Meet Erin Ashley Simon, Our Community Member of the Week

Name: Erin Ashley Simon

Job: Host, Journalist, Consultant & Producer

Company: Freelance

LinkedIn: Erin Ashley Simon

In 140 characters or less, tell us who you are and how you got to where you are today.

My name is Erin and I’m a content strategist, producer, host, and journalist. I got here with hard work, networking and adapting.

What’s one trend in media or marketing that you’re buying or selling?

Micro-content has been tremendous and pivotal for personal branding. Professional athletes are starting to understand that they don’t need a highly produced content series with media companies to effectively tell their stories. Insta-stories, tweets, and short video clips are just as impactful when done the right way as opposed to some long-form content. Players throughout the year should be constantly figuring out ways to put out these short-form pieces because at times micro-content can get more views and shares than the connected long-form pieces. Developing this helps to create more opportunities for personal brands to expand into other markets via content over time like esports, music, etc.

How do you define creativity?

The three I’s: Imagination mixed with innovation and inspiration. It’s not always about reinventing the wheel, sometimes it’s about modifying it. When it comes to developing content series or strategies, I always enjoy letting my mind roam. No matter how crazy the idea is, I always write everything down. Creativity should never be hindered, it should be guided. Allowing your mind to roam freely is truly a great experience especially from a content standpoint. After that, it’s really about breaking it down to what’s practical, and evaluating how to get from point A to point B; figuratively speaking, what I like to call, the mind map

What’s the project or campaign that you’re proudest of? Why?

I’m super proud of the work that I did for a media series called, “Inner Circle.” This online show gave an introspective look into the minds and lives of athletes and celebrities. This was a new series at “Cycle” that I created with the team and developed from one of my concepts. Our first episode was with an artist named, “Ugly God,” and that episode received a lot of positive feedback. The second episode, however, with Angela Rye pushed us well over the million views mark collectively. This was a first-time achievement for me with a series so I was very excited about that!

What are you working on right now? Any exciting future plans that you’re able to share?

Right now, I cover Esports for The Shadow League, I co-host an NBA2K League Twitch show called, “The Post Up,” and I do content development and strategy consultation. I have some exciting things in the works but can’t share them just yet!

As a connected fan, what’s the best piece of sports content that you have recently consumed?

I really enjoy @WorldWideWob’s tweets and live commentary during NBA games. He’s found a way to put his unique twist and style into basketball coverage, as well as, build an impressive and active community. I love watching the interaction his fans have with him, and also how he holds discussions with his fans on the content they send him.

What’s been the biggest high and low of working in sports?

High: Being able to talk about sports, be around sports, work in sports, create content around sports, etc. I love watching and playing sports, I always have, so being able to do something that I love every single day is a blessing.

Low: There are times when I’m the only woman in the room, and even times when I’m the only black person in the room. Although, I’ve worked at some really great places I’ve had moments where lack of representation has made it challenging for me at times in more ways than one.

What’s one element of the sports industry that you’d like to see change?

I would like to see more diversity, especially in higher-up positions. The sports industry and at times sports media has made great progress, but there are still some things that need to improve and get better.

What’s an example of one way in which MiS has positively impacted your career?

MiS is wonderful! It has given me a supportive community that I can count on. Everyone is helpful, nice, and genuine. Whether I need career advice or simply want to talk about the latest NBA news, I have a community where I can be myself completely.

Get to know more members of the Hashtag Sports and MiS communities here.

Hear more from leaders and creators across the sports industry this June at Hashtag Sports, an annual conference designed for media and marketing professionals.