Jul

11

Sports Blogging 101 Series

Filed Under Blogging, Social Media, Sports PR | 10 Comments

In mid-November, I ran a week-long series on sport and social media here at SPRB. This week, I’ll be talking about sports blogging from a PR perspective. We’ll kick off this series on Sunday by discussing why you should care about sports blogs.

Before I start talking about this topic, I wanted to provide my background on the subject. I have been blogging about Red Wings hockey since 2004 before blogs became the in thing to do. It was a hobby, but I tried to treat it as professionally as I could because I knew blogging was a reflection of me (not everyone can say the same).

My first hockey blog, Behind the Jersey, was named one of the top 10 NHL blogs by Sports Business Daily in 2007 and was linked to by USA Today, Detroit Free Press, and Wall Street Journal. I later joined SB Nation where I started Winging It In Motown (also about the Wings). It now gets links from Sports Illustrated, Yahoo! Sports, CBS Sports, and even NHL.com. In November 2008, I started blogging for the official Detroit Red Wings blog (Hockeytown Blog) and continue to maintain both that blog and WIM.

As you can see, I have done my fair share of blogging in the sports world. I am also someone who hopes to make a career in sports PR so I understand both sides of the coin, which is why I wanted to do this series on sports blogging from a PR perspective. I think there is plenty of misunderstanding from both sides of the argument and I hope that my series will enlighten the sports PR practitioners and sports bloggers who may read it.

Keep coming back to SPRB this week to read more about the following:

Sunday – Why should you care about sports blogs?

Monday — Interview with Ben Wright, the web site coordinator of the Atlanta Thrashers (and team blogger)

Tuesday — Tips: How to pitch sports bloggers & Sports bloggers talk about PR

Wednesday — Why should you blog (personally or professionally)?

Thursday — Tips: How to monitor sports blogs

Friday — Tips: How to comment on blogs

Next Saturday — 25 sports blogs you should read

Next Sunday — Tips: Developing a blogger policy

And if you have any great reads on PR professionals reaching out to bloggers or blogging themselves, feel free to pass them along to me via e-mail or the comment section.

Jun

18

Tony La Russa takes on Twitter

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St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa took on Twitter, filing a lawsuit claiming that the social networking site did not remove the fake account of someone impersonating him.

One of the downsides to Twitter, coming from a PR perspective, is that users are free to sign up for usernames without showing proof of who they actually are. This feature can become problematic when fans impersonate celebrities, allowing them to affect the individual’s image.

Athletes and other celebrities have handled fake accounts in different ways. Kathleen Hessert of Sports Media Challenge encouraged Shaquille O’Neal to simply create his own account after learning of the imposter account and Shaq now has over 1.2 million followers.

In La Russa’s case, he opted to take legal action and I think a lot of people will follow this closely to see how it plays out. There have been claims that a settlement had been reached, but Twitter’s co-founder Biz Stone says that it’s not true (as of June 8th). Publications including PC World and Sports Illustrated (via the AP) believe that the law is not on La Russa’s side.

The Eye on Sports Media blog points out that athletes need to proactively go out and create their own accounts on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to prevent something like this from even happening. It’s not that athletes need to use and update these pages, but they need to “own” them so no one else can distort and harm their image.

How have these networking sites responded after the lawsuit? Twitter announced a new feature in a beta version called “Verified Account” that will place a badge on profiles of celebrities (and the like) who have been confirmed as the real person. Twitter isn’t the only site dealing with issues over identity — the New York Times looks at how Facebook is handling imposters.

May

6

My Guest Post at Flacker

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I had a chance to write a guest post for Flacker. I blogged about the different social media opportunities for sports teams. You can view an excerpt below or check out the entire post at Flacker.

Facebook / MySpace

These are the two most popular social networking websites for sports organizations to target. Facebook now allows teams, leagues, and athletes to create fan pages where users can choose to become a fan of that brand or individual. You can check out the Facebook page that links to the many sports teams on the network. Not all of these are official, but Facebook can be a great platform to link to news, post videos, provide exclusive content, and an opportunity for fans to interact and comment on these photos, audio, and video. … Social networking platforms like Facebook and MySpace are great avenues for teams to target that young sport fan demographics.

Apr

3

A look at the brain behind Sports Media Challenge

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If you have followed the movement of sports teams and athletes onto Twitter, then you have already heard of Kathleen Hessert (@kathleenhessert). She’s the brains behind Sports Media Challenge and the reason for Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Nash, and many sports teams for being on Twitter. The blog 9 to Fried posted a great interview with Hessert that warrants a read. Here’s an excerpt from the interview, but please go read the entire thing.

Do you think right now it’s not an issue because Twittering hasn’t hit the real mainstream? For example every coach might not be aware of what it is or what it entails.

Let’s use Shaq as an example.  When Shaq said last week he was going to Tweet during halftime and not get fined, and he Tweeted that at hours before the game and he and the coach, who also has a Twitter account, where asked about it, the coach said “if he puts up 25 points and grabs 11 rebounds he can do whatever he wants.” Now, here is a coach, that gets it, but also uses the Twitter.

I think that just goes to show you how much people as a society, and sports fans, need instant gratification and feedback. Do we really need to talk to Shaq in the middle of a game? No. Is it cool? Absolutely.

Yes, exactly. I have to give the Phoenix Suns a ton of credit. When I launched Shaq on Twitter last fall, we immediately connected and collaborated with the front office. They put a person on Twitter and built and leveraged what Shaq was doing to build a stronger fan base. It was phenomenal. They held Tweet-ups which have sold tickets to games for them, they have built a fan loyalty that I would suspect rivals that of any team in the league. Or any league for that matter. So it doesn’t surprise me that no one in the front office or on the team has an issue with Shaq tweeting during a game.

Mar

30

Sports on Twitter - The List

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So I had been keeping a list of the sports teams (professional and collegiate) that I knew were on Twitter as well as their employees and athletes. At first, the list was just for my personal use but then I shared it with my bosses at the University of Michigan and a handful of other individuals.

Well, Brendan (@beingthere) decided to take that concept a step further in two ways. First, he created a Google document that enables everyone to update the document with new accounts. It’s a fantastic resource for anyone interested in Twitter, social media and sports. I recommend going through and following the relevant athletes, teams and leagues. You can follow the list on Twitter here.

Second, he started a blog entitled Sportsin140 that deals exclusively with sports and Twitter. One of his first posts discusses how the new Women’s Professional Soccer league (WPS) will allow its players to tweet during the game. In the post, he links to a web page that cites all the WPS employees on Twitter. I’m listing the PR/new media-specific employees below for your convenience. It will be interesting to follow them as they try to get this new league off the ground. The WPS inaugural match was yesterday (Sunday).

WPS Web Coordinator - Amanda Vandervort

WPS Director of Public Relations - Robert Penner

Boston Breakers New Media & Communications - Kevin Hassett

Chicago Red Stars New Media - Elly Deutch

Los Angeles Sol New Media - Christopher Higginson

Mar

5

New features for “From The Blue Seats”

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Michael DiLorenzo is the Director of Corporate Communications for the NHL and runs a blog called From The Blue Seats. In a great interview on Shannon Paul’s Very Official Blog, he discusses the NHL’s social media efforts as well as a couple new features for his blog that I wanted to share here.

First he will offer The Daly Download, a short vlog with NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly that will occur a couple times a month. The first episode has Daly talking about the NHL Trade Deadline.

Another interactive feature that you will be able to find on his blog is “Chirps.” Essentially, DiLorenzo will have a five-question interview with someone in the NHL organization and post the Q&A on his blog. The catch? The five questions will come from tweets or DMs that he receives. The first interviewee will be Perry Cooper, the NHL’s Sr. VP of Direct/Digital Marketing + Fan Analytics.

The third feature is called “Two Man Advantage” and will showcase DiLorenzo and co-worker Schuyler Baehman (NHL PR) in which the two will discuss a topic or two for a vlog.

It’s great to see the league taking the initiative and bringing the league directly to its fans in fun and creative ways such as these through the use of social media.

Feb

25

Sports and Twitter Update

Filed Under Social Media | 3 Comments

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!

Jan

28

Cavs host social network game night

Filed Under Social Media, Sports PR | 3 Comments

Last week, I talked about how the Phoenix Suns were effectively using Twitter and even hosted the NBA’s first tweetup. In the most Jan. 19-25 issue of Sports Business Journal, the Coast to Coast feature mentioned how the Cleveland Cavaliers’ social network gets a game-night boost.

The Cleveland Cavaliers dedicated their Jan. 7 game against the Charlotte Bobcats to members of CavFanatic, the online community of friends from the team’s official social network. The next day, CavFanatic.com generated 56,000 page views and 127 new members, compared with the daily average of 39,000 page views and 15 new members. CavFanatic.com was launced in May 2008.

As more and more teams create social networking websites, I expect to see a push for these sites during games both at the arena/stadium and even in reads on-air. PR professionals for a team can create their own page on the networking site and include tidbits of information original to the website. For example, a trivia Q&A section with the option for prizes or a heads up on articles coming down the pipeline after players have participated in interviews for articles. They could even include YouTube videos on the site. The possibilities are endless.

Jan

19

Phoenix Suns using social media to their advantage

Filed Under Social Media | 3 Comments

Before this season, I didn’t have a favorite Western Conference NBA team. My hometown Detroit Pistons are in the Eastern Conference and I just didn’t have any team I really rooted for in the west. Now I do and it truly has to do with their social media presence and the amazing things they are doing off the court, but it also doesn’t hurt that the Suns are having a good season.

I have been using Twitter since August  and the number of Phoenix Suns employees on Twitter has steadily increased since I joined. I follow each one. Not only does it give useful insight into job duties of various positions within a professional sports team, but it gives you a sense for the culture of the organization. I have been thoroughly impressed with the twitterers representing the team.

Here is a list of the Suns twitterers (please let me know if I missed anyone): PhoenixSuns (official team Twitter account), SunsPRGirl (Public Relations Manager), SunsPRDiva (VP of Basketball Communications), PhxSunsGorilla (Mascot), PhxSunsCreative, SunsBizDiva (Sr. VP of Marketing Partnerships), SunsBlogger (Blogger/Web Analyst), PhoenixSunsGirl (Digital Media and Research Director), The_Real_Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal), SunsWebmaster (VP of Interactive Services), SunsWebGeek (Web Designer), and Chinkle (IT).

So if that isn’t cool enough, the Suns hosted their own Tweetup (meetup of twitterers & the first to be hosted by a NBA team) on January 16th. Shaq and GM Steve Kerr even stopped by to say hi to the 125 participants. You can check out a few photos from the event here, here, and here.

Why do I admire all that the Suns organization so much? They aren’t just using technology and social media to use it. Instead, they are pushing their brand in ways that engage their fans and allow the fans to get to know the team better. Fans can go online to the Suns website and read a blog post written by a player or they can go on Twitter and see what one of the employees is up to. You get the sense that while the organization obviously wants to win, they have fun working towards that goal and truly love what they do. If a girl from Detroit is now rooting for the Suns in the Western Conference, how much will this improve fan relations among those individuals actually living in Arizona?

Nov

22

Shaq gets his own Twitter account

Filed Under Social Media, Sports PR | 5 Comments

A post by Adam Ostrow on Mashable has a great story of Shaq proving that it really was him on Twitter. Apparently, there had been a Twitterer pretending to be Shaq and when he learned of this, he decided to create his own account. In fact one user following his account did not believe that it was actually the real Shaq. After some back and forth, the Twitterer received a phone call from the man himself. A later tweet by Shaq stated that he was going to get some tickets for the Twitterer and his family. 

Kathleen Hessert, who manages Shaq’s online marketing, commented on our post yesterday: “Shaq is a joyful person and a riot to be around. He not only gets attention but actually attracts people - he’s magnetic and genuine. That’s why I recommended that he twitter. Frankly it suits him and he’s one of a select few who actually do care about his fans. He’s learning twitter on the run and tomorrow I’m showing him how to respond@ to a fan.”

I think it’s a great opportunity for athletes who may be more technologically savvy. Not only does this provide him with a way to interact and engage with his fans, but it also gives him an avenue to promote his own brand and refute any false statements or accusations. 

“Somebody out there was trying to use my language and trying to speak for me,” O’Neal, sounding more amused than offended, said Wednesday night in a telephone interview. “Rather than have that happen, I thought I’d do it myself.”

O’Neal added: “It’s a fun thing. It’s a way for fans to connect.”

In both Shaq’s and Britney’s cases, they took to Twitter to take matters into their own hands and set the record straight. However, Britney’s account is done by her team (and it sounds like her comments are what she “said” to the team) whereas Shaq is all him and that’s what makes him appear more approachable and genuine. I’ve enjoyed watching Shaq over the years and always appreciated his candid quotes, but his move to Twitter bumped up my personal opinion of him. I think this is a great boost for his brand especially now that he’s not the player in the NBA anymore.

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