Monday, October 21, 2013

Digital Communication In Pro Sports

What is the right structure for a communications department, and how many digital-specific employees should there be? Traditionally, pro sports teams have a communications department, and within it there is public relations, digital, and community outreach. The funny thing about digital communication is that it has become core to most aspects of the team. Social media like Facebook and Twitter have become the primary spokespersons for the teams, as post and tweets are the most effective means of communicating with a large audience. These mediums allow teams to communicate information to the press, fans, opponents, sponsors and all others without having to organize cumbersome and time-intensive press conferences, meetings, calls and the like. Currently, many teams still have their digital communications employees in other departments, whether it be communications or marketing. I argue that these digital enhancers need their own department, and need to not report to the head of communications/pr/marketing/sales, but rather to the president or gm of the team, who can better coordinate these efforts. I want to empower this head of digital/social to use the power of social media and make the team's voice heard.

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