UT’s annual Social Media Week (UTSMW) concluded Thursday evening, March 2, with a keynote address from Clay Travis, the 37-year-old sports analyst from Nashville who writes for “Outkick the Coverage” and hosts a daily radio show.
“I grew up like a lot of you probably, being a University of Tennessee fan, going to games,” Travis said. “And that’s kind of how I ended up doing what I do now.”
UTSMW promotes using social media as a tool for business and effective communication and aims to educate students on how to use internet platforms responsibly. The organizers solicit speaker suggestions from students, and for the past three years, Travis’s name was overwhelmingly recommended.
His visit provided students with a peek into his sports media success, and his long-awaited visit did not disappoint. An hour before the event began, a line formed outside the Alumni Memorial Building auditorium as visitors vied for a front row seat. The audience was so large, in fact, that the organizers set up an overflow room with a live stream of the talk.
Travis’ first lesson for the crowd: take risks.
“A lot of you are terrified to take risks,” Travis said. “Because you go to college, graduate and get a degree, you’ve done everything right … to end up where?”
Travis took a chance on his first website and turned the risk of it into a very successful reward.
Travis also provided insight into his rise to popularity, discussing his undergraduate experience at George Washington University and his time at Vanderbilt University, where he earned a law degree before going on to start a law career in the Virgin Islands. Before long, Travis said he experienced a “quarter-life crisis,” which motivated him to explore more career opportunities; and by 2004, he had begun writing online.
The first website Travis created with friends, DeadlyHippos, preceded his contribution to CBS Sports, Deadspin and FanHouse. During the same time, he also wrote and published two books.
Travis said these jobs, however, left him unfulfilled; and when FanHouse shut down unexpectedly, he was left without a job. But what Travis soon realized, he said, was that if he could garner loyal readers, it wouldn’t matter where he wrote, just that he kept writing.
“The name on the back of the jersey means a lot more than the name on the front of the jersey,” Travis said.
Travis knew that if his readers loved his writing, they would follow him no matter for what website he wrote. With this mentality, Travis founded “Outkick the Coverage” and credited the success of his website with his ability to distribute content quickly and directly to his audience using social media.
Advancements and updates on the social network continue to benefit Travis. The launch of Periscope by Twitter and Facebook live helped him reach broader audiences for no additional cost to him or his viewers. Travis said understanding the business and being adaptable to these advancements give him edge in the media industry.
Travis ended his address by giving the audience, what he considers, the four tenets to success: be smart, be original, be funny and be authentic.
“You can be those four things and make a living in sports, or any other media, for the rest of your life,” Travis said.
Keegan Mix, a freshman in business administration, said she admired Travis’ honesty and familiarity with his audience.
“I liked that he was really vocal, and he wasn’t scripted, either,” Mix said. “He was really interactive, and you could see where he was coming from with most of his stances.”
Director of the School of Advertising and Public Relations Maureen Taylor said the UTSMW committee was likewise pleased by the speaker and the turnout of the event, commenting that Travis’ presentation and personality are exactly what the week-long program hopes to provide.
“We have connections,” Taylor said. “But it always goes back to what are they going to give to the students, because it is mainly done for the students.”
Social Media Week 2018 is already in the planning stages with past guest speakers requesting to return to campus and students voicing fresh suggestions for next year.
To view Clay Travis’ work, visit http://www.outkickthecoverage.com. To make speaker suggestions for next year’s UTSMW, contact PRSSA.
Clay Travis, the 37-year-old sports analyst from Nashville who writes for “Outkick the Coverage” and hosts a daily radio show, was the keynote speaker for UT's annual Social Media Week.
