“What would Arnold Palmer do?”
It’s the question the Golf Channel social team asks themselves any time they post to their fans. Jackie Strouse, the Director of Social Media at the Golf Channel said finding a more conversational, lighter voice on social media has allowed them to become fans of the game, right alongside their viewers. “Social here has kind of evolved, we used to be, our voice and tone was a little bit more editorial. But we’ve kind of experimented,” said Strouse. “We’re funny but not snarky…And we’re finding that’s what really engages fans and audiences.”
Jackie joins us on this episode of #Storyteller to chat about the evolution of social media at the Golf Channel, her storytelling philosophy, and the success behind the well known Tiger Tracker.
On the success of @TigerTracker:
All the research out there tells you that fans are more likely to engage with personalities than with brands. Tiger Tracker is a personality. People see that as an authentic way into the game, and into the conversation. So they might even be more likely to interact with Tiger Tracker than with our main @GolfChannel Twitter handle. And to that we say, ‘you know what, that’s fine.’ Let’s spread the love around. Any interaction with the game is good at the end of the day.
On social media being complimentary, not competitive:
We view social media here at Golf Channel as very much complimentary to our linear TV network, news coverage and editorial. Social media is a great way to disseminate and spread the news, but it’s also a good way to create ancillary golf-adjacent content that’s a little bit different than what you might see on TV. We travel out to different events with a producer and our social talent. We’re not there to create content that’s breaking news, or tournament updates. We’re more showing you what it’s like to be a fan, the travel experience on different local attractions. We really view social as a complimentary experience that can tell different stories than what our TV viewer will see.
On finding your social media voice:
We’re tasked with reaching a pretty wide variety of fans, and we just do that by being authentic to our brand voice, which is conversational, friendly, and we’re fans of the game right along with you. The way social here has kind of evolved, we used to be, our voice and tone was a little bit more editorial. But we’ve kind of experimented with getting more conversational, a little bit lighter. And we’re finding that’s what really engages fans and audiences. We’re funny but not snarky and at the end of the day, we always say ‘ what would Arnold Palmer Do?’ Arnold Palmer founded Golf Channel, and we think okay, if Arnold Palmer would not approve of this, we will not put it out on our channel.
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