For Immediate Release
GROUNDBREAKING ATHLETIC LEADERS PLEDGE COMPREHENSIVE SOCIAL MEDIA EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR ATHLETES, COACHES AND STAFF
Auburn and Texas Christian Universities and the St. Louis Rams Announce Partnerships with Social Media Sports Management (SM2) to
Train, Assess and Certify their Teams on Social Media.
LOS ANGELES (June 15, 2015) – Committed to educating and training their constituents both on and off the field, Auburn University Athletic Director, Jay Jacobs, Texas Christian University Athletic Director, Chris Del Conte, and St. Louis Rams Head Coach, Jeff Fisher, today announced partnerships with Social Media Sports Management (SM2).
SM2 will comprehensively educate, train, assess and certify each partner’s teams on the benefits and risks of social media to meet collegiate athletic and professional football standards of excellence. The SM2 education and training is part of a national initiative to educate, empower and equip the athletic industry on social media best practices and provide necessary tools, policies and procedures. SM2 protects and maximizes valuable sports brands through digital, social media and real-time communications strategies, coaching, education, tactics, empowerment and teams. SM2’s CEO, Carrie Gerlach Cecil, made the announcement.
“Our partners are pioneers in this highly important and constantly evolving educational space,” Cecil said. “We are proud to partner with them to provide comprehensive social media training programs. These leaders have jumped the social media curve by implementing this vital training for their student-athletes, players, coaches and staff.”
SM2’s interactive education program includes social media framework gleaned from the United States Government and FORTUNE® 500 companies as well as valuable lessons and positive instructions amassed from collegiate and professional sports social media victories and defeats nationwide. The company provides cutting-edge, legally compliant and cost-effective social media training programs customized for collegiate athletic departments and associations and professional football, baseball, basketball, hockey and motorsports as well as players’ associations.
Texas Christian University Athletic Director, Chris Del Conte was one of the first to recognize the immense need for comprehensive training. “We learned firsthand that the old PowerPoint and scare tactics don’t truly educate our people or protect us anymore,” Del Conte said. “When SM2 presented its methodology and training, we knew immediately we needed to partner with them to properly equip our people on social media.”
SM2’s interactive learning solution is an important, impactful and revolutionary way for the sports industry to acquire meaningful social media skills and gain the protection they must have to mitigate liability and ensure athletes and staff stay informed.
“With the evolution of social media, it is important for our players, coaches and staff to understand the consequences of using social media irresponsibly,” said Fisher who is also a member the NFL Competition Committee. “SM2 offers unique comprehensive training that will help players to pause before posting or tweeting. It is a step in the right direction to educate and protect the sports community on social media.”
The high-quality production is fast-paced and easy-to-understand and available through SM2’s state-of-the-art Cloud-based Learning Platform (CBLP) that enables users 24-hour access on any Internet-ready device. Upon successful conclusion, a Certificate of Completion is provided. Maintaining a record of who has been educated and trained allows constituents to be prepared in the event of an investigation or public relations issue.
“We examined multiple social media training courses, but nothing was tailored to meet the specific needs of our college partners,” said Jeff Schemmel, SM2 Strategic Partner and Collegiate Adviser. “We realized it would have to be created internally with the highest social media compliance standards and then modified and expanded to accomplish our college partners’ identified requirements.”
The customized interactive social media education and training program with certification requires less than 60 minutes to complete. The education is produced in fast-paced, important and engaging two- to eight-minute category courses and is self-paced, so participants don’t have to complete all training at once. The turnkey curriculum is consistently updated to meet the evolving digital, social media, legal, NCAA and professional sports’ landscape and is available year round.
Former NACDA President, Athletic Director and SM2 Collegiate Adviser, Jim Livengood added, “By bringing together experts in their categories along with senior collegiate and professional executives, SM2 can deliver game-changing social media education and training to both protect their partners and train their people. We’re excited to have these great athletic partners on-board and look forward to rolling out this critical program nationwide.”
SM2’s team of leading digital, legal, educational, social media, security and collegiate and professional sports advisers and producers created high-quality, engaging and important customized training to meet professional and collegiate athletic standards, legal and digital standards and educational standards. Former Georgia Bulldog and 12-year NFL veteran, Will Witherspoon along with SM2 trainers act as on-camera coaches.
Social media training is critical to avoid corporate liability and life-changing mistakes. To learn more about social media training and how you can protect your teams, you can visit www.teamsm2.com.
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About Social Media Sports Management
Social Media Sports Management (SM2) protects and maximizes valuable sports brands through digital, social media and real-time communications strategies, coaching, education, tactics, empowerment and teams. Tailored to protect and drive revenue to the billion-dollar sports industry, SM2 offers customized, full-service social media and digital solutions to avoid tomorrow’s crisis and increase today’s value. Uniquely positioned with decades of sports experience and trusted relationships, SM2 understands the complex and individual needs of its clients. SM2’s preeminent sports-tailored tools are designed to train, contain, manage and leverage the social media madness. SM2 is part of a national initiative designed to educate, empower and equip the athletic industry on social media. The company has offices in Los Angeles; Charleston, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and St. Louis.
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