Influencers: Mike Wargo

In our past interviews we focused on influencers in the entertainment realm such as Shane Carwin and Ami James. In this installment we looked an influencer within the business sector, Mike Wargo, the digital guru for Fox Sports Florida. If you’re a fan of any professional or collegiate sport in Florida, chances are you get your games and news from this source. Mike’s role is to dish up a never-ending stream of opinions, news and content to topic-hungry fans, while always seeking out new ways online audiences can engage in the age of social media.

Mindomondo (MM): So Mike, tell us a bit about what you do.

Mike Wargo (MW): As Digital Content Manager, I manage the day to day operation of FOXSportsFlorida.com.  Overseeing a team of writers, graphic artists and editorial assistants, I manage content and implement strategies designed to reach sports fans throughout the state of Florida and across the country.

(MM): How have you personally seen the social media landscape change in sports over the last few years?

(MW): The emergence of Twitter has probably made the largest impact on the way that sports news is delivered. Websites are no longer the quickest way to break news. Fans follow their favorite news sources via Twitter and get instant updates on their phones. This forces media outlets like ours to use social media as their first response, and web sites as our home for exclusive analysis.

(MM): How long ago did the network launch it’s social media efforts and did you see an immediate growth in your online audience?

(MW): About two years ago, FOX Sports put forth a national initiative designed to launch and grow our social media platforms across the regional networks.  The response was impressive. We now have approximately 225,000 followers across all of FSN’s Facebook and Twitter platforms.

With our social media network already in place, we launched our new regional web sites with great success in November of 2009. We continue to see increased web traffic directly tied to the news alerts that we send through social media.

(MM): What are some of the positive and negative effects with social media usage in sports marketing?

(MW): There are several positives to having an active social media community. It gives us another outlet for fan interaction, and another avenue in which to promote our exclusive content.

It also comes with an additional workload, expectations and responsibilities. It can be a bit much to manage, but overall it has been a positive for our network.

(MM): In a way your role at FSN is “managing” what the user sees and hears on your digital channels, how often are your topics influenced by the audience feedback and can you really “manage” social media?

(MW): Social media helps us take the pulse of the community. If a topic generates a lot of interaction on social media, we know that it’s something that we should probably pursue further on our traditional platforms.

No, you can’t really “manage” social media.  You can control your messaging, but ultimately the fans’ voices speak the loudest.

(MM): Social Media is relatively still very new as a communications strategy, how do you see it growing in the coming years compared to other ways FSN connects with audiences?

(MW): It’s clear that social media isn’t going away any time soon, but predicting the future of the medium is nearly impossible.

Will Facebook and Twitter continue to lead the way or will something new emerge? What exciting features will new technology provide?

The only thing that I can accurately predict is that we will continue to pursue ways to reach our fans regardless of platform. Advances in technology will play a huge role in determining our strategy.

(MM): Social Media is very much about allowing the conversation to take place and connecting to fans on a much deeper level. Was it difficult in the beginning to adapt to this style of communication for such a large company?

(MW): It was definitely a challenge, but it was a welcome addition. We are always looking for ways to get our fans involved in our telecasts, and social media has allowed us to reach people on a whole new level. The biggest challenge was understanding the possibilities and then learning how to integrate this new technology into our daily workflow.

(MM): We all know how passionate fans can be when sharing their opinions, what’s your “line” that can’t be crossed during these conversations?

(MW): We don’t allow the bad language and the name calling. Other than that, fans are free to voice their opinions.

(MM): What insights have you or the network gained by becoming part of the conversation?

(MW): Where do I begin? For nearly two decades, our networks have worked tirelessly to try and give our fans what they want and expect. Now, with so many interactive platforms at our disposal, we know exactly what fans want to see.

It truly has been an enlightening process for our entire organization, and it has helped us target our audience more effectively.

(MM): How do you handle negative feedback? Do you usually ignore it, or do you think it’s better to openly respond to it?

(MW): If the negative feedback has merit, we do our best to address the issue. However, most of the negative comments we see are not network related.

Covering sports means interacting with a passionate group of fans, and they need a place to blow off some steam after games. In those instances, we are happy to provide a platform through the web site and social media for fans voices to be heard. But there is no need for us to interject.

(MM): How would you define the “tone” that FSN uses in social media conversations, does that tone differ on other platforms such as on-air?

(MW): We are definitely more casual on social media. In order to provide a world class product in our game telecasts, there’s a formality with our coverage that is essential.  The web and social media provide us an outlet for some of our strong content that may not be as heavily produced.

(MM): How deep do you see the future integration of social media into live games or programming?

(MW): If the loudest voices in our production trucks belong to our directors and producers, the next loudest voice belongs to the fans interacting with the telecast.  We will continue to look for ways to integrate the web and social media with our game telecasts, and our fans will have an increased role in deciding what they get to see in our games.

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