SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/575944
program or that you can get a degree in turf management, so I try to promote a lot of events, my student, our alumni and the positive aspects of their current jobs. I went to Mississippi State for my undergraduate and master's degree and our athletic teams were generally around the bottom of the SEC year in and year out. We never came close to selling out a football game any of the years I was at MSU. We got a new athletic director who completely changed a lot of aspects about how the athletic department was run. There was a big push for a fun "fan experience," and one of the items they started to engage in was social media. Mississippi State was one of the first big athletic groups to use social media to promote the brand they were building. Social media alone did not change anything drastically, but a combination of different coaches, good players, and social media to create some buzz around the program has completely changed athletics at Mississippi State. They sold out football games the past 3-4 years to where they added more seats to the stadium. Seeing the benefit of social media and how it completely changed the atmo - sphere around our athletic program was pretty amazing. Dr. Joey Young, Assistant Professor of Turfgrass, Texas Tech For me social media has set a precedent that I struggle to keep up with; while completing jobs my first priority is the customers' needs and I don't think about social media until it is late. Too often I get asked for before and after pictures, the after are easy, the before is not something I am good at getting, as I am there to do a task. During my busy season it is hard enough to keep up with all the paperwork let alone staying up with social media. I applaud those who can wrangle all of it. Jim Cornelius, CSFM, Services Manager, FSC Pro Services At Elon University, our Physical Plant and Athletic Department both have Facebook and Twitter accounts. They are used to post the latest news surrounding activities on-campus. News is posted as the events are approaching and happening to share information with followers. Instant feedback on how fields are looking, staff accomplishments, as well as up- to-the-minute goings on, are shared. Although I do not use social media much personally, I do recognize the importance of staying involved with these outlets professionally in order to keep my department engaged in a way that is relevant to many of our partners and users. Scott Stevens, CSFM, Sports Turf Manager, Elon University We have started official Instagram and Twitter accounts for the University of Arizona Facilities Management Grounds Services Department. We use them as an avenue to showcase the work our staff does around campus, project updates and anything we think looks beautiful or interesting. The response has been very positive and it has been an effective way to showcase the positive impact we have on the appearance of campus. It gives us a channel to interact with people in the campus community we wouldn't normally cross paths with, and gives an opportunity to show people all the things Grounds Services does that people may not realize or take for granted. I have also found social media to be a beneficial learning tool to see what other people are doing to their fields, how they deal with events and the challenges of weather. I am able to post from my iPad, so the time commitment is minimal and I know our staff gets excited when a post gets a strong response from the public. It's been good for morale. Matt Anderson, CSFM, Grounds Superintendent, University of Arizona Those who use social media correctly are a great benefit to me. Sharing information that is helpful and useful in making me more informed will always get my attention. Posts showing new or proven methods of turf maintenance or other industry-related clips help keep me up-to-date on what is happening in this dynamic industry within which we work. If it has value, I'll instantaneously share with my colleagues and customers. Another benefit with social media! What better way to learn about new methods or new products than viewing short video clips or photos found on social media sites. What doesn't work for me is shameless promotions of a vendors' goods or services. That, simply put, is junk mail. In this day and age, sharing information has become so easy and far-reaching. Advancements in information technology and the proper use of social media have played a significant role in that. Remember the '90s?! Joe Churchill, Sports Turf Manager, Reinders, Inc. Albion College has a Communications Department, with a specialist who monitors social media for anything posted about the college. He monitors Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Yik Yak, and about 15 others. The college does support individual, college-related, social media accounts. We have to agree to a standard of conduct. Faculty and staff that participate in social media have a Twitter and/or Facebook account. I am the administrator for the Twitter account for the Facilities Department. Twitter has allowed the Facilities Department a quick way to share campus information with the student body. It has not been a burden on me because of the limit of 140 characters breaks down any anxiety or writer's block. Also, multiple divisions within Facilities send what they would like posted, by email. I do not post any opinions, just the facts. I experimented with blogging and Facebook. The challenge I faced with blogging was the pressure I inflicted on myself to author flawless, non-controversial articles. I just didn't have the time. The Facebook account became a contact administrative challenge because the "Friend Requests" exploded. Plus, the platform does not have a character limit, so I was fighting writer's block again. Warning: Yik Yak can be interesting but be prepared for anony - mous criticism that is not friendly. Especially, near a college campus. Mark Frever, Director of Grounds, Albion College Social media is a powerful tool in today's world. I focus on two main platforms. The first is my SmartTurf Blog (www.janddturf.blogspot. com). The blog serves as an interactive educational platform for coaches, educators, parents and grounds managers. The blog creates a "library" of information that can be shared when necessary. The second is Twitter. I manage two accounts, both accounts are business focused. @J_DTurf is geared toward quick hitting educational tweets. @JamieMehringer is geared toward my sportsturf travels, education and my best friend, Gilroy. Finally, social media has also allowed me to keep in touch with friends and clients in the sports turf industry. It is a great give and take to stay aware of industry trends and news. Jamie Mehringer, President, J&D Turf ■ ST www.stma.org October 2015 | SportsTurf 21