{"id":9780,"date":"2015-03-10T14:36:06","date_gmt":"2015-03-10T19:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=9780"},"modified":"2015-03-10T14:36:41","modified_gmt":"2015-03-10T19:36:41","slug":"specific-objectives-prevent-athletes-social-media-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/specific-objectives-prevent-athletes-social-media-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Specific Objectives Prevent Athletes’ Social Media Mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Eric Clark<\/p>\n

Social media can be treacherous terrain for professional and college athletes. But if used with a specific objective, experts say, there might not be a more powerful marketing tool.<\/p>\n

At the collegiate level, athletic departments generally monitor athletes\u2019 Twitter use carefully, but it\u2019s impossible to police entirely. Former North Alabama football player Bradley Patterson was dismissed<\/a> after posting a racist tweet about President Obama in 2012, while former Oklahoma wide receiver Jaz Reynolds was suspended for insensitive tweets<\/a> after a shooting incident at Texas in 2010.
\n<\/p>\n

The Iowa football program aims to avoid controversy completely by asking players to refrain using Twitter. And other schools, such as Illinois, designate rotating staffers to monitor athletes\u2019 social media activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach coach has their own unwritten rule to not embarrass the team, the university, or themselves,\u201d said Illinois associate athletic director Kent Brown.<\/p>\n

But the ante is upped when players move from the collegiate to professional ranks, said ESPN business analyst Andrew Brandt. Bad behavior on social media not only can harm a player\u2019s overall reputation, but can also damage their marketing potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be very costly in terms of endorsements,\u201d Brandt said. \u201cPlayers are getting smarter, but many of them can stand to lose a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick<\/a> and Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III<\/a> last month engaged in minor spats on Twitter and Instagram with fans questioning their commitment to craft.<\/p>\n

Although relatively inconsequential, the events illustrated how quickly social media interactions can potentially damage reputations.<\/p>\n

Former NFL running back Rashard Mendenhall lost an endorsement deal with apparel company Champion <\/a>in 2011 after posting controversial tweets regarding 9\/11 and the death of Osama bin Laden. Albeit an extreme example, Mendenhall\u2019s situation is indicative of how athletes can destroy major avenues of income with one post.<\/p>\n

But hiring a company to help manage their social media profiles and drive player-specific content on their websites can help athletes strategically manage the message they deliver to the public on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

David Neiman, whose company Athlete Interactive has 20 clients, ranging from Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams to the lesser-known professional skydiver Nate Smith, said professional athletes don\u2019t need to have star power to necessitate his firm\u2019s services.<\/p>\n

\u201cI absolutely think an athlete doesn\u2019t necessarily have to have a huge following to make services like ours worthwhile,\u201d Neiman said. \u201cBecause it really just comes down to what their goals are.\u201d<\/p>\n

By establishing those goals, Neiman said, a lot of athletes can avoid the mistakes they might otherwise run into on social media. Neiman alluded to Griffin\u2019s previous negative interactions with fans on Instagram and suggested the quarterback needed more strategy behind his social media activity.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/y4jp8cvedT\/?modal=true<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf Robert Griffin III just abstained from interacting with anybody in that way, that would probably solve a lot of his problems,\u201d Neiman said. \u201cBut I think if he\u2019s not doing it at all, he\u2019s missing out on all of the advantages of social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure the people around him have some sort of plan in place for him, but from the outside it sort of seems like he\u2019s just kind of doing whatever. \u2026 There doesn\u2019t seem to be any kind of real cohesive strategy to what he\u2019s doing online.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neiman said his company helps athletes control their own online content, which helps players maximize their earning potential, both in their sport and as endorsers. Deron Williams famously had his own beat reporter from Athlete Interactive, as reported by Wall Street Journal.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cA huge part of the content development process is trust,\u201d Neiman said. \u201cBecause you can\u2019t tell a great story without having access to the stories themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike Donnelly, senior manager of communications with the NFL Players Association, said it\u2019s critical players be actively involved with the people they work with. The NFLPA also educates players on the pitfalls of social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the continued growth of social media platforms, we think it\u2019s really important to remind the players of building a positive image,\u201d Donnelly said. \u201cBut we always advise players that even though you\u2019re getting advice from an agent or a marketing rep, the player needs to stay very much engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neiman said his company isn\u2019t infatuated with growing the number of clients they work with, but the growth of the company and others like it is inevitable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe need for what we do is only increasing as all of these tools become more and more available,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Robert Griffin III evades Tampa Bay defenders in a game during the 2014 season. Griffin recently engaged in an argument with fans on Instagram. (Keith Allison<\/a>\/Creative Commons<\/a>)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Eric Clark Social media can be treacherous terrain for professional and college athletes. But if used with a specific objective, experts say, there might not be a more powerful marketing tool. At the collegiate level, athletic departments generally monitor athletes\u2019 Twitter use carefully, but it\u2019s impossible to police entirely. Former North Alabama football player […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":9781,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-winter-2015"],"yoast_head":"\nSpecific Objectives Prevent Athletes' Social Media Mistakes - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/specific-objectives-prevent-athletes-social-media-mistakes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Specific Objectives Prevent Athletes' Social Media Mistakes - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Eric Clark Social media can be treacherous terrain for professional and college athletes. 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