By now the praise not just the University of Maryland Baltimore County men’s hoops team but their social media work has been well documented, and has certainly cemented the Retrievers as one of the feel good stories of March Madness both on and off the court.
Some great takeaways from how UMBC engaged should be lessons for all both big and small, and are a great example of how listening to the conversation in the social space and then correctly inserting yourself into the narrative really paid off. Now keep in mind that the story gets better because really one person was at the helm, and he, Zach Seidel , became part of the story because of the way he handled himself and the messaging which he was getting from all parts of the University who were looking to capture the moment.
That’s not to say other schools didn’t do a good job on social during the run, and are still documenting success like Loyola Chicago is. What UMBC was different because they proactively went out and engaged with everyone in the narrative, not just retweeting but answering, and then making sure they found ways to respectfully and creatively create a dialogue with all the influencers who were part of their historic victory. It wasn’t easy, it took work and a lot of thought to make sure the conversation didn’t go off the rails, especially as naysayers jumped on board. It really was a very positive example of what real time engagement in a narrative can achieve.
Some takeaways:
Be quick, but be accurate: It is so easy just to react to anything and everything, especially as things are happening in real time, and in this case, before millions of suddenly engaged consumers. Be careful to react or drive a conversation that is smart but not off the rails so as to damage the moment. UMBC pushed but never really went too far.
Know Your Audience: One of the great elements of the whole social exercise was that there was no one too small or too high that the Retrievers didn’t find a way to engage with. They were often fun, always respectful and each post built upon the narrative that was unfolding. That is not easy to do. It is much easier to hit copy and repeat or just retweet the good wishes. They kept finding creative ways to grow a conversation and keep it both interesting and upbeat without being too boastful
Realize You Are In the Moment And It Is Your Moment To Seize: The social accounts did a great job of emphasizing the positive while taking light jabs at the negative. It never got out of control. However most important was the fact that there was never really a loss of an understanding of what was transpiring. It was a great example of “what if” being played out in real time. All the thoughts were genuine and stayed in the flow of a pretty large conversation.
Be Authentic: There was easily the opportunity to spin a narrative into commercialism or cliché. It never happened with UMBC. There was a thought put into every post, every reaction and every element of storytelling. There was just enough hype but every piece was in good taste and good fun. It was true to UMBC, and never strayed into the area of creating issues or distractions for those in the administration or those playing the games.
Most Importantly; Have Fun: Never once, even into the day after the loss to Kanas State, was there a loss of levity in the engagement. Heck they even found a way to work student recruitment messages into the narrative and keep people engaged with giveaways and other little tidbits as the Retrievers drifted away from the March Madness and casual fan consciousness and returned to whatever was next at hand for a topic. The engagement never really got to be too much, and it always seemed like those, or the one, at the switch was keeping things right where they should be; fun, fast and pretty loose.
Now does this mean that suddenly the UMBC Athletics social media engine will be the tide that suddenly lifts all University ships to new heights? No. Will their followers stay engaged through baseball, softball and into the offseason? Maybe for a while. Will UMBC have built a solid base of casual followers that will stay around to see what the next act will be? Probably.
Most importantly, was this an exercise in the power of understanding and harnessing a narrative at the right time? For sure. Authentic. Engaged. Fun. Different. Four key elements that young Mr. Seidel, his boss Steve Levy and UMBC realized early on and held on to through a great stretch that actually began a few weeks ago. Was it planned? Nope. Was it successful and memorable. For sure.
They enhanced a narrative that impacted millions, what a great, fun way to spend a weekend and grow a platform.
