Episode 25: How Social Media Has Revolutionized the Sports World

00:33
Ashtyn Morris
Welcome to another episode of Marketing Moves. I am your host, Ashton Morris. Today's topic is all about how social media has revolutionized the sports world and is one of the key facilitators of fan engagement. Today's special guest, Brennan Beatro, is the Cleveland Browns social media manager with years of experience in the sports industry. Brennan leads the charge in crafting the Browns social media strategy across different platforms. Whether you're a Browns fan or just a sports fan in general, I think we can all agree that social media allows us to see behind the curtain a bit and engage with our favorite teams or players on a more personal level. The 2023 NFL season was one full of twists and turns, and the Browns storyline was one of the most entertaining to follow, especially on social.

01:19
Ashtyn Morris
We are so excited to have Brennan on today to learn more about the role social media plays in sports marketing. Brennan, welcome to marketing moves.

01:28
Brenan Betro
Hey, Ashton, thanks for having me.

01:29
Ashtyn Morris
So excited to have you in. As always, we like to get to know our guests a little bit more before we dive into some of the questions. So where are you from and how did you get your start in social media?

01:39
Brenan Betro
Originally from Akron, Ohio, about 45 minutes south, so was always in the Cleveland area. Grew up fan of Cleveland sports teams and just gravitated to sports as a kid. Whether it was fandom being passed down through my family and my dad taking me to games or watching on tv, playing myself. So it was something that I always was engaged in but liked the storylines behind it and thought it would be a great world to be involved in. I think every kid when they're very young would like to reach that level, and then once they figure out that they can't, my thought process was like, how can I be involved in this world in a different way? So, really enjoyed watching ESPN and all that and had an interest in kind of media and covering the sport and seeing it behind the scenes.

02:31
Brenan Betro
So that's kind of the route that I took. I thought of doing more traditional journalism, being on tv, doing radio, did a lot of radio in school, on the writing side. And then as time progressed, I ended up leaning more creative as far as video and graphic editing, and wanted to be more on the team side and a part of the action with the players and teams versus from the outside and covering what they're doing, but wanted to be kind of a part of it and creating something new myself. So social is just the path that opened up, and it kind of combines all those interests together.

03:09
Ashtyn Morris
Yeah, no, that's a great story. I think it's. I mean, I played d three tennis, d three athlete here, so sports was always really important to me, but obviously never make into the big leagues. Still think, you know, finding those routes of what you're passionate about sports, passionate about media, and finding that route in your journey is great, especially since you've been a lifelong Cleveland fan, but especially a Browns fan. So it's probably pretty surreal working for the organization and crafting the narrative across those different platforms.

03:38
Brenan Betro
Definitely. It's very cool opportunity to be able to come back. Like I said, I grew up close by and then went to school on the east side of Cleveland. So we always went to Browns games growing up and then moved away to start my career. And then it was really cool being able to kind of hone my craft a bit and learn a lot and then come back and translate those to the hometown team and fan base that I know and love. So there's been a lot of very surreal moments from, like, going to training camp as a kid and sitting on the grass on the outside of the field and watching the players and having the barrier there, and then now, like, I'm with them in the middle of the field, taking it all in.

04:19
Brenan Betro
So that was, like, the first thing when I came in that summer that really stood out and then being able to go to the games and road trips. It just hits different when it's a.

04:31
Ashtyn Morris
Team that and a Hall of Fame game, too.

04:32
Brenan Betro
Yeah.

04:33
Ashtyn Morris
Being so close to home for you, for sure.

04:35
Brenan Betro
Being able to cover a lot of very cool events like that and players that looked up to growing up now that are alumni of the Browns or, like, Joe Thomas last year, like you said, being able to cover his hall of Fame enshrinement, I was pretty special. My dad's from Canton, so we would go to hall of Fame enshrinement ceremonies and activities growing up as well. So that was a little extra special, too. And there's just a lot of very serendipitous things that have happened throughout was meant to be.

05:06
Ashtyn Morris
So today's episode is all about how social media is one of the most important and effective marketing tools in driving and increasing that fan engagement. But before we discuss your role as the Brown social media manager, I just want to set the stage for all of our listeners who may not realize how exciting, but likely very stressful it can be to work in social media for a major NFL team. So Cleveland Browns arguably had one of the most interesting storylines of the year. I think it's safe to say that when you lose one of your key players on the team and one of the best running backs in the NFL so early on in the season, everyone probably was feeling a little bit of stress.

05:43
Ashtyn Morris
With that said, the Browns weathered the storm and quickly became one of America's sweethearts because you just wouldn't quit. Even with the slew of injuries and uncertainty, the Browns persevered with the top notch defense and a comeback story with Joe Flacco that you couldn't even script. So throughout the season, social media really played an important role in owning the narrative. So my first question for you is, how would you describe the 2023 NFL season in your own words?

06:10
Brenan Betro
I would say resilient roller coaster from our perspective on social needing to be very adaptable. But I think what you said kind of puts it together very well as far as like, we're on the front lines of crafting the narrative and keeping people engaged, making sure their spirits are up, and just always promoting the team as best as possible. So we're also there area that they can vent and be frustrated and the comment section is theirs to kind of take over with whatever they want to talk about. So there was definitely a lot of ups and downs during the season. So kind of weathering that storm and then having an incredible, like five week run at the end of the season, whether it's the winning streak that went on or being able to cover a playoff game, it was a lot of fun.

07:02
Brenan Betro
But there's multiple moments, I mean, posted something about it at the end of the year, but the national media said probably like four different times that our season was over and weren't gonna make the playoffs. And at the end of the year, there's a lot of conversations on our social team. It's like, I don't know that we would predicted that we've been able to have this type of run. I think we knew we had something special, but, like, through each of the ups and downs, it was really rewarding.

07:30
Ashtyn Morris
Yeah, because I can imagine during the height of all of it, you're obviously so busy and you're trying to keep up with everything that's happening. But when you actually have time to reflect on the year, so much happened in a period of time, and we.

07:43
Brenan Betro
Had probably the longest, most busy training camp in preseason NFL history.

07:50
Ashtyn Morris
You were out of state for training camp for part of it, right?

07:52
Brenan Betro
Yeah. So we started at home in Berea, and then it was like probably a week there after players reported, and then went out to the greenbrier in West Virginia, which is an amazing experience. We were there for a full week and they had a whole setup because there's a lot of teams in the past that have gone and done their training camp for a period of time there, but we kind of took over, had a whole setup. They had practice fields out in the mountains. The scenery to get up to every morning was incredible, but it was kind of like summer camp because we would get up and join the players and go out to practice every day, and that's all were focused on and attacked today and covered what they were doing and kind of had some fun.

08:35
Brenan Betro
At the end of the day, were able to decompress a bit and then get up and do it all over again. But it was nice. That was our main focus, and I think that's why the players were able to get so close and enjoyed it so much. There was interviews they were doing at the end of the season of why the team had so much good camaraderie that they would be still bringing up the trip.

08:55
Ashtyn Morris
Oh, that's really nice.

08:56
Brenan Betro
Yeah. And then as went forward into the preseason, we spent some time in Philadelphia doing joint practices with the Eagles before our preseason game with them. And we had the hall of Fame game to start the preseason, like you mentioned. So were down there kicking off with the game, but also doing everything with Joe Thomas and his entrance ceremony. We also had Jim Brown's memorial that we did in conjunction in Canton. So there's a lot going on, a.

09:29
Ashtyn Morris
Lot of social content opportunities for sure.

09:31
Brenan Betro
To lead up to that first game, which was amazing. The home up in her against the Bengals, huge win.

09:38
Ashtyn Morris
Oh, yeah.

09:38
Brenan Betro
And then, like you said, the very next week. Cause the mood swings in the NFL are crazy. So then you go down to Pittsburgh for Monday night, new clean alternate uniforms everybody's excited about. There's a lot riding on the game, and then you have that big injury that happens, and it's the complete opposite feeling. So it's kind of back to stage one and figuring out how the rest of the season's gonna look.

10:02
Ashtyn Morris
Well, it turned out pretty great, but what do I know? Hard for you to summarize. But what's a typical day like for you in season, and how does it differ from game days versus just practice days?

10:16
Brenan Betro
Yeah, in season, the football schedule kind of helps to structure everything, and we're used to having each day. There's a certain setup for the practice times when we're doing press conferences and outside media is coming in. And I'd say there's certain times, especially during training camp and beginning of the season, that we spend more time focusing on practice and covering that the players are or the fans are excited to see the new players that are on the team and how they're gonna look. And then in the middle of the season, we probably pull back a little bit, and then towards the end, if we're going to the playoffs, we ramp practice coverage back up. Cause people want every single moment to see behind the scenes. But yeah, I'd say it gets pretty busy, but also can be routine during the week.

11:05
Brenan Betro
Cause you know what you have to cover. I think the biggest thing is trying to plan ahead as much as possible, even though each week is kind of its own event that you're planning for on that Sunday. But there's also a lot of trends or ideas that come up that day, and then you just start making it within the hour and try to get it up. There's a lot of quick turnaround items that in the morning are like, oh, we should do that. And then you just make it and post that day. So there's a lot of that. But I think this year we've been trying to schedule out as much as possible, be prepared for every scenario. One of the main things that is really beneficial, we have this trends and inspiration meeting every Tuesday during the season.

11:43
Brenan Betro
And I think main part of it is coming up with ideas for win memes because that's been a big part of our identity is being able to go at other teams, sometimes a little aggressively.

11:55
Ashtyn Morris
I love them.

11:56
Brenan Betro
It kind of shutting them down after we seal a win and include either funny facts about their team or their city, their fans, and maybe there's a meme video or a photo of something in pop culture that we can relate to that saying, we have a lot of those prepped, whether we use them all or not, or kind of flood the gates when the clock's at zero and we win, or we don't end up using them at all. Sometimes if we play the team again later in the season or the next season, it can come all the way back, so we never totally scrap anything.

12:31
Ashtyn Morris
That's interesting.

12:32
Brenan Betro
Yeah. And then also just looking at trends in general that we can get in on throughout the week, whether it's on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram.

12:41
Ashtyn Morris
I love some of the takes you guys did on the trends in 2023, especially the Kevin James one. That one stood out because were literally talking about in the office that week, just the whole funny narrative around, like, it's so random. Such a random trend that was going around. When I saw it, I was like, oh, amazing. And then the Roman Empire one, the one you, I think it was with Miles, it was like our roman empire or something like that after a win. And then I think another one that stood out was when there was a Netflix show, the fall of the House of Usher, and then it was after the rape. It was perfect. Perfect timing. You couldn't have planned it better.

13:15
Brenan Betro
Yeah, we had a lot of fun with those. Those in particular, the Kevin James one stood out because were excited that were to jump on it so quick. We came in the morning of that game and had saw that trend started the night before. And usually that's something that got so big that every team's gonna participate in it at some point, but you want to be at the front of it as much as possible and not just follow everybody what else is doing. So were excited because we had a 01:00 game and it was growing a lot, like even going into the kickoff. And there was other teams that we kind of look out for on social that do a good job, have a similar voice, that involve memes a lot. So we're like, I think our game is going quickly, too.

14:03
Brenan Betro
We're going to end sooner than the rest of the 01:00 games. We're going to be able to use it before everybody else. So I think were the first ones, at least for a win meme that used the Kevin James one. And it's pretty easy. Edit. I think we just put a Browns hat on.

14:17
Ashtyn Morris
It did its job.

14:17
Brenan Betro
Yeah, and maybe the score, but it's just the expression was everything told the story. It's so funny.

14:24
Ashtyn Morris
I loved it. Well, the NFL season, without a doubt, was one of the most dynamic season in its history. Ratings were up almost 10%, and the NFL accounted for nearly 93% of the most watched tv programs in 2023. I did my research. Don't worry. With the increased interest in the NFL, how did this impact your strategy on social to appeal to potential new audiences while still appeasing your existing Browns fan base?

14:50
Brenan Betro
Yeah, I don't know that our strategy completely changed. I think we did a good job over the last two seasons of really locking in on what we want our voice and identity to be and being consistent with that. But there was certainly opportunities that came up with that where there was more eyes on the NFL as a whole or more fans tuning into the games or on social that you can get it on. So I would say it more so came about with some one off trends that we could get in on or I think we're always trying to tailor our content to not just hit our core fan base, but also those that are casual and curious about our brand, too, that can reel them in.

15:33
Brenan Betro
And football is definitely, especially when you look at the breakdown of our followers, like male dominated fan base as far as how consistent they interact. So trying to kind of broaden that demographic as well and have intrigued a lot of women in Cleveland. And I think what you were getting at, too, is with Taylor Swift and the Chiefs and Cleveland zone Travis Kelsey. So I think there was a lot of influx of fans that way. And I think there was a couple Taylor memes that we use, but also kind of joking about the situation. How can we make it our own? So there's a lot of things that are showing the personality of our brand, but also a lot of helmet off personality pieces of the players.

16:20
Brenan Betro
Cause that goes a long way for fan bases to really get to know them and feel like they can relate to them versus their only identity in seeing those players is how they perform on the field. And it could go either way. And when they have a bad game or the team doesn't do very well, then they're out a lot quicker than if they're invested in who they are as people.

16:41
Ashtyn Morris
Yeah, I really like the content you guys do. Kind of pulling back the curtain of whether it's training during training camp or, like, practice days, when you get them just kind of, like, organically talking to the camera, sometimes those questions, you really get to see their personality, because I think sometimes it's really easy to idolize athletes or really celebrities in general, but they're people, you know, and being able to humanize them a bit more, I think you guys do a really great job at showing them. Obviously, they're athletes, but they're people. And they have good days, bad days, but they have a lot to bring to the table.

17:12
Brenan Betro
Yeah, definitely. I think that's something that NFL social teams have to strive to do a lot of, too, because there's so many guys on a team to keep track of, and there's so many good players that we have to promote and make sure that we're dividing up the time and how many posts that we give to them and telling their story. But also they're wearing a helmet all the time. So it's not like the NBA or MLB, especially NBA, where there's only twelve guys and they're don't have their face covered all the time and they're very easy to identify, even the top players and big names in the league. There's a good portion of pretty strong NFL fans that maybe wouldn't be able to identify them or point them out walking down the street.

17:54
Brenan Betro
So I think that's something that we really try to promote is just kind of stripping back on the surface level and kind of show their personalities and how close our team is and how much they like each other and hanging out. But yeah, I think the easy ones that we see a lot of the teams do is the mini mic content, the whiteboard questions. Walking off the field, we always get a lot of funny responses, but then we know that the players open up a lot more when it's not just us sticking a microphone in their face, but we try to get player hosts to ask the questions and they can mess with each other. They're a lot more open with their responses.

18:35
Brenan Betro
So Greg Newsome's done a really awesome job with us this season and it's something that we pitched to him going into the year that we wanted him to do more hosting of the mini mics cause we knew he'd do a good job. He's done some media in the past, but then as the year went on, he kept asking like, I wanna do more. I wanna be more involved and have ideas for what the questions could be. Or wearing props like the Christmas one. He had a whole Santa suit on and he had New Year's glasses when that time came around, like Grant Delpit did a good job, but it's like trying to get them to interact with each other versus a strict question and answer.

19:13
Ashtyn Morris
That's great. And a perfect segue to my next question of have you found some content or content types that resonate best with your audience? I know the memes always perform well, but is there anything else that stands out in your content strategy?

19:27
Brenan Betro
I'd say that anything as far as on the field and big stats or replays does great. I mean, people want good football content, but I think as much as you can diversify your feed and be involved in those pop culture trends and memes, but also just bring them back into your team's brand and identity and make it your own. It goes a long way, and we've seen a lot of good responses from that over the last couple years and having a higher influx of those. Like, we can see in the comments a lot of compliments and just enjoying that.

20:03
Brenan Betro
Like we're up with the times and what's going on in pop culture and can make it funny because people want to be communicated with on social like they're used to with their favorite accounts or kind of things that they would send their friends or talk to their friends in a group chat. So I think that's kind of the analogy that we make a lot. Like, we want to talk to our fans like it's them in a group chat with their friends and being have it be very personable and relax and low key. We use a lot of, like, all lowercase letters and not a lot of grammar and punctuation. And that varies per platform, but I'd say Twitter and Instagram are pretty similar in that way.

20:42
Ashtyn Morris
Wow, that's so interesting. Also, too, I love seeing sometimes when there's a really popular post, you can see in the comments, like social team win or whatever people do really like a lot of the content you put out. So how do you guys evaluate the success of your content? Is it looking at the overall engagement, or are you guys hyper focused on things likes or comments, or does it vary?

21:05
Brenan Betro
Yeah, each year we kind of come up with a main objective for analytic goal that we want. So this past year was engagements. Year before was followers. We had a goal of, I think it was around like 32,000,032 to 35 million range. And it helps when the team's doing well, but I think you tailor a lot of your content to be able to reach that mark. And we're still growing. We might hit 50, so by the end of March. So I think we put a high priority on post volume, but also getting a lot of quality out of that to be able to hit those engagement goals. And there's like certain benchmarks on each platform that you want to see a post get to of at least a certain number. But I'd say those help kind of craft what you're looking for.

21:57
Brenan Betro
But it's always kind of a felt sense also, like, is this doing well? Does it relate to our brand and how we usually talk to our fans? But also, are they just enjoying it, engaging with it? I think the comments can be tough because it's hard to really gauge the full audience's reaction to it because usually only the people that and we get a lot of compliments as well, but the only people that have something to say or are negative or have a problem with it or are the ones that commenting. So it can kind of skew your view of how the post is doing. But I think taking everything into account is good.

22:38
Brenan Betro
I think we have a good viewpoint as far as how the analytics can help us and where we rank in the NFL, but also just kind of how we feel. And personally, that crafts our message.

22:52
Ashtyn Morris
Yeah, no, I think that's great, because to your point, the data is obviously important and it gives you an idea of what's working, what's not. But at the same time, the algorithms are always changing. So something three months ago might not perform as well, not necessarily because the content's bad, but just the platforms are always changing. So keeping in mind holistic engagement you're feeling is definitely key. So, TikTok, I know we haven't really talked a ton about TikTok, but how do you guys approach it? And do you have any restrictions from the NFL in general about what you can or can't post?

23:27
Brenan Betro
Yeah. So every week, partly in that trends meeting, but I'd say overall, we're just always looking for different trends on TikTok. Sounds that we can use and relate back to videos that we've taken or shoot something brand new that we can match with it, and we're always just scrolling through and on the lookout of what's new and taking off on the platform. Seems like each day there's something. Yeah, something different that we can jump in on. So I'd say as a group, we're just always looking and communicating on that. There's one person on our social team that kind of leads that charge as far as TikTok goes. Cause it's the way that you create content for that is completely different from the other three or four main platforms.

24:15
Brenan Betro
And the other ones, you can kind of take the same piece of content and translate it across where TikTok has to be unique in itself and really takes an eye for somebody that's always on that platform and always looking out for stuff. But it's definitely still the fastest growing, and a large portion of our kind of younger, next generation fan base is on there. And I think it's a good way to really get aggressive with our personality and have a lot of fun. What was the second part of the question?

24:47
Ashtyn Morris
Does the NFL restrict at all anything you can and cannot do? Because I've seen some pretty, not from you guys, necessarily some pretty unhinged posts from some teams, like, oh, my God, how did that.

24:57
Brenan Betro
Yeah, I would say. I mean, there's teams like the Bills or the Chargers that we feel like we're kind of in the echelon of that really go for it. On TikTok especially, I don't think there's any restrictions as far as the type of things that we can do or how much we put our personality into it. There's certain things that I think the NFL works out with each platform about, like, if we can monetize on there for branded posts and sponsorships with our corporate partners, and then also, like, how many highlights were allowed to post on each platform. That kind of varies. Cause the NFL owns a lot of the footage, so especially on game days, we can be restricted and not, like, go over the top with how many highlights.

25:45
Brenan Betro
We have to be strategic about which ones that we show and make sure we get all of our top plays out there. And I think TikTok is one of those that it's more so the personality pieces. Cause we can't really show a ton of the highlights on that platform.

25:59
Ashtyn Morris
Were you guys aware of all the, especially early on in the season, the content from the Bengals about Joe Burrow and all the girls? Like, oh, my gosh, she's so cute. What did you guys think of that?

26:12
Brenan Betro
To be honest, it could be tough because once you get to a Super bowl and get on that stage, you gain a lot of followers. And when you have somebody like Joe Burrows, the number one pick at the quarterback position, they have a lot of players that have big personalities. Like, you can gain a good following on social alone, no matter how your team's doing. And there is definitely a lot of posts that it's just a photo of him and the engagement and likes would go crazy. So there's certain times where we would look at it and be kind of frustrated. Cause it's like we're crafting all this stuff. Just throw a photo of him smiling with his haircut at training camp.

26:54
Ashtyn Morris
I probably liked one of them. I can't even lie.

26:57
Brenan Betro
So trying to find ways to make our own version of that, but also counteract that and play. You're not really a villain, but the anti version, it helps, especially for a division rival when you're going against each other. And as social teams, it's kind of competition, too. So after the game, whoever wins can comment on, like, the other social personality. So one of the tweets that we put out after the week won in week one against the Bengals was, I think it might have got lost in the mix, but we wanted to get it out there for ourselves, which is straight text tweet. And it was like, no brown social, no thirst traps, just dubs, just completely like going at.

27:41
Ashtyn Morris
I love that.

27:42
Brenan Betro
Yeah, all the posts, but you gotta respect it. Cause they know what works well. Yeah, if you can get easy engagement, you go for it.

27:50
Ashtyn Morris
That's so funny. Oh, man. So for us here at Vivfront, we have a lot of consumer brands. So the look of the feed, we like to think is just as important as the content itself. And for a lot of our clients, we like to think of your Instagram profile as almost an extension of your website. And if someone's looking at your profile, we want it to look very polished and intentional. However, I feel like it's probably going to be a little different for you guys and I just wanted to get your thoughts on would you agree or disagree with this for your team strategy in terms of how the overall look of the feed is? I know you produce so much content that I don't even know if you're thinking in the moment, how is this going to look on the feed?

28:31
Ashtyn Morris
But I wanted to get your thoughts on that.

28:33
Brenan Betro
Yeah, I think there's something to that, especially outside of the grid on your profile. But if you're scrolling like you want your post to catch somebody's eye at first when it arrives to them, and that has a lot to do with what that first slide is on Instagram and what shows up first. So that translates to what the grid looks like as well. It definitely makes sense for a business or a company to spend a lot of time looking at the grid because it can also act as a website for a homepage, for people to go and find information. I'd say for us, a lot of the data shows that our fans don't really go to your profile a lot, they just interact with what's in their feed.

29:15
Ashtyn Morris
Interesting.

29:15
Brenan Betro
Yeah. There was a trend a few years back where, and some people still do it, but the first slide of a post was a portion of a graphic and then when they were all beat together, it would make another greater image on the feed. And it's fun to try, but it can hurt the engagement of the original posts when people may not be going all the way back to your profile to check out the whole thing. But I think the overall feel and vibe that you get when you're just scrolling through somebody's account is really important. And I think that's something that we look for a lot to in just how we're doing and how we're diversifying our content is kind of the eye test of like, when you scroll through, does it feel like there's.

29:58
Brenan Betro
It's vibrant and engaging and there's a mix of photos and graphics and videos, but also is there a mix of football but also, like, off the field pop culture memes? So you want it to be very different and eye catching, but it's not always like, that. Thought of like, this has to look perfect and pristine.

30:18
Ashtyn Morris
Yeah, I feel like there's definitely some nuances with social media and just sports marketing in general compared to other types of brands. So that's interesting how you guys approach that. But I really need to ask this because this is something that's always been in the back of my mind. How do you get video clips and graphics and photos out so quickly? Sometimes I literally feel like I watched it happen and then 30 seconds later it's on my feed. How do you do that?

30:43
Brenan Betro
Yeah, I mean, it's good to hear because we feel like we can always be faster. That's the problem is like you're trying to rush and get it out, but you can always be even more real time with the play. But we've got a pretty good system down. Our team photographer is amazing and his staff down in the field, he has a system that's hooked up to his camera that through the Internet just sends it straight back to our editor and they edit the photos very quickly. They're kind of used to what the look is that we go for and then drop it in the slack chat or in our photo shelter folder that it just has everything based there that we can go pool in real time as soon as he's done editing and get those up right after the gameplay happened.

31:28
Brenan Betro
And then as far as the broadcast feed, there's a live stream that we have access to that we can just clip right out of from the feed. And then whether it's just that play or a funny moment from the sidelines or fans or replay, we kind of have all those docked after we clip it and then can post straight from that platform. And that's the one part that it's like are we need to get this out as fast as possible because there's so many other accounts that will show those highlights and it's not something that we have that's just particular to us. But the first one always has the best engagement.

32:06
Brenan Betro
But if you know it's a really great play, then the NFL is going to post it a lot of the other national outlets, or if it's like a local reporter blogger, it's all going to go out. So it's all about speed, but it's kind of like the play, the photo comes afterwards, or if it's a score, then we have score graphics and animations, so there's like a whole checklist. We go down and try to get everything out.

32:31
Ashtyn Morris
Do all of those posts need to go through you first before they hit the feed?

32:36
Brenan Betro
No, it's all about speed, really. So we do a lot of collaboration during the week, but I'd say on game day everybody has their role, and if you're assigned a platform to be in charge of during the game, I think Twitter is the fastest. So most of the time on there we'll just get something out. But if there's something that we want to run it by each other or caption ideas, we talk about all the time. And I definitely lean on my team a lot just because when it's going out to a million and a half people is this funny? They match my sense of humor, and you're thinking through so many captions, like, is this original? So I always like to throw it out and see if it is a good one or not. We all come up with different options.

33:23
Brenan Betro
There are certain things during the game, whether it's just a photo or something that isn't as timely that you can talk through it more, but usually you just kind of have to think of something like type it as fast as possible and get it out there.

33:35
Ashtyn Morris
Hope there's no typos. Just call it a day.

33:37
Brenan Betro
Proofread it really fast, man.

33:39
Ashtyn Morris
No, honestly, that is probably one of the questions I was most excited to ask you because my brain cannot even process. Literally, I'm like, oh, I just saw that and now it's on my feed. So kudos to you guys. It sounds like you have it very systematized.

33:51
Brenan Betro
Yeah. Even though we're just sitting there the whole time, it can be tiring afterwards because your brain's just going a million miles long.

33:56
Ashtyn Morris
Oh, I bet your blood pressure is like, raise the whole. In a good way. It's just an intense environment, for sure, but it's definitely fun. For all the good that comes from social media, obviously there are drawbacks. So how do you and your team quiet the noise when there's maybe negative press or injuries or, you know, sometimes mid season slump, people get a little nasty in the comments. What do you guys tell yourselves?

34:20
Brenan Betro
Yeah, I think it's particularly unique for the NFL, too. Because there's so many mood swings each week and there's one game that everything's riding on, and if you win, you feel like you're the best team in the league and your fans think that. And then if you lose, that season's over and there's all these problems that they're picking out. They're pointing the blame. So there's a lot to weather when there's some ups and downs or you lose a couple games in a row. So I think even if you're not intentionally taking that in, it can be hard subconsciously not to internalize that as somebody working on social, especially when there's a lot of immediate feedback with your posts and you're scrolling through the comments and you get used to it after working in the industry for a while.

35:06
Brenan Betro
But it can be tough when the fans just want to vent and I.

35:10
Ashtyn Morris
Think you're like, can you go talk to someone else about this?

35:13
Brenan Betro
Yeah, I think it's part of kind of cultivating the narrative from a social perspective in our team, but also just realizing that's why fans love social, too, is being able to interact with each other and us having fun with it. And we can respond to them sometimes and go back and forth. But it's funny because now we could post something completely irrelevant to what they want to talk about, but all the comments are still going to be on players that they want in the off season, moves they want to make or some of the news that came out about potential stadium renovations. So, like, it could be something completely different and they'll talk about what they want, which makes social great.

35:55
Ashtyn Morris
True. Now that you're in the off season and you have some time to breathe, what's next for the Browns? What does your content strategy really look like in this building phase before everything really ramps up again?

36:07
Brenan Betro
Yeah, the season is so crazy that a lot of our team will kind of decompress and take some time a few weeks afterwards. So it just happened and Pro bowl would be the next thing. So the week before the Super Bowl, NFL's version of their all star game, would send a few people. We had six players named this year and five went, so it was a lot of fun to be there and cover that, and it's a big moment for them to be with the best players in the game and bring their families out and have a lot of fun. And then we had NFL honors award show the Thursday. You guys cleaned up in the Super bowl city. Yeah, and we cleaned up this year, which was a lot of fun. We thought we had a pretty good chance.

36:52
Brenan Betro
Hopefully we'd get the main one that we wanted, which is defensive player of the year because Miles had an incredible season. We thought we had a good shot with coach and knew that there was a chance for all of them, but didn't realize until a bit before the show that were going to get everyone that were nominated for. So were prepped and did everything leading up to that day, that week to have it all ready. But then it was good to know going in like we're gonna have to get all this out one after the other. But it was an incredible night. Celebrate the amazing season we had and then that kind of capped off the whole 20, 23, 24 NFL season for us. And then it kind of goes into planning for this next season.

37:38
Brenan Betro
On social we're still kind of recapping all the great moments from this past one, whether it's player highlights or best photos, big moments from the team, and then as different tentpole events and dates for the NFL offseason come up, we then lean into those. So combine's happening next week. It's a big moment for our scouting department and football side and we'll have some of our video crew out there showing prospects that we could pick in the draft in April. We'll have free agency coming up, so it's definitely a lot calmer overall. But then as dates happen and like draft week for instance, it really can get just as busy as it is during the season.

38:20
Brenan Betro
And then it seems like the season's so far off and games don't start until August or September, but we have mini camp in May or June and then we have training camp starting in mid July. So once training camp starts, then it's on through the rest of the season.

38:39
Ashtyn Morris
Oh, fizzy busy. Last question before I put you in the rapid fire question seats, what are your predictions for the social media landscape for sports marketing in particular for 2024?

38:50
Brenan Betro
I think it's more of a lot of what we talked about so far where it's always showing personality and kind of getting the stories behind the players. I think that's not going to change in sports social. It's getting even more behind the scenes in access and it's just grown throughout the past five years. I mean, a lot of teams and players themselves have realized how important it is for them to grow their brand and we've had a players only podcast that we started this past season.

39:18
Ashtyn Morris
Love that.

39:19
Brenan Betro
We just had some talks to try and delve even more into that, and it helps that, like I mentioned, when a player is asking another player a question and it's more of a natural conversation, then that can pull back the curtain a little more than it would just be for a sit down interview. So there's a lot of great opportunities with that, but I think that's not going away. The algorithms with the platforms and also the way teams post, I think it's been so heavy on short form that there's probably going to be a little bit of a comeback for long form and more of balancing that out. And certain platforms are prioritizing some more long form content that they haven't in the past. I know there's been times raised on TikTok.

40:05
Brenan Betro
Before it seemed like every video was six to 10 seconds, and now everyone is like a six to ten minute story.

40:11
Ashtyn Morris
I think I saw them testing out a 30 minutes format, like a really long form. So I think you're spot on with the shift back to some long form content.

40:21
Brenan Betro
And we see on Twitter now, too, the lengthening in characters and a lot more kind of article type posts that have started popping up where you don't have to link out to a separate site, but a lot of information's on there where it's not just the quick personality tweets that are still intermixed. So I think kind of some more balancing in that area we're going to see, too, definitely.

40:45
Ashtyn Morris
Before we wrap up today's episode, I get to hit you with some hard hitting questions. Don't worry, it's painless. Are you ready?

40:52
Brenan Betro
Yeah, I'm ready.

40:53
Ashtyn Morris
Okay. Monday night, Thursday night, or Sunday games.

40:57
Brenan Betro
I think for me, Thursday is the best at prime time, for sure, if I'm picking any of them. I mean, it's bigger stage. You're on national tv. The bright lights at night are awesome. It's a completely different environment. But Thursday helps us because it's earlier you get out of the way, and then you kind of have a weekend to yourself, which is rare during the season.

41:18
Ashtyn Morris
Oh, yeah, I bet no one's easier during this season except your team. Okay. Instagram or TikTok.

41:26
Brenan Betro
Also, personally, I like Instagram. There's just a lot more that you can do with it. Photo, video, and you can really tell a story, which is what I like.

41:36
Ashtyn Morris
Nice threads. Yay or nay?

41:40
Brenan Betro
I would say nay. It seems to be dipping down a bit, but also from the social side with my team, it's one more platform to worry about and put work into. So I'm glad that it's kind of dipped down a bit, but I think it is intriguing from a social standpoint of another text platform outside of Twitter, but nay, for another platform.

42:06
Ashtyn Morris
Yeah, maybe next year there'll be a whole other platform. You're like, I'll know. So, okay, this one might be hard. What NFL team is the most slept on?

42:15
Brenan Betro
Yeah, it's tough. I think we've gotten a lot of people on our side, but I'd like to think we're still the underdogs in slept on. I think on the field is different from social. I think we look at things in both lenses, like how our teams doing on the field and compared to our football team, but also we hold ourselves to a high standard and compare ourselves to the other social teams. I think there's some that have done a good job and have kind of risen through the ranks the past couple years similar to their teams.

42:48
Brenan Betro
I think the Falcons have done a really good job with their content and being unique, and that's the same for their young team with a lot of great stars and I think the Lions and say the Texans too, with CJ Stroud, they had a really good season. It's a tough one for us since we played them in the playoffs, but I would give them some props and seeing a lot more diversified content on their end, too. Yeah, and I probably those are all up and coming teams on the field, so definitely goes both ways.

43:22
Ashtyn Morris
You know your craft. Last but certainly not least, Browns to the Super bowl.

43:27
Brenan Betro
Yeah, of course.

43:28
Ashtyn Morris
Super Bowl.

43:28
Brenan Betro
Super Browns.

43:30
Ashtyn Morris
I love that. Well, that wraps things up for us today. Brennan, thank you so much for joining us. As a lifelong Minnesota fan, I can confidently say that you have converted me into a Browns fan through your social media content. 2023 was a huge year for you guys and I'm so excited to see what's in store for the Browns upcoming season. Where can listeners find you if they.

43:49
Brenan Betro
Want to connect on cross all social media? I think it's eitherowns or Leland Browns, depending on which one, and then me personally. You can find me mainly on Instagram or LinkedIn, but yeah.

44:02
Ashtyn Morris
Well, thank you so much. We really appreciate the time today.

44:04
Brenan Betro
Definitely. Thank you.