Over the past four weeks I’ve been writing a short series of articles taking a look at how social media can be utilized to grow a sports team’s fan base, regardless of whether the team already has a large following or is starting from the grassroots level. You can find the posts in this series below….
Archive | Social Media in Sports
The Overtime Post – The Biggest Loser
Welcome to the second week of the Overtime Post, where we take a light and sarcastic look at the week’s posts and other sports and business news around the world. Other than my Vancouver Canucks who have won six in a row (and I suppose I have to give the San Fransciso Giants a little…
Playing Within Facebook’s Rules
(This is a guest post by Joseph Yi) While there are plenty of articles that discuss the advantages of running a promotion on Facebook, what few mention are the difficulties in actually getting a promotion that falls within Facebook’s promotions guidelines launched. In what can only be described as ambiguous and unclear, Facebook’s Promotions Guidelines…
David Barton-Ginger on All Blacks Rugby and Social Media
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing David Barton-Ginger, online social media manager for the New Zealand All Blacks Rugby team. Since we are based in the U.S, it was interesting to see what sports teams are doing all the way down in New Zealand. For those of you who don’t follow rugby, the All…
The Overtime Post
Recently, when we talked to you how we can improve Sports Networker, a lot of you gave us (essentially) one word: more!
Now, we have been bringing you posts Monday through Friday, give or take a sick day ever since our inception. This is about to change.
Welcome to The Overtime Post, where each weekend I will give you a casual highlight of our week’s posts, along with some of the hottest news in social media and sports business. The posts will be more fun and relaxed, as most of us have traded in our weekday suits for sports jerseys and foam fingers anyway.
Think of it as a weekly Sportscenter – something you can read between downs or during timeouts. I know a lot of you have a lot of trick-or-treating to do, so without further ado, this week’s posts:
Sports 2.0 and the Age of Social Media
Whenever I get a chance to watch my Buckeyes crush opponents on television these days, I always catch myself checking my Twitter stream or Facebook feed in between plays and during commercial breaks. I may catch a commercial here or there, but for the most part, I am too busy socializing online about the game to pay attention.
Social media has become a regular part in my sports-watching experience. For kids growing up now, it’s a whole new ballgame than the one we grew up where we had to bear through every single advertisement impatiently wondering if there will be another first down. The geniuses at Espresso’s Infiltrators capture this essence perfectly in the deck below. They go through the age of sports that us ‘old folks’ went through and compare it with the new age of social media: sports 2.0.
Where Are The Sports Social Networks?
Being that I’m a huge sports fan and an avid social media user, I always wonder why there are no good sports-themed social networks. Many have tried, but none have succeeded.
In my opinion, sports and social media are a perfect marriage. Sports fans love to talk about sports. We spend hours of every day watching, reading, and talking about the teams and players that matter to us. Sports fans also love to show and demonstrate our pride. We want to show the world our allegiances. And most importantly, there are plenty of instances where sports and social media have succeeded!
I spoke to my boss and great friend AJ Vaynerchuk about it. He brought up the valid question: “is there really a problem there that needs to be fixed?”
I’m not sure of the answer, but I’m going to talk it through right now:
5 Ways the National Football League Can Use Geolocation Apps
Geolocation apps are the latest craze in social media in the sports industry. Just last month, the National Hockey League launched its own official Foursquare branding page. Just this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the National Basketball Association is developing its own geolocation application for the iPhone and Android smartphones. “Turnstile,” the NBA’s application, will allow fans to check in at NBA arenas and while watching NBA games on television this season. It is expected to be released later this month.
While the NHL and NBA have embraced geolocation applications like Foursquare and Gowalla, the National Football League and its teams have yet to join the geolocation frenzy. Indeed, the Washington Redskins are the only NFL team with an official Foursquare page and badge.
Here are five tips that NFL teams can use as they embrace the mobile geolocation frenzy currently sweeping the sports industry.
Creating Great Content with Social Media
This is part of a short blog series where we take a look at how social media can be utilized to grow a sports team’s fan base, regardless of whether the team already has a large following or is starting from the grassroots level. You can see the other posts here.
In the first two posts of this series I covered the importance of listening in social media and turning your sports team into a social experience. In last week’s post I briefly touched on the importance of content. Today’s post we’re going to take a deeper look into this subject.
You Have Great Content
Everyone has the ability to produce great content, whether you’re an amateur soccer team or an NBA franchise. Producing great content is not about glitz and glamour. If you’re making videos it’s not the quality of the camera that makes the difference; with blogs it’s not the widgets and plug-ins that make it successful. It’s the content.
Think about what content people will want to see: fans, players, coaches, sponsors – what appeals to them? What will make them continue to pay an interest in you? And importantly when you’re looking to expand your fan base and reach new fans, what will they share? That is your great content.
Lingerie Football League Fans Flooding New Social Media Platform
(This is a guest post by Robert Chilver)
The Lingerie Football League recently kicked-off their new season and if the popularity of their new social media platform is any indication, fans are taking notice.
Adage Technologies, a leader in website and application development, partnered with the Lingerie Football League (LFL) and Maximum Fantasy Sports to create the revolutionary LFL “Fanzone,” a new social media outlet for league fans looking to interact with their favorite players and teams.
Launched in July 2010, over 15,300 users are already signed up to participate in the LFL Fanzone. Fans can customize their profile with their personal information, pictures, photos, videos and links to their favorite players and teams. Users can then ‘friend’ other profiles, chat on message boards and connect with specific teams, players and league officials.
A Simple @Reply Goes A Long Way
I work with professional sports organizations and athletes for a living, consulting them on best practices in social media branding. That being said, before working as a social media consultant (I hate that term), I am a massive sports fan (GO PHILLIES!). I’ve loved sports for as long as I can remember, and ever since I realized I would not be a professional athlete, I’ve always dreamt of working with them in some capacity. I have several athletes’ numbers stored on my phone, and I would be lying if I said I think it’s no big deal. Because I don’t think that. I think it’s freaking awesome! That’s why I understand this: a simple @reply goes a long way…
Interview with NHL Sports Agent Scott Norton on Social Media, Twitter Campaigns
Sports agent Scott Norton represents some of the top players and prospects in the National Hockey League today including current Los Angeles Kings captain and 2010 U.S. Olympian Dustin Brown.
While Scott is used to his clients making headlines with their on-ice play, Norton made headlines of his own for a charity campaign that he started on Twitter called ‘Make My Day Mondays’.
I recently got to chat with Scott one on one about the movement he started, why he joined Twitter and what he sees as the future of social media use in the sports industry. Here is what he had to say: