Why This 1 Thing Will Change Pro Sports | World of Advertising #007
JuJu Smith-Schuster & Chase Claypool. These 2 dudes GET IT. The Pittsburgh Steelers teammates have started taking over the world on and off the field. The duo creates highlights on the field and on social media. They're the 1st generation of athletes using content and social media to interact with fans and friends.
Why Rely On ESPN?
What these athletes understand is that ESPN and the sports networks can't accurately cover everything they do. They understand that their lives go way beyond football and they want to share it. Life as a professional athlete is far from boring and even if you're not a Steelers fan, being able to see the in-depth look behind the scenes is entertaining.
So when they're not on the field they use social media apps like TikTok and Youtube to create content around the other 90% of their day. Playing Madden, doing TikTok dances, creating vlogs, buying their parents a car as a gift, etc.
More Perspective More Fans
You don't have to love football to love these guys. They realize that their image and likeness doesn't need to be tied to the Steelers and the Steelers alone. Do you think the 1M+ subscribers on JuJu's channel are all die hard Pittsburgh people? This content allows more and more people (not necessarily football fans) to see their lives and be entertained by it all.
This has been happening under our noses for the past decade. More and more young people are getting "famous" online for simply posting videos about what they do everyday. This is a real career for many people and it's going to be a real career for JuJu and Chase when they retire from the NFL.
What Can You Do?
I say it every week, create content. You don't need to be JuJu or Chase to start creating content. Take the time to develop a plan and start creating content about anything you'd like. There is an audience for anything out there.
Some of my favorite TikTok users are the guys who run Nicola's Ristorante in NJ. They create TikTok's showing how to make their recipes that they serve. Amazing videos that make me want to travel to Jersey just to try.
Long story short, there is no barrier to entry in content. Create today.