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 app, 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 apps 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. [click to continue…]
Brendan Wilhide runs Sportsin140.com, a site that covers sports and social media. He is currently co-authoring a textbook on social media for the sports industry. Follow him on Twitter: @BrendanWilhide and @Sportsin140.
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July 1, 2010 was a date many basketball fans have had marked on their calendars for a couple of years now. The date marked the beginning of the National Basketball Association’s free agency period, one of the league’s most important summers ever. July 1 was the day that LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and a few other high-profile NBA’ers became free agents. Several teams, including the Chicago Bulls, the New York Knicks, the Miami Heat, and the New Jersey Nets, have made pitches to the big three free agents.
Just before July 1, the Nets began to unveil a 225 foot x 95 foot painted sign on the side of a building at 34th Street & 8th Avenue in midtown Manhattan. The wall features prominent images of the Nets’ new owner, 6’8″ Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, and part owner & hip-hop legend, Jay-Z. Above their faces is the phrase, “The Blueprint for Greatness.” The Nets feel strongly about the direction their team is heading, and the wall is a tribute to the positive growth this organization continues to make. [click to continue…]
Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.
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One topic I’ve noticed coming up a lot over the past few weeks, especially over here in the UK as our football teams are preparing for the new season, is how social media can add to fan experience and encourage more fans down to stadiums.
We’ve all read posts about how social media will benefit sports teams, and the benefits of constantly engaging with and having a dialogue with fans, so I don’t want to cover that in this post, I’d like to look into a few of emerging tools and explore ways in which they could improve fan experience and encourage fans down to the stadium.
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Ash is the co-founder of FundSport.com a grassroots sports community providing sports clubs and athletes from around the world with professional, easy-to-understand advice and articles on all aspects of grassroots sport including sponsorship, fundraising, the Internet, social media, club management, PR and marketing. As well as being passionate about the development of grassroots sport Ash also has a keen involvement in the sports social media industry. You can follow Ash on Twitter at @ashread14
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Imagine this for a second: You head out in the morning to shoot some hoops at your local basketball courts and you decide to “check in” using either Gowalla or Foursquare or any of the new geolocation platforms. Boom! You’re rewarded with free tickets to an NBA game. Later in the day, you head to Foot Locker, and when you check in, you get a special discount on any pair of Nike running sneakers. That night, when you head to your favorite sports bar and check in to let your friends know where you are, you’re gifted with an invitation to an exclusive VIP Playoffs party. The possibilities are endless.
Pretty soon, you won’t have to “imagine” any of this. In fact, as of last week, the first scenario (free tickets to an NBA game) is now a reality. On April 12th, VaynerMedia (the company I work for) helped facilitate a social campaign between the NBA’s New Jersey Nets and geolocation platform Gowalla. The campaign utilized Gowalla’s virtual item platform to distribute 250 pairs of virtual tickets in targeted locations (sports bars, outdoor parks, gyms) for April 12th’s New Jersey Nets v. Charlotte Bobcats basketball game. Users that found these virtual tickets were able to redeem the item for real tickets.
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Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.
Web | Twitter | LinkedIn | More Posts (49)
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 app, 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.
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