002 - March Madness Success

Wow. What a March (and April!) it was for the Michigan Men's Basketball program. 

It was a monstrous month for the team -- both on the court and in the digital space.

It all started during the last week of February with the Big Ten Tournament in New York City. 

After we claimed the Big Ten Championship, we had a week off before Selection Sunday.

It was then off to Wichita, where Jordan Poole hit an epic buzzer-beater to send us to Los Angeles. Before we played any more games though, we had the opportunity to compile some amazing reaction videos from our dedicated fans who had been filming themselves while watching those final seconds. This is the beauty of our roles as digital marketers -- to show the true joy of our fan base as each and everyone felt the same emotions. Props, Justin. See video here. 

We won two more games in Los Angeles, winning the West Regional and earning the opportunity to head to San Antonio for the Final Four. 

Photo via Eric Bronson / Michigan Photography 

It was Michigan's first time at the Final Four since 2013 - and after we defeated Loyola Chicago, it was on to the national championship game vs. Villanova.

That result wasn’t what we were hoping for - but it was nonetheless incredible to experience this journey with this team -- and translate the ups and downs to our audience. 

From a digital perspective, though, I wanted to provide a few notes:

From the five-week span of "Madness", here are a few highlights from our Michigan Basketball social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

• 145,000,000+ total impressions

• 14% engagement rate on Instagram

• The Instagram follower account grew 57% | tweet 

• Most engaged posts (Facebook):

  1. WIN graphic vs. Loyola (to advance to National Championship) 

  2. WIN graphic for Big Ten Championship 

  3. WIN graphic vs. Texas A&M (to advance to Elite Eight) 

• Most engaged posts (Twitter):

  1. VIDEO - Jordan Poole buzzer-beater replay

  2. WIN graphic vs. Loyola (to advance to National Championship) 

  3. WIN graphic vs. Florida State (to advance to the Final Four) 

• Most engaged posts (Instagram):

  1. Final Score vs. Villanova

  2. Thank You Graphic (for a great season)

  3. VIDEO - Jordan Poole buzzer-beater

• Four videos eclipsed 1M views (all on Facebook), three of which were live.

  • LIVE - On to the National Championship

  • LIVE - On to the Elite Eight

  • The Shot - Compilation from Fans

  • LIVE - On to the Sweet 16

Beyond those stats, we put out several pieces of content I was proud of that highlighted our program during a crucial time. Here are a few, among many others:

• Adobe Spark photo stories that showed true behind-the-scenes coverage of each week | Example
• Locker room access - especially post-game that included Facebook Live, Periscope, One-on-ones with Coaches and Players | Coach Beilein Dancing Video
• Facebook Live with Radio PxP Matt Shepard and Terry Mills before each game | Example
• HAIL To The Victors Facebook Group | Link 
• Twitter Conversational Card + Auto Reply to promote #GoBlue | Example

We have to give a giant thanks to Coach Beilein and his staff; it starts with them. The access and trust in our group to execute and share our stories with our fans couldn't be better. 

More to come. But we sure are pleased with the recent success -- both on and off the court.