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.

Content (A+)

Content is where Steve Nash shines. He is very creative and has a great sense of humor. Have you seen the video where he asks fans to vote for him in the 2010 All Star game? Or the ‘Step Brothers’ parody trailer he shot with Baron Davis? There was also the video he shot, and presumably organized, of his Phoenix Suns teammates singing Lionel Richie’s ‘All Night Long.’

If you head to SteveNash.org, his organization’s website, you’ll see that Nash also knows how to organize a great promotion. He is giving away a pair of signed, game-worn shoes to someone who donates to the foundation on six different dates. Pretty cool.

Fan Interaction (B)

Nash picks and chooses who he interacts with. On Facebook, he never gets into the comments from the fans, however in some status updates, he does specifically mention how much he appreciates their interaction. On Twitter, Nash occasionally retweets a fan and adds commentary of his own, but he engages more with high profile users than average fans. The thing that saves him is that a lot of his videos are really calls to action to the fans. He engages and interacts through his videos, by asking them to beat him in a competition, or vote for him in the All Star game. The fact that he films most of his videos with a Flip cam and speaks directly to the audience makes him more personal than most.

Consistency (B+)

Professional athletes have demanding schedules, especially during the season, and I don’t expect them to be spending all of their free time on social media. By posting every couple of days (on average) on Facebook, and nearly every day on Twitter, Nash is doing a solid job. During the off season, I would hope to see him get a little more involved.

Overall (A-)

The most important part of using social media, for a brand, is authenticity. The fact that Steve Nash creates very personal content and seems to be behind all of his social media endeavors means a lot. My biggest critique is the lack of interaction with his fans through Twitter and Facebook. I may be a little biased because of my Nash fanboy status, but I really do think that he is underrated, especially from a content standpoint. I’m just looking forward to what he does next.

What do you think of Steve Nash’s social media presence? Were you paying attention to him before you read this article? Who would you like me to highlight in future editions of ‘Social Media Report Card’?

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Images by Keith Allison

About Sam Taggart

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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For professional athletes, Twitter can be an incredibly valuable tool. It is a way to connect with current fans and to earn new ones. It is also an alternative to traditional media, providing direct access the public. Twitter is a tool for crisis management, where athletes can accept criticism and attempt to change opinions. Most importantly, Twitter serves as a channel where athletes can show off their personality, the side the public does not normally get to see. There are many, many athletes on Twitter, from average players to superstars. But I can think of a few in particular who are not on and should be.

#1. Michael Vick

Three years ago, Michael Vick was a superstar athlete, one of the most recognizable players in the NFL, and a very, very rich man. Two and a half years ago, he was implicated in organizing and funding a massive, illegal dog-fighting ring. And two years ago, Vick was bankrupt and in prison, serving a 23-month sentence for his crime. Now, he is back in the NFL and has a spot on the Philadelphia Eagles roster. He has apologized profusely, claiming he is a changed man and ready to turn his life around. He is the perfect candidate for social media and for Twitter. In his ongoing effort to rebrand himself, Twitter would give him the ability to turn critics into fans through personal engagement and honesty. He could also post Twitpics and videos showing evidence of the community outreach he has been doing and will continue to do. Twitter could be an important part of his rebranding process.

#2. Barry Bonds (and other steroids users)

I have already whined about the lack of MLB players on social media and on Twitter. But the one group of players that absolutely needs to be on Twitter are those who have been accused or found to have taken steroids. Barry Bonds has been the poster child for the Steroids Era, and took a huge hit to his image once allegations of his steroids use surfaced. Part of this fallout was due to the fact that he allegedly took steroids, but perhaps an even larger part of it was Bonds’ personality and the way he handled the situation. Twitter would give Bonds, and all other alleged steroids users, the chance to explain themselves and clear the negative air surrounding them as much as possible.

#3. Brett Favre

A couple years ago, when Brett Favre retired (the first time), most people accepted him as one of the greatest quarterbacks the NFL had ever seen and a first ballot Hall of Famer. He held almost every significant quarterback record, including the record for most career passing touchdowns. Favre was generally well liked by fans, and beloved in Green Bay. He was the Levis jeans guy. Then came his ridiculous offseasons of toying with the media and with the fans, unretiring and retiring seemingly every few weeks. Unsurprisingly, many fans lost respect for Favre. Had he been on Twitter, he could have gone around the media to communicate directly with the fans. I don’t think that it is too late to repair his image. He still has time to get on Twitter and change opinions.
(Check out these awesome, but fake accounts: @BrettFavre and @Fake_BrettFavre).

#4. Lebron James

Quite simply, he is the King. He is one of the two or three most exciting and talented players of this generation, and might be an all-time great when his career comes to an end. Not only is he incredible to watch on the court, but he has shown a lot of personality off the court as well. People are captivated by Lebron James, and with Twitter, he has a chance to take his popularity to a different level. Shaq is a superstar athlete with an amazing personality who has completely dominated Twitter. With the NBA’s strong presence, Lebron’s abilities and character, and Shaq as a teammate for guidance, there is no reason he cannot do the same. Ironically, it has not been a great off season for Lebron. Between walking off the court without shaking his opponents’ hands after losing to the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals and confiscating the dunk video, he has definitely hurt his brand. Then again, it’s nothing a couple months on Twitter and a few thousand @replies to disgruntled fans and non-fans couldn’t fix.

Honorable Mentions

Michael Jordan – For basketball fans around the world.
Michael Phelps – For all the screaming 14-year-old girls on Twitter.
Mike Tyson & John Madden – For pure hilarity.

I know I missed a few. So tell me, which athlete not on Twitter most needs to be?

About Sam Taggart

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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When you think of social media and basketball, you think Shaquille O’Neal. He has over 2 million followers on Twitter and about 900,000 fans on Facebook. He is hilarious, innovative, active, and engaging. He was one of the first athletes to get involved with social media and his personality has helped make him one of social media’s biggest stars.

Shaq gets a lot of love for being the pioneer athlete in this space, but people fail to acknowledge the one who came before him and all other athletes: Gilbert Arenas.

In October 2006, Gilbert Arenas began blogging on NBA.com. He used the blog, “Agent Zero: The Blog File,” to complement his entertaining personality by making scoring predictions, writing about his experiences on and off the court, and giving the fans a true look into the life of an NBA star.  He interacted with fans, even making bets with them, and got into trouble from time to time for what he said. Most importantly, he was not afraid to push the envelope and he was transparent and honest. He was nothing more than Gilbert Arenas, and that is what made his blog so fun to read and follow.

When Arenas got hurt at the end of the 2006-07 season, his blog began to cool down. He wrote his last post on November 15th of 2008. While he exited the social media spotlight following the injury, Arenas had become the first athlete to succeed with social media. He led the way for Shaq and has barely received any credit.

How the Blog Impacted Arenas’ Career

Gilbert Arenas entered the league in 2001 and averaged 11 points and 25 minutes per game. His numbers rose every year until the 2005-06 season, when he averaged just under 30 points and 42 minutes per game. On December 17th, 2006, Agent Zero dropped 60 points on the Los Angeles Lakers, something only Wilt Chamberlain had done before. He was a rising star for a mediocre team.

Arenas had superstar abilities and a superstar personality, but it was the blog that elevated him to the next level. When Arenas wrote, people read. He wasn’t writing just for Washington Wizards fans. Arenas wanted the blog to help make him the NBA’s biggest name, and he was well on his way to that goal.  The blog made Arenas more relevant in the greater sports space, attracting attention outside of his local market including frequent posts on popular sports blogs like Deadspin.com.

In July of 2008, Arenas signed a six-year, $111 million contract with the Washington Wizards (after he declined $127 million over six years to free up money for the team to sign other quality players).  Would the offer have been that high without the blog? Maybe not. The blog made Arenas relevant throughout basketball, and that relevancy combined with his exciting scoring ability made him extremely attractive for teams around the league.

Arenas had a way of filling the seats, like the time he predicted he would drop 50 points against the Blazers. He only scored 9, but the game sold because of his prediction. On his blog, he wrote, “Before that day I made that prediction, I don’t think anybody knew who I was in Portland. So by me saying I was going to score 50, about 14,000 people showed up on a Tuesday night.” The Wizards wanted him to be the face of the team and hoped his superstardom would not only help the team build an identity, but also bring them more wins. They simply could not afford to lose him to free agency.

A Final Analogy

Before there was Facebook, there was Friendster. Friendster launched in 2003 and grew rapidly, attracting three million users in the first few months.  In 2004, Facebook came along. While its growth was not as aggressive initially, Facebook has completely dominated Friendster and the rest of the social world in the past few years. Today, Facebook has about three times as many users and has made Friendster almost entirely irrelevant, at least in the United States (Friendster is still quite popular in Asia).

Gilbert Arenas is to Friendster what Shaq is to Facebook.

Arenas was revolutionary, as Friendster was, but did not hit at the right time. Shaq, on the other hand, came along just as social media was really booming and has benefited immensely. Arenas was too early and his efforts have been widely forgotten. Hopefully he can return to good health and return to the social media scene. With his personality, basketball talent, and now with the presence of so many tools Arenas never had (Twitter, Ustream, etc), I know he has a chance to make a comeback. Not sure I can say the same for Friendster.

About Sam Taggart

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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