The digital teams from the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys have combined forces in a joint social media in sports initiative for Sunday’s game at Cowboys Stadium.
The winner of the #socialshowdown will be determined by the team that accumulates the most combined Twitter followers and Facebook ‘Likes’ between now and the end of their game.
The social media in sports effort is an innovative way at strengthening already well-recognizable brands in addition to gaining followers and increasing fan engagement on the social media platforms — so far, #SteelersNation holds a slight four percent advantage over #CowboysNation in the #socialshowdown.
Joe Favorito, a veteran communications, marketing, and branding specialist, commented on the #socialshowdown through his blog this past week.
“What the effort shows is a great willingness by two mega-franchises to try something different to engage and grow. It costs little to do and has tremendous revenue and promotional possibilities,” Favorito said. “While it is true that other rivals have gone to the social space to engage fans during big rivalry weeks, those efforts are usually exclusive of the competitor. Working together gives this effort an extra push, some extra potential and the ability to see on both sides what works and what doesn’t.”
While there necessarily isn’t a corporate sponsor or an aggregate platform that captures fans’ interactions, as Mr. Favorito points out, this is certainly a worthwhile venture that many college and professional teams might look to for future ideas.
“It is probably something that should and will be expanded and replicated by college, high school and pro teams very quickly, with the only limit being the cooperation and foresight of those involved,” Favorito added. “How about taking the idea to Notre Dame and Alabama.”
Social Media In Sports — NFL Team Links
Pittsburgh Steelers — Facebook | Twitter ……………. Dallas Cowboys — Facebook | Twitter
A Social Media In Sports #SocialShowdown, Dec. 16. 2012
Cowboys, Steelers Facing Off In Social Showdown bit.ly/SZqdfn
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 14, 2012
Love it! @steelers vs @dallascowboys in social media battle royale coyle.me/STHYeQ #fanographie twitter.com/sports20/statu…
— Pat Coyle (@sports20) December 13, 2012
Ahead of Sunday’s game, the Steelers & Cowboys are having a #socialshowdown to see which team can get the most new followers.
— Alicia Jessop (@RulingSports) December 13, 2012
Photo Credit: Steelers Blog
[...] The digital teams from the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys have joined forces in the ultimate social media in sports showdown for this Sunday's game. [...]