The other day I watched a wonderful SportsCenter Featured piece on two former high school wrestlers (one of the wrestlers is now a Paralympian) and an unlikely bond they formed with former ESPN producer Lisa Fenn. Since the feature was so compelling, I tweeted out the link. This is what followed:
@WarJessEagle Give us a follow. We’d love to tell you more stories like that of Dartanyon Crockett. Paralympic sport changes lives.
— U.S. Paralympics (@USParalympics) July 8, 2013
I was impressed that I got a response from @USParalympics since I didn’t tag or mention them in my tweet. Their social media team knew the SportsCenter Featured piece was bound to get some traction, so they monitored the link (in all forms, long and shortened) and engaged with those who felt compelled to share the story. Basically, they were capitalizing on a new, captive audience they had at the moment. Smart move.
Their tweet got me thinking about the importance of listening, engaging and building relationships on Twitter. All too often, brands just push on the platform. No longer is Twitter just a platform to inform; it’s a community where teams and leagues need to engage.