It can be argued that the best teams should have the best MLB Facebook Pages. If a team is successful on the field, you’d expect they’d be able to capitalize on fan fervor and strengthen their fan connection online. On the flip side, it might also be argued that the worst teams have nowhere to go but up and therefore have a lot more to gain by engaging their fans on Facebook.
What Makes Up A Good Facebook Fan Page?
Before we compare the top and worst MLB Teams Facebook Pages, let’s first consider the qualities that make up a good Facebook fan page. According to Inc., here are some highlights of what makes for a great page:
- Appearance
- Conversation between the moderator(s) and fans
- Offers and discounts
- Contests/trivia
- Videos
- Meetups or other opportunities for fans to get connected offline
- News
Ignite Social Media suggests the best Facebook Pages are measured by “total fan actions (meaning comments, likes and wall posts.)”. So, without further adieu, let’s take a look at the top and worst teams from the 2011 MLB season and see how they compare.
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Sam Miller is the founder of SamsDreamBlog.com. A graduate of the University of Illinois, he worked with various teams in sports information and received the Freedom Forum – NCAA Sports Journalism Scholarship for his achievements. At the University of Illinois, Miller regularly wrote feature stories about the football team. He has also served as communications intern for the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate. Prior to that, he worked as a communications intern for USA Basketball and as an associate reporter for MLB.com.
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Digital technology has come a long way. At first the sports universe was hesitant but now they have embraced it with open arms. In this article I would like to tip my cap to the impressive and custom ways teams and leagues have incorporated technology in sports.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Training camp is hard enough. The days are long and filled with practice, weight training, meetings, and watching game film. During their off time, players use the extra time to recuperate and study their oversized playbook. For this season the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaching staff decided to get rid of the heavy binder and take advantage of technology.
Every player on the Buccaneers was handed an iPad2 with the entire playbook, team materials, and videos stored on it. Instead of being confined to a facility to watch film or dragging around a phonebook-sized playbook, players have the luxury of studying or analyzing game film at their convenience.
Another digital benefit is how easy it is to track the iPad2 compared to regular notebooks. If the iPad2 ever fell into the wrong hands or was misplaced, all of the information stored on the device can be erased with a simple push of the button.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball has always been one step ahead of other leagues in embracing digital technology. A few of their achievements are:
- Streaming live games on their website in 2002
- Launching MLBlog.com in 2005
- Joining the iPhone app market in 2008
What is impressive about MLB is how innovative their ideas are and how hard they try to give their fans exactly what they want. For example, during the final three games of the 2010 season MLB and the Philadelphia Phillies test piloted the “At Bat” iPhone App which allowed fans to order and receive food without getting up from their seat.
During this current season T-Mobile rented out Android tablets to fans at Angel Stadium for only $10 per game. The goal was to give fans more options during the game. For the passionate fan this meant they could read the game program while the other fans could play Angry Birds between innings.
Author Byline: Dmitry Gamarnik is a sports fanatic and a Marketing Specialist with Blue Fountain Media, an ecommerce web site design powerhouse in New York City.
www.bluefountainmedia.com Dmitriy Gamarnik is a marketing analyst for Blue Fountain Media. He is passionate about two things – sports and marketing. Sports have been a big part of Dmitriy’s life since he learned to crawl. When he isn’t keeping up with the industry and providing top notch analysis in New York City, he works on his golf swing and coaches basketball in his home town of Plainsboro, NJ.
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Even for the modest fan, few sports teams that resonate in your mind stronger than the Chicago Cubs. You don’t have to be a baseball fan to know that the Cubs are an iconic brand (Trust me, I’m from Milwaukee).
I recently had the opportunity to listen to Wally Hayward, the Cubs’ Chief Sales and Marketing Executive who was brought on by new owner Tom Ricketts to solve this burning question: how can a historic team make changes that will respect the character of the ballpark while providing new growth opportunities?
The answer to that question is outlined in these three main goals of the Cubs:
1) Build a Championship Team
I found it interesting when Hayward said that the Cubs want all of their employees to be the best at their prospective jobs. Yes, that means they strive to have the best security desk personnel, office assistant, and janitor in all of sports. Why? Because being the best is part of the unique culture the new ownership has. “This job was lucrative to me because the family culture has the brand’s best interest in mind for the long run” said Hayward. [click to continue…]
Reuven is a fourth year student at Marquette University, earning degrees in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. He hopes to create sports marketing initiatives that drive value while focusing on charitable causes. Reuven lived in three countries and visited 13 total. He prides himself on being fluent in Hebrew, Russian, and English. People and idea lover. Connect with Reuven on Twitter @ReuvenFridmar
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The San Francisco Giants enjoyed a banner year in 2010: they won the World Series and embraced social media as a means of engaging diehard fans at AT&T Park and across the country. We sat down with Bryan Srabian, the Giants’ Director of Social Media, and asked him about the successes in 2010 and the future of social media in sports. [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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“It’s plenty of money. When you hit a certain point, enough’s enough. It’s just a matter of where you’re comfortable, where you’re happy, where your family’s the most comfortable, what team gives you the best chance to win. At this point, it’s about trying to win championships. That’s really the No. 1 thing for me. I think this team gives me the best chance to do that. That’s really it.” – Cliff Lee, 12/15/2010
Earlier this week, baseball’s most sought after free agent pitcher, Cliff Lee, signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. All the speculation was that he would go with either the New York Yankees (who offered him a deal worth $150 million) or the Texas Rangers. Instead, Lee accepted a $120 million deal that will keep him in Philly for the next five years. “It feels great to land back here in Philadelphia,” Lee said at a news conference at Citizens Bank Park.
Lee pitched for the Phillies during the second half of the 2008-09 season, leading them to the World Series, where they would ultimately lose to the Yankees. After the ’09 postseason ended, the Phillies decided they would not re-sign Lee. He was shocked and saddened, almost in tears when he appeared on TV a day later. Philadelphia fans were upset as well. Lee was beloved by the fan base from the moment he arrived. Not only was he a workhorse on the mound, but he had a good personality, no-nonsense attitude, and an unquestionable desire to win. Even though the Phillies would sign Roy Halladay (arguably baseball’s best pitcher) later in the offseason, fans still mourned the loss of Lee… until Monday night. [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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It’s been a tough couple weeks in the sports world. Legendary NHL Coach Pat Burns and esteemed sportswriter Jim Kelley both passed away this November due to Cancer. Although it’s easy to get lost within a game either as a player, sports professional, or simply a fan, incidents such as this really remind us that there’s more to life than sports.
So this week, instead of running through the week’s posts, I wanted to do things a little differently. Fellow writer Bear Heiser requested if we could repost his piece on the late Ron Santo, a Chicago Cubs legend who also passed away this week due to a fight with cancer. Santo never quite got the respect he deserved from the Baseball Hall of Fame so the least I could do is to post Bear’s piece. Ron Santo was Bear’s favorite player. This one’s for you, Ron: [click to continue…]
Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.
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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 light-hearted and relaxed, since most of us have traded in our weekday suits for football 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:
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Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.
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Tweetups have been one of the true successes of Twitter. Meeting new sports fans through social media is great, but nothing compares to the networking and bonding that occurs in face to face events. Embracing both social media and face to face relationships, the San Francisco Giants hosted the first tweetup for Major League Baseball earlier this season.
This wednesday, they are hosting another tweetup, called “Tweetup Happy Hour”. I am going to be there as well and would love to meet with you as well!
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At the Tribe Social Forum last week, Lewis Howes learned that Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro is set to fully embrace social media this fall, from the head office all the way down to the players. Especially in a season where the Indians suck aren’t as competitive, Mark sees more reason than ever to harness the power of social media to interact with their fan base. At least one other General Manager agrees; Vancouver Canucks’ Mike Gillis has decided to use Twitter for the upcoming hockey season.
While Gillis isn’t as enthusiastic as Shapiro, he notes in the Globe and Mail, “social media is not something that is going to go away, and I think it’s a way to get a little bit of a different perspective out there”. [click to continue…]
Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.
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I was recently invited to speak at Tribe Social Forum hosted by Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians on September 16th, 2010. It is an event focused on the increasing trend of social media usage in our society and networking with some of the finest folks in sports today.
Back when we did the Sports Business Survey, participants voiced that they wanted more networking opportunities and I believe this is a great chance to network with experts in the business. Attendees will learn how social media is changing the way we communicate, especially in the sports world.
I am humbled and excited to be part of a panel that includes some of the biggest movers and shakers in sports and social media, including:
- Mark Shapiro, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Cleveland Indians
- Anthony Castrovince, MLB.com Beat Writer
- Dominic Litten, Social Media Club Founder, Cleveland and Leader of Interactive Marketing at Point to Point, Inc.
- Lisa Zone, President of the American Advertising Federation, Cleveland and SVP at Dix & Eaton.
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