Introducing Sports Content Strategy
It would be too bold to call it a rebrand, more of a tidy up.
You see I have been ploughing my furrow as “MrRichardClarke” ever since I began my consultancy.
It made sense. That was already the name of my website, my blog, my social media accounts and, as soloprenuer*, really you are only selling yourself anyway.
The podcast followed about a year later than initially planned. I called it “Sport: Digital and Social”, a trio of keywords that I’d put on my business cards when I started up.
But I toyed with “Sports Content Strategy”.
I should have gone with that from the start. So I have decided to rename it now, along with my consultancy.
The reasons are simple. Firstly, this describes my specialist area so the phrase “does what it says on the tin”. Yes, there are sound reasons for squeezing the word digital in there, however that is too wordy and if I really do believe digital is baked into everything these days then I need to back it up. It should be a given by now and, I am predicting, will be increasingly omitted in the years to come.
Sticking with the slaying of sacred cows, if people really believe that content is king** then it is worth my while doubling down in this area. One advantage of having been in sports content for 25 years is that you know what you are not. This is what I am, this is what I do, this will be my career. Yes, it might narrow the net I cast but it mostly excludes areas in which others are more expert. This saves time for everyone as I am not in the business of blagging my way to extra work.
I feel my area is broad enough but, really, it is depth I am going for. Storytelling is an artform that crosses every media or technological advance and I have been doing it for decades. Blend that with immersive experiences in the UK, Europe, the US and Asia and I hope to have revealed my USP.
There are other advantages, the urls and handles were all available and a boost for SEO won’t hurt the passing trade. In addition, there are other projects*** coming down the line for which a name like this will be much more suitable.
Then there is the practical. It was frankly ridiculous to announce myself as Richard Clarke from “MrRichardClarke.com” or see that on a badge at a conference. Doing the two word [colour or number] + [unconnected item] motif, really did not cut it. Maroon Pilchard, Purple Trouserpress and 37 Lampshades would be memorable but that is about it.
So, I have gone back to basics. My badge is based on a retro football crest but using the red, black and white of MrRichardClarke. This allows me to replace the Sport: Digital and Social graphic, a classic suit-but-no-tie-folded-arms-effort that, in retrospect, was following the crowd too closely for my liking.
Of course, as a soloprenuer**** this sort of branding is overrated anyway. Plenty of terrible names and terrible logos have become household staples because, shock, horror, the product is good.
Producing consistent, quality content can help me find new clients. But only work of a similar standard will help me keep them.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS FOR SPORTS CONTENT STRATEGY
NOTES
* This is a crap word. I am not an entrepreneur, I am a solo consultant. Sosultant, anyone? How about consolotant? Hmmm, more work required.
** As I have said before, sports organisations say this but do not act in accordance with their words. I believe it will change.
*** Nope, not telling you anything about these.
**** There it is again. If there is a better word, please, please tell me.