Twitter Sports Marketing Guide

by Lewis Howes | July 23rd, 2010 | View Comments

We are excited to introduce the Sports Networker’s exclusive Twitter sports marketing guide. We have analyzed the top twitter users in sports and formulated some key steps on how teams are marketing their brand to interact and build a relationship with their fans, helping create some of the highest follower counts on Twitter.

Maintaining a strong relationship with your fans is probably one of the most important aspects of a sports team off the ice/field/court. Social networks are effective tools to improve those relationships with die hard supporters while also finding new fans. From the Lakers to Real Madrid, we have broken down their best techniques into five steps:

When in Doubt, Tweet
Respect the Fan
Use the Resources You Have
Follow Back and Listen
If it isn’t Broken, Don’t Fix it

While every sport and team appeals to different fan bases, utilizing social media is something that every sports organization can capitalize on. No matter if you’re involved with an amateur basketball team or in charge of a pro football team, you’re going to want to take a look to see the top ways to improve your brand. Remember, all support and encouragement counts when you’re chasing for the championship. Download the free guide by filling in your name and email below to see exactly how the top sports teams put out their ‘A game’ and learn ways to grow your own following.

Download your free copy of the Twitter Sports Marketing Guide by entering your name and email below and you will receive an email with the link for the PDF shortly.

Share

Phollow Phriday: A Twitter Resource for the Philly Sports Fan

by Sam Taggart | July 16th, 2010 | View Comments

There are few things in life (family, friends, & my cat) that I love more than the city of Philadelphia and sports. I was born and raised in the city, and I’m a lifelong Philly sports fan. One of my first sports memories is Joe Carter hitting a three-run walk-off home run against closer Mitch Williams, propelling the Toronto Blue Jays into a World Series victory over his hometown Phillies. Sigh.

A big complaint about today’s Internet is that there is “so much noise” and it’s too hard to find the content you care about among all the other stuff out there. I agree, there is a lot of noise, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I’d rather everyone had a voice than only a select few. Plus, Twitter is a great platform for getting through the noise and to the stuff you really care about. Why? Because you choose the people you follow. Essentially, you choose the amount of noise you want to see and hear. If you only want to follow people who talk about peanut butter, that is entirely possible.

Share

Top 10 Most Followed Sports Teams on Twitter

by Michael Fitzsimmons | May 27th, 2010 | View Comments

It’s no surprise that sports teams all over the world are realizing the power of 140 characters or less. Twitter allows organizations to keep their fan base updated on events, stories, and up to the minute scoring, which has resulted in a growth of the number of followers for certain teams. Teams in major sports markets have taken their exposure to the next level through Twitter, while teams in smaller markets are using this tool to propel themselves into the social media spotlight.

1. Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) 1,520,444 followers @Lakers

The Lakers know how to win basketball games— they’re in pursuit of back-to- back NBA championships. L.A. also knows how to take advantage of Twitter. It’s no surprise that the Lakers have such a massive following being one of the most popular NBA teams in one of the most populated cities in the world. They’ve maintained their followers by keeping fans entertained with postgame quotes from players and coaches. They also sustain followers through a constant flow of stories that will undoubtedly build an even larger following of Lakers fans on the Web.

Share

Now is the Best Time to be a Sports Fan

by Ash Read | March 23rd, 2010 | View Comments

As some of you may know I’m a huge basketball fan and I live in the UK. A few years ago this meant following the NBA could be difficult at times. It often resulted in struggling to stay awake at work or school after staying up until 4 a.m. the previous night to watch a game.

The explosion of social media has made it so much easier to keep up with what’s going on not just in the NBA but across the world of sports. It has also given fans unparalleled access to their favorite teams and athletes. Personally, I feel there has never been a better time to be a sports fan. Here are some of my best reasons why:

Behind the scenes access: At no time in the past have fans had such insight into what goes on behind the scenes. This was really highlighted at the recent NBA All-Star weekend where many players were sharing behind the scenes videos and images on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Share

Sports Debate: What Athletes Should Be Using Social Media?

by Ryan Stephens | March 8th, 2010 | View Comments

Question: Who can benefit more from social media: small-time or big-time athletes?

Ryan: My initial reaction is small time athletes and big-time athletes once their career is in a decline. I will start with the argument for small-time athletes. Upper echelon and mainstream athletes already have significant followings. Many have endorsement deals, sell tons of merchandise, etc. Why do we like certain athletes? Because they’re A) really good at what they do. B) something about their personal life, approach, style, etc. resonates with us.

Big-time athletes have two big advantages: 1) They’re better players. 2) This enables them to be on television more, do more interviews and enable the fans to get more insight into their personality. On both accounts, it’s easier to “like” the more mainstream athlete. Social media helps level the second playing field. Dwayne Wade is always going to be a better basketball player than Charlie Villanueva, but now that Charlie has a presence on Twitter fans get significantly more opportunities to witness his personality in action and grow their affinity for him as a person.

Thoughts?

Share

Should teams look beyond Facebook & Twitter?

by Ash Read | February 25th, 2010 | View Comments

We’re now starting to see more and more teams getting involved with social media. This is great, but I think it’s time they start to look beyond only utilizing the major platforms (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook) and really start to embrace more emerging and niche platforms (Ustream, Tumblr, Flickr).

Every platform offers something different and therefore appeals to different types of people. Facebook and Twitter are (currently) more popular than others and should demand more time and resources, but surely the fans that use these emerging platforms deserve some love too? And surely there is value in these platforms for teams?

Share

Pay Attention to the Little Things (and People)

by Sam Taggart | January 29th, 2010 | View Comments

An amazing aspect of social media, for brands, is the ability to listen to your fans and customers. They will tell you when you do something great, but more importantly, they will tell you when you fail. The real-time web has given brands an opportunity like never before, the chance to listen and respond to actual people making legitimate claims about your product or service. The information is there, it’s the brand’s job to pay attention.

If you don’t already know, I work for VaynerMedia, doing online and social media consulting for brands, with a focus in the sports industry. Two of my clients include the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association, and the New York Jets, of the National Football League. I find it important to check out the competition. Sometimes, it’s from a competitor’s weaknesses or mistakes, that you find the keys to success. Yesterday, while I was running through the social media outlets of teams in both the NBA and the NFL, trying to find things they were doing right and wrong, I found this:

http://www.facebook.com/memhisgrizzlies

Share

Social Media Report Card – Steve Nash

by Sam Taggart | January 13th, 2010 | View Comments

In November 2009, I introduced a series of articles I called ‘Social Media Report Card,’ where I graded each of the four major sports leagues – NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB – on their social media presence. I made a point of being harsh. In particular, I criticized each of the leagues for only utilizing the major platforms (Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube) and not adopting some of the emerging platforms (Tumblr, Dailybooth, and Ustream), as well as for not interacting enough with the fans. The series received a lot of positive feedback, so I’ve decided to continue with my ‘Social Media Report Cards,’ this time focusing on individual athletes.

I chose to start with Steve Nash for a few reasons. First, Nash is one of my favorite athletes from any sport right now, which is saying a lot since I am typically a hometown fan (Phillies, Eagles, Sixers). Second, he has always been incredibly entertaining to watch on the court, and has also done some really cool and fun stuff off the court. Third, I think he is one of the most underrated social media users in the sports world. So without further ado, here we go!

Visibility (B+)

Steve Nash might have joined Twitter because of his former teammate, and social media rock star Shaquille O’Neal (@The_Real_Shaq & @The_Real_Nash), but he has fully embraced it and created a really great presence. He has more than 110,000 followers. Nash is also on Facebook, with over 575,000 fans. And to complete the trifecta, he has a YouTube account where he has racked up more than 630,000 total upload views. Before all of these, Nash was challenging fans to competitions (e.g. most free throws in a minute, staring contest) on Baron Davis’ social network, I Beat You. While I haven’t seen him go live on Ustream or snap photos on DailyBooth, Nash has embraced social media across a variety of platforms.

Share

Twitter and the Premier League

by Lewis Howes | January 11th, 2010 | View Comments

(This is a guest article by Ash Read)

The social media phenomenon is still taking off here in the UK, especially amongst our sports teams and athletes, who are severely behind their US counterparts. We’ve yet to see a sporting superstar utilize social media to the same level as Shaq, Dwight Howard and others have across the pond. Many of our bigger clubs have yet to recognize the power of social media. They broadcast news, results and details of any promotional offers, but in many cases there is very little interaction and engagement with the fans, which is a key aspect of social media, isn’t it?

In an age where the Premier League has a huge presence on the web and a huge global fanbase, it’s surprising there aren’t more Premier League players using Twitter. There is potential for these players to use social media in building their personal brands and following.

Share

What Happened to the Old Gilbert Arenas?

by Sam Taggart | January 6th, 2010 | View Comments

Update: Today, Gilbert Arenas was suspended indefinitely and without pay from the National Basketball Association. Keep in mind that this article was published before the suspension was announced.

A couple of months ago, I wrote a post about Gilbert Arenas, calling him the true pioneer of social media. Far before Shaq had 2.7 million followers (the population of Jamaica), Arenas was blogging for the NBA. Sure, social media wasn’t quite as “social” back then. Gilbert wasn’t directly interacting with fans, but he was providing us with an inside look into his life on and off the court. Arenas wrote his last post towards the end of 2008, after he’d sustained a couple of injuries. By then, he’d already established himself as the first professional athlete to really succeed with social media.

For more than a year, Arenas stayed away from social media. Shaq exploded onto the scene with his ‘Random Acts of Shaqness’ and ‘Yo Mama’ jokes. He’s been the unquestionable sweetheart of the sports and social media world. Then, in early December, Arenas created a Twitter account, and sent out the message that he wouldn’t tweet again until he got one million followers. I was thrilled to see Gilbert back in the space, and I thought that he’d get his million in no time.

Share