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A new NBA season begins this month and social media managers across the league are getting their content and departments ready.
In this episode of Social on the Sidelines, hosts Shahbaz Khan and Amara Baptist, both NBA social pros themselves, recap what goes into preparing for a new season including media days, training camps, and introducing new players. They also discuss how to sustain quality work from start to finish in a season.
Edited highlights appear below:
On finding stories that resonate with fans (08:48)
Baptist: “I think a big touch for me is just telling the story… of these athletes as people…Fans are so passionate here in Portland and I think they really resonated with the moments that weren’t on the basketball court. You know, [players] showing their personalities as they’re walking in and interacting with the camera …Dame and Dame Jr, that seemed to really resonate with our fans. I’m just going to continue to do that and also really give an opportunity for our new guys to make an impression on our fans.”
On strategies shifting year to year (10:23)
Khan: “I’m always excited going into year to see how we can differentiate things from the year past, from what we’re doing on the digital and social front. So I’m really excited about some of the stuff that we’re putting forth, not only in how we might try to tell those stories, but also in the social voice you’re going to see from our accounts that it’s going to showcase a lot more of that. And it might be a different tone and voice. I think that’s something that gets lost a little bit. There’s a lot more that goes into the strategy above and beyond what’s going on in the court.”
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On self care during a long season (16:04)
Baptist: “Last year was my first full season traveling…We played for so long, I think we ended in late May. It was pretty much eight months of just straight travel. I definitely neglected myself a little bit because as you’re in different time zones and your sleep schedule is messed up, instead of maybe instead of getting up and going to the gym on the road you want to sleep in, which is totally okay. But I think this season I am gonna make a concerted effort to kind of put me first in those situations and be like, ‘okay you could sleep in for three more hours or you can sleep in for an hour and then get up and go to the gym because you’re gonna feel better.'”
Khan: “What I’m trying to do throughout the season is being intentional about all the different things that I need to do throughout the season. Not only for my day to day, but also long term. And so trying to help myself be better physically and mentally. You know, I’m trying to wake up a little bit earlier, which is tough to do in this job for sure…especially when you’re on the road because of the time differences and whatnot. I’m trying to implement a lot of the stuff that I’ve been reading…I read this book, the “Power of Habit”. I’ve kind of talked about it on the podcast before. I would highly recommend. It’s from Charles Duhigg and it just talks about there being essentially 21 days for you to build a habit. And so I’ve tried to put that into production to some degree and do things every day for three weeks.”
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