USATF Communications addressed the challenge of cancelled sporting events by amplifying our existing #OnThisDay in USATF History series on social media, repurposing historical content to educate and engage followers on the anniversary of it’s occurrence.
Goals:
Take fans back in time to iconic moments and historic achievements in USATF history
Maintain engagement and followers in a time of canceled events
Educate fan base on history of the sport
Showcase diversity of athletes and range of accomplishments
Objectives:
Post #OnThisDay content on average 1-2x per week (this increased after event cancellations)
Repurpose each post for Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for maximum use
Utilize archived imagery and historical records to educate a new demographic of fans on social media during a time when there was little or no live sports.
Our strategy was to transform events that occurred prior to social media, and in many cases before the internet age, into content that can be viewed in the digital space. We used historical databases and imagery not available to the public to create unique content that put our followers in a different place and time in sports history. For some content, we scanned 35mm film slides.
Maintain consistent posting cadence (1-2x per week)
Utilize high quality, iconic imagery and don’t shy away from lower quality old and grainy black and white imagery. Old images help take the fan back in time and it captures their attention as it stands out from the typical high quality photos.
Ensure the content remains historically accurate and tells a captivating and educational story
Take advantage of the timing of the historical achievements to broaden the viewpoint on an athlete’s accomplishments by creating a story arc
We created 319 total posts in 2020 across Instagram (117), Twitter (115), Facebook (85) and LinkedIn (2). Average posting cadence was 2x per week on Instagram and Twitter, and once per week on Facebook.
The campaign garnered 15.8+ million impressions and 890k+ engagements. Top performing posts from the campaign averaged between 14x and 31x better than our typical content.
Top performing posts also tapped into current conversations on social issues throughout the year:
Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ 1968 Mexico City Olympic raised fist on podium
Jesse Owens' gold medal performances at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany breaking stereotypes created and perpetuated by Hitler’s Nazi regime
Female empowerment posts highlighting the achievements of legends like Alice Coachman, Betty Robinson, Madeline Manning-Mims, Wyomia Tyus, Florence Griffith Joyner, Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach
