We identify ten of the most active and influential individuals operating in social media in the sporting and sponsorship area, and find out a little of what excites them in terms of what they do. Today we sit down with Mary McGuire of Basketball Ireland …
Who is Mary McGuire and what do you do that has secured your place as a Social media Maven for 2016?
I am the Media and Communications Manager at Basketball Ireland and am passionate about promoting basketball and sport across all social media platforms.
2016 has been quite a phenomenal year for me, as I also had the incredible opportunity of working with Paralympics Ireland as their Media & Events Manager up to an including Rio 2016. That was a fantastic opportunity to promote some of Ireland’s best athletes on a global stage and I was thrilled to manage and roll out some captivating and engaging social media content.
My move into Basketball Ireland is a very exciting one, as there are many brilliant stories to be told around basketball in Ireland and we have also the amazing opportunity in 2017 of hosting the FIBA Under 18 Women’s European Basketball Championships, which I’m really looking forward to. We have fantastic development programmes in place around the country and our international teams are also at the forefront once more so all in all, it’s a very exciting time to be involved with Basketball Ireland.
What is your personal favourite Social Media Channel?
I love Twitter, though Facebook is a close second. I have a background in journalism, and always loved how Twitter has been used as a platform for breaking news. I’m a massive sports fan too, and I love that no matter where you are in the world, you can keep up to date with a variety of different sports and also see some good real time commentary on these games.
From a work point of view, I also really enjoy Snapchat and think that this will be a really exciting platform moving forward for us in Basketball Ireland in the months to come while Facebook continues to be a superb platform for us to drive our on-site content.
What do you think is the best thing about being able to communicate directly to fans or customers?
I love how social media has opened up the conversation between fans and the brand or governing body. Before, it was all one-way conversation aimed at the supporter, whereas now we have the opportunity to properly engage with our fans and listen to what they have to say, what changes they would like to see and what they’ve enjoyed each weekend about watching basketball.
It’s a big responsibility to ensure that fans know that what they are saying is being listened to, but I really enjoy it, and I believe in sport, so interacting with people and communicating messages about sport is something I really enjoy and I’m passionate about.
How much a part of your overall approach to marketing is geared towards social?
We focus a lot of our approach on social, particularly here in Basketball Ireland as basketball is a sport that is designed for social media platforms and engagement, as the power of video continues to rise.
This was seen last month when Templeogue’s Lorcan Murphy produced a fantastic reverse dunk in one of their games, which proved to be a big hit for us across all social channels and a variety of different media platforms. Social lies at the heart of our marketing strategy and has truly proved to be a fantastic resource for me – both previously for Paralympics Ireland and now with Basketball Ireland.
Broadcasting or engagement, if you had to pick one, which is the most important?
I’m all about engagement, I love being able to interact with fans and supporters and seeing them engage with a piece of content that I’m particularly proud of – this was the case with the More Than Sport campaign we ran as part of the Paralympics Ireland build up to Rio 2016.
The reaction and engagement with that video and subsequent stories was enormous. I do also think that broadcast is a game-changer for sport. Facebook Live in particular is proving to be a massive bonus for sports such as basketball, as the fact that we are able to broadcast games on a regular basis through Facebook Live to our fans is massive and this in turn, ensures that we get great engagement.
What are three social media accounts that you enjoy following?
I really enjoy a number of different sports and media accounts and always find something to catch my eye on Twitter in particular, but I especially like what Queen B Athletics do on their platforms.
I also quite like the Trinity College GAA Twitter feed, and I am also enjoying the new GAA Hour on SportsJOE. I have many favourites so it’s hard to pick just three!
Finally give us a social media post that you were pleased with the response to…
The Paralympic Games really produced some truly incredible moments, and I count myself extremely lucky to have been given the opportunity to work with the organization and athletes.
One post that I will always remember from this year is when I travelled to the European Open Swim Championships in Madeira, Portugal with the para swim team. I’ll never forget the day Nicole Turner, who was only 13 at the time, won her first medal of the championships (she won three in total). She had never been through a live mix zone before, so when she came to me, I did her first big interview with her and she kept repeating the word “amazing” and she won the hearts of everyone in the country.
I think I was probably the most excited person in the mix zone that day! Watching her progress from that first mix zone to her superb interviews with RTÉ throughout the Games in Rio where she was a true pro is something I’ll never forget.
In terms of engagement, one of my other favourites has to be the video diaries we did with some of the athletes from Rio which also received a lot of videos both on Facebook and YouTube.
WATCH: Swimmers Nicole Turner and James Scully tell us all about life in the athletes' village at #Rio2016 ???? #MoreThanSport
Gepostet von Paralympics Ireland am Samstag, 3. September 2016
