By: Adam White, @FOSAdam
Front Office Sports is proud to have sat down with Charlotte Males, the Digital & Social Media Assistant for the British Olympic Association. She is an alumnus of Brunel University where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Sports Science. She was named one of Sports Launch Top 30 under 30 in May of 2014. She was kind enough to stay up late to share her insight on social media and where it is headed, how she got her start and why if you know what YOU want, you will be successful.
What were your previous positions, if any, before your current position? How did those positions help you get to where you are today?
In my final year at Brunel, I had a position at Sportsnetworker.com as their marketing intern. That really gave me the opportunity to learn about social media, websites and digital media and how to grow those within a sports industry base.
After graduating, I had an internship with a digital media company based in London, which gave me a whole host of knowledge especially on the business side.
While I was working with them, I worked with the Ivy Sports Symposium to help them market their first event outside the United States.
All my experiences built upon one another and helped me get to where I am today.
As the Digital & Social Media Assistant for the British Olympic Association, what is a normal day like for you? What are some of your day-to-day challenges?
There is no normal day. We are a very small company with 40 employees overall and only two people on the digital team, my boss and I.
The morning starts out with me checking the Olympic sports news to see if there is anything going on or sharing. After that, I go through all of our social media accounts to make sure everything is okay and nothing happened over night. From there, I work with lots of stats and analytics of the back end of our website and social media channels making sure our engagement level is all right.
The other half of the day is building strategy and getting ready for Rio 2016. It is really hands on, which makes it fun.
What do you like best about working in digital media?
For me, I have always found sports as a way to communicate with people. No matter where you are, sports are there. When social media came along, it is just another massive channel to have access to the people and I feel like that aspect goes hand in hand with sports. I love the challenges.
What’s the highlight of your career to this point? What is your ultimate career goal?
My personal highlight was my nine-month volunteer role that I had to help put together the Global Sports Symposium. I put so much work into it and seeing it sold out and run smoothly, was the best feeling ever. I would love to work in the United States as the industry there is so vast and has so many opportunities.
How important is networking in your eyes?
For me, it is not the number one thing, it is important, but not something that you must know like the back of your hand. Knowing yourself and knowing where you want to go is the single most important thing because you know whom you want to talk to, you know what jobs to apply for and you know how to tailor your resume. If you know what YOU want, you will be successful.
What are some tips you have for people who want to be successful in the sports industry?
You have to find your voice. I think it would be silly to not be using social media. Start a blog, or do something to where your thoughts can be seen and to show employers the knowledge you have of the field. It shows dedication.
What is the best career advice you have been given so far?
I used a plan from a guy I knew and he always had the idea of trying to find one person each week from the industry to interact with so you could grow your network. That advice has helped quite a lot.
The other advice would be, “the more you give, the more you receive” It is crucial to be a giver in the sports world.
If there was one job in sports you could have for one day what would it be and why?
I would love to be an owner of a NBA franchise. I don’t know if you saw Michael Jordan the other day, but he looked like he was having so much fun as an owner so I think being an owner of a team or franchise would be quite fun.
What is one thing you think students or young sports professionals should do to help them stand out from the crowd?
I recommend being consistent with your message and to keep going. If you’re consistent and you keep going, someone will notice you.
How important is social media for sports? What do you think teams can do to make their social media presence better?
Social media is vital because it is apart of your fans everyday life and if you’re not involved, you’re missing out. Teams need to be less corporate and more fan oriented.
How can someone who wants to work in social media in sports get started? What steps should they take to help them get where they want to be?
I recommend you read and learn everything you can about social media. Twitter and Facebook, must be your bread and butter. I also think you should try and find your voice in a newer medium such as Pintrest or Google Plus and make one of those platforms your own and build a fan base so you have something to bring to the table for a possible employer.
Charlotte is starting a 6 week sports career coaching / mentoring program. She has achieved her dream job and she wants to give back and help others find theirs.
The program last 6 weeks and is totally free. All it costs is time, effort and determination to do whatever it takes to land a job in sports.
What you will get:
– 6 weeks of one on one coaching
– Weekly coaching calls lasting up to 2 hours (via skype)
– Personalized Action Plan
– Weekly homework tasks
-Work sheets
– Lifetime email support from me
If you are interested you can email her at hello@sportsinternuk.com
