

The combination of interactivity and giving fans a glimpse of what it’s really like in the basketball program is paying off. We’re trying to tell you what our program is about.” “I mean, there was a week there, almost a week, between games, where we didn’t make a post that had a physical basketball (in it) because it’s not just about that anymore. “I think our strategy has changed in that it’s not just about having a basketball on every post,” Ansfield said. Ansfield has been at Illinois for a few years, and in that time, the social media team has pivoted to things beyond the team on the court. The men’s basketball team is in the midst of one of its best seasons in recent years, but Ansfield said the strategy would have stood even if fans filled the State Farm Center every game. The team’s strategists have focused on highlighting the behind-the-scenes of the program. “It was a pretty genius idea by Grace to be able to put that out,” Ansfield said. The game got called off due to COVID-19, but the social media team still decided to drop the pregame hype video.Īnsfield credited Grace Duggan, the Illinois Athletics’ social media strategist, as the person whose idea it was to send that video into the world. The Illini men’s basketball team was set to play Nebraska on Jan. The team had dropped the Kofi block video Thursday but has also kept the feed interactive with plenty of GIFs and videos. Kelsea Ansfield is usually the one who comes up with much of the content fans engage with on the men’s basketball social media accounts. One of the scenes was of Senator Bernie Sanders, whose pose sitting at President Joe Biden’s Inauguration ceremony Wednesday has turned into an internet meme over the last several days. Thursday night, the team tweeted a video of Kofi Cockburn blocking a shot followed by the ball traveling in various backgrounds. The men’s basketball social media team has focused this year on highlighting the behind-the-scenes of the basketball program with the content fans know and love. Some fans come for the content, others come for the memes.Īnd the Illinois’ basketball social media team is balancing keeping fans informed and including the latest social media trends in their content. In a college basketball season where the fans “watching” the game are mostly cardboard cutouts, social media is one of the sources where fans go to keep tabs on their favorite teams and athletes.
