Lewis asked me to highlight some of the most influential sports business people on Twitter, and I’m all about making Lewis, and more importantly the Sports Networker audience happy. But when I sat down to make that list, all I could think about was BORING!
Those people aren’t hard to locate, in fact if they’ve done a good job providing great content then chances are you already know about them. If not, then you can start here or perhaps here with this list I made awhile back (it certainly needs to be updated.)
So instead of giving you the same old list of names, I thought I would share some under the radar sports business people that you should be following. For the sake of having a criteria, these are all people with under 1,000 Twitter followers, but that I consider to have interesting/valuable tweets about the business of sports.
Without further ado…
@JasonSprenger – Jason is PR/Marketing professional in the tech industry (I think), but his passion is sports, and it shows. He tweets about sports and unselfishly tweets good content about sports, PR, and marketing. He’s a former award winning journalist and blogs at The Sports Ace.
@JoshFeinberg – Josh is a networking champion (like Lewis) and is currently working for the Lakewood Blue Claws. He’s made an immediate impact in the organization (though I get the impression he would do that anywhere), especially with his recent Nine Innings of Networking promotion. (Heads up, it is a PDF.)
@Spiewak – The national football editor for CBS Max Preps.com, Stephen is constantly chatting with half the names mentioned on this list. He also has his finger firmly on the pulse of the prep scene, which is fortunate for us, because most people don’t follow it that closely.
@KatieBailey – Katie Bailey is a free lance sports writer, and ACC hoops fan. She blogs about sports at Sports Kate, and aside from sports you can catch her chatting about food (Krispy Kreme donuts in particular.) She has a master’s degree and is currently seeking an advertising/PR gig in DC. Hook a girl up.
@DMFreedom – David is the CEO of Pilote Media. He specializes in sports marketing, partnership and activation, as well as the use of emerging technologies and how they fit into the picture. He’s great about highlighting other users and leaving insightful comments on blogs.
@TimNATC – Tim is the coordinator for the Sport Management department at York college. What a great way to learn from a professor without having to pay to enroll in his classes. Like David, Tim always provides well thought-out insight that adds value to the conversations at hand.
@JackieAdkins3 – Jackie is an extremely diligent intern at Sports Media Challenge. He’s about to finish his senior year at UNC and is well versed in all things marketing, not just sports. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him. He shares his thoughts on marketing on his blog here: That’s All I Have to Say About That
@BgcDuke7 -Danny may have eclipsed the 1,000 Twitter followers mark by the time this goes live, but don’t hold that against me. He’s worked for all kinds of sports entities and is one of the most conversational sports peeps on Twitter.
@SportMktgProf – Like I mentioned, with Tim, I’m a sucker for soaking up knowledge from professors. Julie is a professor/entrepreneur who blogs about very engaging topics in the sports stratosphere. Not to mention her blogroll is a GREAT resource for those interested in sports/marketing blogs.
@BrianGainor – Brian is one of those guys that just “gets it.” Like me, Brian lives the double life. He’s an account executive at GMR by day, and runs his own diddy, Sponsorship Activation in his spare time. Make sure you check out his resources page for some real gems like, 25 Ways Sports Organizations can use Twitter.
@MMahoney13 – Mark is a sports marketing, sales executive for the Carolina Panthers. When he’s not cutting a rug with Sir Purr he’s helping serve the Carolina’s by connecting with sports companies and agencies to explore partnerships and sponsorships. His sweets are very high in sports concentrate.
@SportsInfo101 – Charles is a sports executive with an emphasis on new media, branding and technology. His tweets cover sports of all kind, sports management, and he blogs at The Sports Info Business, which features all kinds of relevant info including some great interviews with prime time players in the sports realm.
And finally, I’m throwing in a bonus just for good measure. This last person isn’t really a sports business/marketing professional, but she’s awesome so I’m adding her to the list.
@LoisHeilig – Lois has been dubbed the “Sports Granny.” She’s a 75 year old Syracuse fan who loves Women’s basketball. For some more insight into Lois check out her fan spotlight here.
What is best about all of the people I’ve listed here as that not only are they extremely knowledgeable, but they’re also all very friendly so take a few minutes to add them to your Twitter network and start engaging them about the sports topics that interest you.
Finally, there’s no reason why this list has to stop at 13 names. Besides, isn’t that considered unlucky. Please use the comments section to include other sports business people we should follow, take the time to recognize, give a shout out to, etc. Ah what the hell, go ahead an include your own Twitter name so that we can make this post a destination for all this passionate community of sports professionals. What are you waiting for?
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Ryan is an Associate Media Analyst at Sports Media Challenge where he helps champion social media strategies for sports, lifestyle and entertainment brands. In his spare time he serves as a social media consultant who is passionate about the power of web 2.0 and its ability to cultivate conversations, build relationships and spread of ideas. Feel free to leave your thoughts on his article in the comments section below, connect with him on his blog at Ryan Stephens Marketing or on Twitter @ryanstephens, and read the rest of his bio here.
Thanks so much for the shout out! I'll share the love…a other others definitely worth a follow..
@Cotey-Does an outstanding job covering Tampa HS Sports, but could probably be equally successful as a stand up comedian. Knowledgeable and humorous.
@wbryan08-A former writer at MaxPreps who is moving on to St. John's University to work in the Athletic Department for the Red Storm
Would love to hear others to follow…
-@Spiewak
Thanks – I'm truly honored to make this list, and I even found some new Tweeps on here to follow. Great stuff.
One name I'd add to the list: @RonGoch. He's over 1,000 followers, but is one of the people I re-tweet the most…a great sports marketing mind based in Salt Lake City.
Until next time…
Jason
@JasonSprenger
Stephen – I've just recently become acquainted with Will's Twitter profile, but in retrospect I probably should've included him. I started the list with 10 in mind, but added a couple as it progressed.
Jason – Without a doubt I would include Ron to the mix. He's far and away one of my favorite “Tweeple” on Twitter, but with over 12K people following him, I didn't think I could classify his as 'underrated.'
be sure to follow @susiechangpr @pwixted @joshuaduboff and @rscibetti for some great sports tweets as well. Also a shameless plug for @BrittanyLane @JakeRosen @MatthewGarner who also work at the great company that @ryanstephens works for in Sports Media Challenge.
Danny and Stephen,
Thanks for your input on some of the top people to follow on Twitter as its always good to know who the movers and shakers are. However I was interested in knowing who those passionate sports tweeple were with cool niches so some of the top guys would know who they are.
Also, it would be have been too easy for Ryan to do a top 10 list, and since he is competitive and likes a challenge he decided to write about the up and coming sports people on twitter.
Great stuff Ryan!
@lewishowes
@PUBLISIDE I have to step up my blogging, but after earning national awards for work in sports publicity/writing then broadening my reach in media relations, I'm back in the niche and loving it!
Thanks for the inclusion – @wbyran08 has a great blog, is an excellent writer and a diaper dandy! @briangainor who runs partnershipactivation.com is another great one who gets it…
Gail,
Obviously I would've included you in the mix had it been over 1,000+, which also reminds me that @CubanaLAF is another a little under the radar person definitely worth the follow.
My feelings are hurt.
@bump
Major props to Lewis and Ryan for putting this together…how about doing one on the business of college sports? @Ourand_SBJ, @SteveDittmore @KnightCommission and @pretzel_logic…okay and one shameless promo @collegeathlete!
Cool list and one that is easily expanded many times over. Nice to see that our industry is taking advantage of every tool we can. I'm always amazed at the amount of “cooperatition” (competition + cooperation) our industry engenders.
Keith
@ritman
for fans of women's sports: @prettytough and @womentalksports
This is great, thanks for sharing, check out @ourbaseballhvn too or the blog at blog.OurBaseballHaven.com … good stuff
My experience reading tweets from on-camera television professionals is that they don't have a clue how to present an idea in 140 characters. Since I'm a graphics guy, that's one of my everyday tasks. I've also noticed that when they're not working, they tweet useless and bland items. I would love for you to have a Twitter class for television professionals (this could apply to 90% of twitterland).
I send tweets about behind the scenes happenings. I even tweeted when Todd Harris of ESPN tried & failed to Twitter live on air during the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament.
http://twitter.com/mrvideobba
You can track athletes in the social networking arena on my new site…
http://www.athletesarecool.com
Check it out!
Mike, I didn't forget Brian. He's right above you on the list.
Karen,
Thanks for the props, but we didn't do any of the hard work. The people listed are the ones provided all the value. We just filtered that content to share with the sports community. Thanks for giving me 4-5 more people to check out!
Keith,
You're spot on. This list can be expanded many times over. Hopefully this list gives recognition to some well-deserved sports marketing/biz peeps on Twitter and we can expand on that list here in the comments. Who knows, maybe a few months from now we can do a Part II and highlight some others.
Very cool! Learned a lot here. I handle PR for FOX Sports Florida and Sun Sports and we are just beginning to lay out goals, strategies and tactics for our social networking. So am reading all I can. Great info. here, thanks,
Follow us @SunSportsFOXFL and here's one of our sports hosts/announcers blogs….
http://whitwatson.sunsportstv.com/
@coreyanderson is a sports producer/reporter/anchor in Atlanta at the CBS affiliate where they cover the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, the Atlanta Braves, Falcons and Thrashers. Corey has been in the television industry for the last 13 years and worked in the following markets; Tampa, FL, Lubbock, TX, Myrtle Beach, SC and Atlanta, GA. Corey's Twitter feed covers everything sports and gives helpful hints about how we are negotiating today's changing climate in local sports news.
I'm so flattered to be considered among so many engaging and insightful sports pros! I wholeheartedly agree with the Twitterers I'm familiar with on the list (as well as those in the comments above) and can't wait to check out the rest. Great idea!
–Katie
@katiebailey
Check out CoachZZ on twitter as well.
Everyone on this list is a rockstar! Its the POWER of Twitter working at its best.
Thanks for the plug Ryan and Lewis!
Thanks, Ryan.
I am following the people on this list. I will use them as resources when it comes time to market my baseball memoir.
Best of luck to you,
Sincerely,
Joel
TWITTER ID:
@joelkatte
How about some love for swimming? @goldmedalmel is Mel Stewart, 2x Olympic gold medalist and current Ambassador to USA Swimming. He hosts “Gold Medal Minute” at swimnetwork.com, and also blogs at http://www.goldmedalmel.com. He'll also be posting interviews from the Charlotte Ultraswim next weekend, when Michael Phelps returns to the pool for the first time since Beijing!
Great list! Thanks for the tips. Here is one that I recently started:
@SportsAndEvents
Job hunting tips and info for those looking for work in the sports and event industries.
I am an event management professional with ten years experience working with grassroots, corporate, Olympic and international events. After six years living in Sweden, I am looking for work in both the US and Switzerland. I thought I would share the info that I learned while conducting my own job search. Looking for like-minded folk!
Cheers,
Deirdre
@DRogNBA
I think @ShawnpButler could be added to this list he has a ton of followers both because his tweets are engaging and also because he conversates with his numerous followers. He's right behind RonGoch as far as followers and retweetability.
I think the most appropriate place to highlight Shawn is right here in the comments. The post itself called attention to underrated Sports Business people on Twitter, and having 10K plus followers seems like people see the value Shawn is providing. The post above mentions that we were looking for people with under 1,000 followers.
Thanks for taking the time to include Shawn in the comments though. He's certainly someone that people interested in sports should keep an eye on.
Ryan
Great list! I am following everyone you mentioned. Follow me @suefalsone
I post articles, speaking engagement sites, research and news related to sports.
So I dont know if @21Legends qualifies for this posting or not but its got like 600 followers in the last week or so…..and if nothing else, he/she/it has great trivia questions, lol.
I am interested in going into sports business and I was wondering if someone could tell me which universities had the top programs. I would also like to know the top business schools in general if possible.
Hey there, thanks for the list, I am going to follow 10 people from the list, I am sure others will do the same, come one guys, we need to stand for these underrated sports professionals!
Debra
Thanks for the list, I am a huge sport fan so definitely will follow some you mentioned.
I agree there are many sports star that are underrated, i just don't believe why people just go after the famous ones!
Donna
Thank you for the list.. this list would be great help.. I'm sure many people will read this post…
Twitter is awesome. I love the way disqus blogs integrate it so well. 😉
i follow @eddgimenez he is the radio host for Pro Sports Genius and has been filling in at http://www.BeatMike.com he is funny and i think once he has some time in he will do great
yes i also follow him on twitter and he is working as our guest host he can be heared at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/beatmike
Good list! Check us out as well @DynamicSports and also at http://www.dynamicsportsblog.com
It truly is jelly and timed amounts.