2009 has been a breakout year for sports and social media. Athletes, teams, leagues, coaches, media and sponsors have finally started to take note of how social media impacts sports and fans. There have been some really great executions and ideas as well as some missteps.
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10 Reasons Why Sports Organizations Should Use Twitter
Posted on April 23rd, 2009
If social media is the tools, opportunities and conversations that enable mass two-way or multi-way communication and information sharing, then Twitter is the #1 tool right now that allows for direct, real-time interaction between people. Twitter is a very powerful connector and enabler. It enables JoeSportsFan in Philly to connect with JimSportsFan in New York and discuss the NBA Playoffs…in real-time, on their iPhones, while they’re both watching from their favorite sports bars. And then an unlimited number of fans can join the conversation or just see what is being said.
There are many, many benefits and reasons why a sports organization should be using Twitter. Here are ten of them:
- Opportunity to provide great customer service
- Ask questions, get feedback from fans and save money on focus groups
- Spread news, in real-time to people who care about what you’re saying
- Ability to address crisis situations quickly
- Protect your brand, ensure that people are getting accurate information about you (it’s no longer about giving up control…it’s about taking back control and gaining influence)
- Extend sponsor promotions
- Reach a new audience that may have never visited your official website
- Build deeper connections with existing audience
- Connect with online influencers and learn about new ideas
- Increased traffic back to organization’s website
**Bonus**
11. It’s MEASURABLE via the number of followers, replies, retweets, and clicks on links. Plus, you can analyze and group mentions of your organization and see how fan perceptions change over time.
I hope these reasons why sports organizations should use Twitter are helpful for you. I’ve been saying that teams should be using Twitter for over a year, so it’s good to see some of them doing this, even if they’re not taking full advantage in many cases.
If you have anything to add, feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to hear what you think.
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Comments 7
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Very good list. I like number five. It is about taking back control of your brand, and number eleven, we forget sometimes that we have to measure what we are doing to show our success. Nice job!
April 28th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
I think #8 is a great point – one that organizations often overlook.
When I studied abroad in Australia, I remember people talking about bars where players went to party after games. The players became a lot more real because they were accessible. That made me have a lot more fun and get into sports more while I was there, even though it was just for a short time.
In America, we often make sports figures larger than life. Granted, they are on a larger stage than a lot of their Australian counterparts, but getting them closer to the fan will only help to turn a fan into a super-fan.
April 30th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
I think #1 is by far the most important and easily implemented reason to use Twitter. Passive Customer Service on a personal level is invaluable to a brand’s reputation. Passive in that the customer is not calling or searching out support, but support is always present and always attainable at a personal one-on-one level. This doesn’t have to be technical support or instructions on how to buy tickets. This is for the consumer. This is how a consumer can always feel connected with a company and feel like that company is accessible. The more access fans get or think they’re getting means a more loyal and interested fan.
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Great points. Liberty Stadium in Swansea Wales is using to specifically promote an annual business conference they host.
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Another important thing is the sports team website. That should be updated too because if the twitter page links to a static website there are a lot of chances of loosing your audience. Also, there should be a “twitter person” on duty 24/7 to measure the activity, chat with people and make them follow them.
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Besides that there are the rivals problems: they might get a lot of swear-words and as we know true fights might start so about number 4, they need to be focused on what bads can happen.
And YES, they NEED to chat with people. After all sports it is a social event, it is about people that are gathering other people that use a lot of energy just to watch an event.
So twitter, Facebook and any other social network it is a pile of gold in their face
p.s. – You probably won’t understand anything form my website (it is in romanian).
July 19th, 2009 at 4:39 am
I don’t think twitter works. How many lines of words can you write on twitter? Twitter is useful for short busts of information. My 2cents!
August 12th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Great post – totally agree. Penn State football (yes I am a proud fan) just came out with a new website with a huge focus on social media. GOPSF.com also has a live twitter thread that posts updates from many of the coaches, marketing employees, and general info from inside the Lasch Football Building. Pretty amazing how far twitter has come. They’ve done a lot of things with Facebook too.
Is this where sports media is going? Would be pretty crazy if this is how teams began to send out info to fans.