As a second year Sports Journalist student at CSU Bathurst I was offered the incredible opportunity of covering the 8 CSU teams that competed at UniSport Nationals Div 2 in the Gold Coast as the Media and Communications Officer. Here are the key things that I learnt whilst in this position:
1. Planning and time management is crucial:
As all 8 teams played at different times during the day in different areas, it was crucial to plan ahead of time – what sports needed to be covered on what day and which social media platform it would be posted to.
2. But also to be adaptable:
Even though it is important to have a set plan, it is vital to be open to adapting and changing plans depending on the amount of content needed from particular teams and the ability to generate enough information on each team.
3. How to keep a balance of different forms of content:
Keeping an equal balance on the many styles of content on different social media platforms is also a key part of being a successful Media Officer. Knowing what type of content should be posted on what platform and how to reach different audiences is important. More casual content like a boomerang of the athletes in-action is better suited to being posted on the CSU Sport Instagram Story, in comparison to game results, which are more suited to the CSU Sport Facebook page.
4. What types of content grabs the attention of a university demographic based audience:
Short and straight-to-the-point type stories that give viewers direct content and results is what will get views from Uni students. This means that longer posts with large amounts of detail aren’t necessary, even in the daily wrap-up posts, as it would not engage audiences for long enough.
Overall, it was an amazing experience and I feel privileged to have been a part of Team CSU. To be able to meet students from all CSU campuses and witness them come together at a national level with the CSU spirit and competitiveness.
