Though every day in sports is different, one constant is the need to learn. The necessity to adapt applies to facilities, marketing, ticketing, and everything between. In my daily routine, checking Twitter for #smsports insight – articles, images, conversation, and more – helps me get better as a professional. If you’re working in social media within sports, it should be helping you too.

But here’s the thing: They’re insight into how other organizations work, not how yours should work.

With minimal effort searching on Twitter, here’s a piece on social strategy from 5 different sports:

• How The Seahawks Social Media Team Tackled the Super Bowl
• UFC Is Kicking It On Digital
• How FIFA Filled A Global Stadium With One Billions Fans
• Micah Hart Talks Hawks’ Social Media Strategy
• Danica Patrick’s Social Strategy: Simplicity 

Does that mean you should alter what you’re doing on Facebook, Twitter, and everything else based on their successes? Absolutely not. You should learn, adapt, and test what works for your team.

So what should you learn from others?

What To Post

Content is generally going to break down into three elements: Text, pictures, or video. While Facebook is testing publishing tools, Twitter continues to mesh a number of pieces together for a more comprehensive experience and platforms like Snapchat continue to push their way into organizations’ strategies. There’s no standard on how much you should be using each platform because every fan base is different. But there are plenty of ways to improve your content.

A person to listen to: Jessica Smith – @WarJessEagle

Jess’ site, Social ‘N Sport, is a great resource sharing content that stands out in a clustered landscape, insights from industry professionals, and a weekly newsletter to ensure you don’t miss a beat.

How To Post

When I visited Kelly Mosier (@kmosier42) for Nebraska’s Spring Game, some of the best information I got was applications Nebraska’s digital team used from an app to place a watermark on team photos to Spredfast. His team gave me information on how I can get pictures posted online quicker, ways to keep a pulse on the conversation around a game, and some insight into how they approach their strategy as a whole.

Social media tools can range from Tweetdeck to Phonto with a massive variety in-between. Some tools will help you make better content, others will simply ease the burden on game day. The point is they all make your work sharper.

A link to check out: Buffer Recommends 45 Apps for Social Media Managers

Measuring Success

My final point is the one I want you to read in a loud, bellowing voice:

How someone else measures their success is not how you have to measure yours.

Read it again. Loud, bellowing voice. Thank you.

Every day features at least one new article on a metric you HAVE to use. It’s followed by the infographic on social ROI you CANNOT miss. As you get ready for bed and check Twitter one last time, you’ll see the podcast describing [Fortune 500 Company]’s social media success and the interview you WON’T want to miss.

Relax.

Your organization won’t have the same strategy on Facebook as your counterpart, so why attempt to measure the results in the same way they do? Imagine the following: Two teams send out similar tweets attempting to drive season-ticket sales. The first team collects over 500 retweets and favorites, but the other drives more traffic to the link resulting in more sales.

Who had the more ‘successful’ tweet?

Don’t get caught up in the ways other organizations measure their success. Learn how they break down their metrics, study how they collect (and use) data, and remember to constantly evaluate your efforts.

But don’t just change what you’re doing because an article on Twitter says to.