Rich Froning, 2-time Champion of The CrossFit Games and one of the most well-known athletes in the sport with an impressive social following.

My reputation as that fitness freak in the office preceded me and propelled me to discover my passion: that thing I could speak on and on about for hours not just 30 minutes.  That is combination of Sport and Brand Development- developing athletes, products, services to become more marketable leading to greater success.

 

 

Here is an article on the 10 Mechanics of Personal Branding

What do you think?  Worth it?