Catgory: Twitter

Team USA Athletes Won In Sochi & On Social Media

By Guest On February 24, 2014 In Social Media, Twitter

Some people feel social media has “ruined” the Olympic experience.  It is a bummer to see the spoilers on Twitter and Facebook when you are looking forward to the evening broadcast, but on the flip side, social media has given us inside access to the Olympic experience. The athletes, whose social media presence can play a large role in exposure and sponsorships, tweeted away while in Sochi. It was easy to feel like you were on a journey with them.

Personally, I love what social media has done for the Winter Games. I think the access to athletes helps propel the popularity of the Olympians and their sports forward. These sports don’t get the same exposure as the NBA, NFL, etc. year after year, and because of that, social media is an invaluable tool.

continue reading »

Hashtags Are Not The New URL

By Guest On January 26, 2014 In Twitter

BIa04mrCAAAl6RS (2) 2During #SportsConf a couple weeks ago there was a phrase that got a lot of traction:

“The hashtag is the new URL.”

I want to love it. I want to jump on the bandwagon and say, “yes, yes, yes”.  It has a nice ring. It’s catchy. I get the basis of it. Even so, I am going to have to politely go against the grain and disagree.

Let me start off by saying I believe in the power of hashtags. In fact, I love hashtags so much I made a hashtag light (pictured above). Nonetheless, hashtags are not the new URL. Here’s why:

continue reading »

14 Things I Would Like to See in Social Media + Sports in 2014

By Guest On December 5, 2013 In Facebook, Social Media, Twitter with 21 Comments

1. Dollars behind Facebook. 

You can no longer rely solely on earned media with Facebook. If you want to make the most of the platform, you simply have to pay to play.

This truth is hard for me to swallow. I use to be a firm believer in organic growth and reach on social media platforms, but after watching Facebook engagement and reach fall flat this past year, I firmly believe you have to strategically put dollars behind your content. You don’t have to take my word though… Facebook has admitted organic reach is dipping. See for yourself.

The bottom line is this… if you’re okay with only 16 percent of your Facebook fans seeing your content (source), then keep doing what you’re doing. If you want your content to stand out from all the noise and reach more people, then you need to pay.

2. Social data to make smart decisions.

Gatorade’s Mission Control was founded in 2010 and since then we’ve seen others, from the Oregon Ducks to NASCAR, follow their lead. Now is the time to shift the focus from the bright and shiny tools to actual data that can influence smart business decisions. Research proves organizations want to find ways to measure their digital initiatives and use social data across business. In a recent study done by OMI, it was found that analytics is the most coveted skill in digital right now. 

In 2014, let’s use social data to help drive product decisions and athlete endorsements (consumer sporting goods); adjust game broadcasts (ahem, if ABC listened on social they would know Eminem and college football don’t mix); garner feedback about the game day experience; understand the content fans are craving.

We have all this information right at our fingertips and in real time. It’s time to look beyond the likes, shares and comments to meaningful stories in social data that help influence real business decisions.

continue reading »

The Red Sox Won a World Series & Hit a Home Run on Twitter

By Guest On October 31, 2013 In Twitter with 1 Comment

The Boston Red Sox didn’t just win the World Series last night. They also hit a home run on Twitter. The @RedSox account did a great job mixing up their tweets from commentary, to behind-the-scenes content to game moments throughout the day and night. More importantly, tweets didn’t just read like a box score.

I decided to have some fun and take a look at a few numbers from their coverage of Game 6. Below are the tidbits I found (please note, all numbers are approximate):

  • The official account tweeted more than 110 times.
  • Their earliest tweet came at 6:03 a.m.  Their last tweet was sent Halloween morning.
  • The account earned more than 163,6oo retweets in one day.
  • Their best performing tweet garnered 24,331 retweets.
  • Before they clinched the World Series, behind-the-scenes coverage generated an average of 577 retweets. After they clinched it, behind-the-scenes content averaged 1,861 retweets. Who says winning does not help?
  • In terms of media, photos generated the most retweets on average with 2,211, followed by Vine (1,921) and Instagram (840).

continue reading »

10 Tactics That #Win On Twitter

By Guest On October 21, 2013 In Best Practices, Twitter with 1 Comment

One of the keys to a great Twitter presence is varying your tweets. If you never surprise your fans with different content, then how do you expect them to spread your message? Below are 10 easy messaging tactics to get your fans to share on Twitter:

1. Empathize with your fans.

2. Dish out a little banter (at the right time).

continue reading »