Steel City FC
When I began working with Steel City FC, the club already had strong culture, coaching, and community. What it lacked was a clear, unified digital direction.
The website, email, and social channels all existed, but they weren’t working together. Each told part of the story. None reinforced it consistently.
Rather than chasing individual tactics, I focused on alignment — clarifying the role of each channel, establishing shared standards, and prioritizing platforms based on audience behavior. The goal wasn’t activity for its own sake, but communication that worked together.
How I Approached It
This work pushed me outside my comfort zone.
I didn’t come in with formal training in digital strategy. What I did have was a clear vision for what the club’s digital presence could be, and an instinct for the level of quality and coordination that vision required.
From there, I learned quickly and deliberately — studying platform behavior, best practices, and trends, while also building the skills needed to execute at that standard.
I treated the club’s digital presence as a system, not a set of channels. All of this was done within the club’s existing resources, without expanding the marketing staff.
Signals of Progress
As structure improved, outcomes followed.
Reach and engagement increased as existing efforts began working together instead of in isolation. Messaging became more consistent. Internal clarity improved. Sponsors had clearer value propositions. Families better understood what the club stood for and how to engage with it.
None of this came from chasing trends. It came from discipline.
What This Reinforced
This work reinforced several things for me.
Personally, it validated my instincts and my eye for quality in the digital space. Seeing small decisions compound into meaningful outcomes helped quiet much of the impostor syndrome that comes with stepping into new territory.
Professionally, it reinforced how much nuance matters. Small optimizations — clearer bios, stronger calls to action, more intentional repetition — stack faster than most people expect, especially when messages are reinforced across channels rather than delivered once in isolation.
It also reinforced that best practices matter, that the digital landscape changes quickly, and that staying effective requires constant learning.
Most importantly, it showed me that meaningful gains don’t usually come from massive overhauls. They come from clearer standards, sharper execution, and better coordination — squeezing more out of what already exists.
Over time, this work shaped how I lead — trusting my judgment, staying curious, and taking responsibility for turning vision into execution.