Feb

25

Sports and Twitter Update

Filed Under Social Media 

I’ve talked about sports teams using Twitter and other social media platforms effectively in past posts. I don’t want to repeat those posts, but there have been a couple new websites and blog posts that I wanted to pass along.

Ryan Stephens put together a list of sports marketing tweeples, which you can view at his blog. While I am mentioned in the list, that’s not why I’m linking to it. If you’re interested in a job in either sports public relations or marketing, I’d highly recommend following each and every single person on his list. Personally, I have gained a lot of valuable information about the industry by following these amazing individuals.

Octagon created Twackle, a website that has created widgets for each professional sports team in the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. For more information on this new website, you can check out their FAQ page.

SportsByBrooks has a post up that quickly summarizes a question posed on Pardon the Interruption.

I was watching Pardon the Interruption the other day, and Wilbon and Kornheiser were talking about the ramifications of athletes using Twitter to communicate with fans. Is the wall of privacy finally completely crumbling around athletes? And if the players can just directly talk to the public on their own terms, what use do they have for the traditional media anymore?

He then led into the great story about Shaquille O’Neal tweeting at a diner in Phoenix and talking to fellow Twitterers who were at the same diner. Not only does it help boost his brand to see this athlete so readily interacting with fans both online and in person, but we also learn that he is a very genorous tipper. Shaq is a great example of an athlete who gets it.

To all twitterers , if u c me n public come say hi, we r not the same we r from twitteronia, we connect

On Tuesday, Shaq gave another example of how he gets Twitter by continuing to engage the fans and his followers.

I’m at the fashion sq mall, any1 touches me gets 2 tickets, tag me and say yur twit u hv 20 min

The Chicago Sun-Times just printed an article discussing the merits of professional athletes using Twitter. Kathleen Hessert says an advantage of athletes using Twitter is the opportunity to directly present themselves to their fans without having to go through the media.

‘It’s not from a public-relations person or a media person or a team spokesperson — it’s through you,” Hessert said. ”There is a growing chasm between fans and elite athletes and entertainers. It’s really wide right now. This is a way to narrow that chasm.”

If you have any news or recommended blog posts about Twitter and sports, please feel free to leave a comment!

Comments

3 Responses to “Sports and Twitter Update”

  1. Ben Carlson on February 25th, 2009 10:54 am

    Athletes (or any stars, for that matter) are humanized when they use social media services like Twitter. It makes them feel more human to us, especially if they directly interact with us and are using the services themselves, rather than having a PR person do it for them.

  2. Ryan Stephens on February 26th, 2009 9:56 pm

    Christy,

    Thanks so much for including my list of Sports Tweeple in this post. I think you’ve put together a great post for people who want to see the value in athletes participating and connecting with fans on Twitter.

    And I think Ben’s right provided the athletes actually interact. If they get on, and don’t interact that just leads me to believe, they want the PR of participating without contributing any effort or insight on their part. That’s worthless, and not worth any value to me.

    If they’re even going to bother, I want them to use the tool the way Shaq has, to humanize his brand and to give fans an inside look into what makes him a person off the court!

  3. Christy on February 26th, 2009 10:20 pm

    Ben- Interacting directly with the fans certainly humanizes that athlete. From a financial viewpoint, I believe that fans would be more likely to buy your jerseys and t-shirts and other items when they feel some type of connection with you. In the struggling economy, any advantage you can get helps.

    Ryan- Thanks for creating the great list! I see the need for PR professionals to encourage and even give athletes a kick in the right direction when it comes to getting on Twitter or another social medium, but it’s ultimately up to the athlete if they really want to put some effort into it and interact and engage with the fans/users. Otherwise like you said, it’s worthless.

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