Success isn’t guaranteed in the sports media industry. The industry, in its current state, appears oversaturated with aspirants, and undersaturated with opportunities. The rise of influencers has opened the door for independent content creators to thrive, but real estate can still be hard to come by.
With this in mind, how can you separate yourself from the competition in an oversaturated market? By staying true to these key principles along the way, you’ll be able to put yourself in a good position.
5 Ways to Differentiate Yourself in Modern Sports Media
1) Play to Your Strengths With Your Brand Offering
The first step is one of the most crucial, because it defines everything you do in the sports media space. When you first start out, you’ll be tasked with defining your personal brand. When solidifying your brand image and your value offering, make sure you’re choosing a value offering that plays to your strengths – not one that fits a square peg into a round hole.
To pull an example from my experience, I chose NFL Draft analysis over other niches like fantasy football and informational writing because I favored in-depth film study, detailed and descriptive analysis, and informed decision making. It’ll be different for you, but your decision process should be just as microscopic.
Your value offering should reflect both your strengths and your interests – because your passion for that interest will drive you to produce high-quality content.
2) Be Authentic and Shepherd Human Connection
As the sports media industry evolves, a few distinct changes are defining the landscape. Users and potential consumers are using social media platforms as de facto search engines for accessible content, and those same users are gravitating toward content that ushers a human connection.
This evolution toward influencers stewarding information is changing the game. And as it changes, the human connection element is becoming more and more important. To separate yourself, you have to not only provide valuable insight within your sphere, but you must shepherd connection as well.
To do that, you must be authentic – in your interactions and within the content itself.
3) Make Versatility One of Your Calling Cards
Obviously, you have a brand offering that you want to specialize in providing. But even as you focus on your topic, you can make versatility your calling card. And in doing so, you can separate yourself from many creators who might be less multifaceted.
If there’s a skill that could be beneficial in the space adjacent to your content itself, learn it. Learn to write, edit, record, and do video. Learn to read data and conduct analysis. And when you assemble a team, learn to communicate, collaborate, and delegate.
Be versatile in everything you do, and you’ll find that such versatility will streamline your process and catalyze your growth.
4) Understand the Landscape and How to Navigate It
You have an intimate understanding of your brand vision and your value offering. You have an understanding of how to be authentic and connect with your audience in a way that leaves a lasting impression. Now, you must gain an understanding of the industry forces as a whole – how the market shifts and evolves with trends, and how you can navigate it.
A large part of being able to navigate the sports media landscape is to simply be adaptable. But adaptability also demands ample attention devoted to trends, and quick response times when a pivot is needed. Independent content creators cultivate audiences now – but it doesn’t mean there isn’t lightning to catch when events and trends snare audience focus.
5) Execute with Consistency
As important as each step before this point is, there’s an argument to make that consistency is what matters most over the long-term. In a fast-paced sports media environment that’s constantly changing and being inundated with new content, to lose consistency is to fall out of the mix.
Especially in the early stages, when you’re just establishing your brand imprint, keeping consistency can be a grind without a great deal of short-term returns. But consistency is the asset that builds your brand over time. And if you can make it a hallmark of yours, you’ll find that unflinching consistency can lead to longevity.
Making a day’s worth of content requires talent. Doing it day in and day out — over and over again — requires discipline. And discipline is what separates.
Playbook:
- Play to your strengths
- Shepherd human connection
- Make versatility a calling card
- Know the industry landscape
- Consistently execute
