Company: Nike
Position: Nike Global Social Media
Stephanie’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulst/
Nike Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nike/
Have you ever considered wanting to post on social media for a sportswear company but don’t know who to look for? If this sounds like you, I have the perfect person for you! Meet Stephanie Souza, she works at Nike in the Global Social Media division. She is responsible for writing and posting stories and videos about athletes that the company sponsors from all over the world. Stephanie has a passion for sports and spreading the word about how great the NIke company is, which is one of the reasons why I was drawn to her. Another reason is that she has a passion for sports and being able to share that passion with the rest of the world. Furthermore, I was drawn to her because she is a female in the sports world doing things that were once thought impossible for a woman. The fact that she is opening the door and showing women that it is possible to work in the sports industry is a major reason why I am drawn to her.
In her work, she is responsible for the Instagram content for the Nike company. When she makes these posts she has many rules to follow that are given by her regarding what she can and can’t post. According to an academic article written by Mastro “male reporters are more consistent than female reporters” (2012). This quote points out how in the sports world female reporters are seen as less reliable, which is not always the case. Stephanie notices this when she is at the office as there are more men than women in the office. Stephanie hopes that this will change in the next couple of years as more women enter the sports world. She is able to keep her Instagram posts for each athlete separate from one another by having separate highlights on the Nike Instagram page. Each highlight on the Nike Instagram page contains the player’s interviews and game highlights while keeping out their confidential information. An example of this can be seen on the Instagram page as she has a highlight for each basketball team as well as for the Nike company.
From Stephanie there are a few takeaways that I can apply to my life. The first one being that she classifies her athletes by highlight on the Instagram page. This is important for me as I can apply this concept to my future jobs. Another important takeaway that Stephanie has taught me is the importance of keeping athlete’s information confidential. I have noticed the importance of this and will definitely keep it in mind when I am working in corporate communications in sports in the future. For Stephanie she sees herself working at Nike for the foreseeable future. She has dreams that there will be more women who want to not only report but work in the sports world in other aspects as well. Stephanie has confidence that there will eventually be more females than males in the sports world.
Citation:
Mastro, D., Seate, A. A., Blecha, E., & Gallegos, M. (2012). The Wide World of Sports Reporting. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 89(3), 458–474. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699012447922
