Email Blast

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Lauren Roberts and I'm passionate about joining the ESPN team as a social media professional. As an avid sports-lover and former athlete, with a background in social media, journalism and public relations, I could readily contribute to ESPN's social media strategy.

My passion for sports

As the child of an athlete and the grandchild of a successful coach, I was raised around athletics. I had a soccer ball at my feet and a basketball in my hands before I was old enough to join youth leagues. I always enjoyed being successful on the field, but I didn't find my true passion for sports until I watched the 1999 Women's World Cup, (below).

Brandi, Mia and Briana weren't just soccer players, they inspired a nation. The United States team brought together a nation that was, and still is, apathetic about soccer, and showed the world how compelling the game could be. The team ignited a fire within me and an entire generation of young girls. If I practiced every day, someday I might be a household name like the heroes whose faces were plastered on my bedroom walls.

My dreams of becoming a professional athlete didn't work out, but my passion for athletics increases every day.

Sports and social media

Yankees vs. Red Sox, Ohio State vs. Michigan and Celtics vs. Lakers...we've all witnessed how rivalries can divide passionate fans, but I love sports because they have the ability to bring all fans together. Jesse Owens' performance in Berlin, Germany during the 1936 Olympic games helped bring together a divided nation. In 2001 after the World Trade Center attacks, New Yorkers rallied together to support the Yankees in their playoff run.

Social media provides a platform to expand athletics' unifying reach. During the elite eight of last year's college basketball tournament, Louisville guard Kevin Ware went down with a gruesome leg injury, (above). Moments after the injury, basketball fans from around the nation took to Twitter and made #PrayForWare a trending topic in the United States.

After the Boston Marathon bombings, not only did #BostonStrong trend on Twitter, but a YouTube video of fans singing the national anthem at the Boston Bruins match trended on Facebook, (below).



Check out more of my favorite inspiring sports moments on my Pinterest page.

Why I want to work for ESPN

ESPN is the worldwide leader in sports coverage. I would be honored and privileged to work for an organization that is responsible for uniting passionate fans, no matter what colors they bleed or mascot they cheer for on game day.

Want to see my full resume or connect further? Connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram or Pinterest.

Thank you for your time and consideration.


Sincerely,

Lauren Roberts
laureneroberts@ufl.edu

Five Brands Take On Blogging

A blog is one of the best tools a company can use to connect with its customers. According to Dechay Watts, a blog gives your company a voice, creates a place to talk about your products and services, and it is a place to let your brand's personality shine. I took a close look at five different blogs to see how the brands are engaging with consumers, in the hopes that I could learn a couple things that I could use to improve my own blog. Here's what I found!

1. Express - EXPLife

The clothing store Express maintains a professional blog that's purpose is to inform young adult's about the latest fashion trends, and to showcase the brand's clothing. One thing that really stands out about EXPLife is how the site goes beyond push marketing, and really focuses on entertaining its intended audience. In a post about campus fashion you can listen to a popular Ke$ha song, there is a link for an app that puts your pictures into a collage, and there is a recipe for jungle juice (right). EXPLife goes beyond trying to sell their products, and posts things that are relevant to young adults. The targeted content on EXPLife reflects that Express is a brand for trendy, young adults.


Express marketers drive traffic to their blog by posting new content regularly. If there's always something new to see or read, people will continuously checkin with your blog. EXPLife also provides buttons that link to the brand's Facebook page, Twitter account, YouTube channel, Pinterest, Instagram and RSS feed, and there is a sidebar displaying the brand's latest tweets and Instagram posts. These social media links allow readers to connect with the brand and share the brand on multiple platforms, which magnifies the brand's reach and drives traffic to the blog. At the bottom of every EXPLife post, you have the option of liking the story on Facebook, tweeting the story, or sharing it on Google Plus. These share buttons, the links to social media networks and publishing content on a regular basis are the aspects that make EXPLife successful.

It would benefit Express to place its social media buttons higher on the blog, because that is the most viewed and clicked area. While some of the links were near the top, I had to scroll to the bottom of the page to find links to the brand's Pinterest and Instagram accounts.

Because EXPLife is a blog for a retail store, there are no advertisements on the blog. It wouldn't make sense to display clothing ads for any of Express' competitors! If the brand was going to add advertisements, they might consider showing advertisements for brands that they work with. On the blog there are video segments that Express does with GQ. Since the two brands are already working together, EXPLife could have advertisements for the magazine.