Pro Sports Teams on Social Media

#pssmp

Danny Cuneo (@DannyCuneo)

Louise Chouinard (@LouiseAtCuse)

Christina Ventura (@cl_ventura)

Brandon Wimberly (@bmwguitar)

James Gloria (@jdgloria)

Sports in Social Today

#pssmp

Team Twitter Followers/Presence

Forbes’ 50 Most Valuable Pro Sports Teams by SM Presence

http://trends.e-strategyblog.com/2013/07/17/forbes-50-most-valuable-pro-sports-teams-by-social-media-presence/12819

Total Followers:

1. Soccer, 207 million followers2. Football, 60 million followers3. Basketball, 34 million followers4. Baseball, 20 million followers5. Formula 1, 1.6 million followers

● 83% of fans watching the game will check social during a sporting event

● Mississippi State’s end zone reads “#HAILSTATE”

● Philadelphia Wings utilize Twitter handles on the backs of uniforms

● MLB: 36% increase in All-Star fan voting after creating a hashtag campaign on Twitter

http://www.kttape.com/game-change-social-media-in-the-sports-world-infographic/#pssmp

http://bit.ly/RnI8iQ

Examples of Social Influence

Latest Trend: Multiple Screens Social Media Used to Discuss Sports:1. Facebook (73%)2. YouTube (54%)3. Twitter (37%)4. Google+ (33%)5. Instagram (18%)

28% difference in usage ofmultiple screens between devoted and casual sportsfans

http://www.dr4ward.com/dr4ward/2012/11/how-many-sports-fans-go-digital-infographic.html

Klout

#pssmpSource: http://fanpagelist.com/category/sports-teams/view/list/sort/influence/

Top 3 Most Influential Sports Teams:

The WWE; Klout 99.0Over 21 million combined likes/followers

Los Angeles Dodgers; Klout 99.02.6 million combined likes/followers

Philadelphia Eagles; Klout 98.5 2.9 million combined likes/followers

Business and Sports

• Businesses use sports to advertise and spread their brand

• London 2012 Olympics

http://visual.ly/sports-and-social-media#pssmp

Sports’ Reach in Social

2012: 13.7 million tweets during the Super Bowl

Euro 2012 final: 267,200 tweets per minutes after Juan Mata’s 88th minute goal against Italy

184,535 tweets per minute during the UEFA Champions League Semifinal between Barcelona-Chelsea match (Fernando Torres goal)

http://oursocialtimes.com/great-stats-on-sports-and-social-media-infographic/

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Why Use Social for Sports?

67%-celebrate team wins

48%- talk smack

85% of fans like a brand on Facebook

(teams, organizations, etc)

67% follow a brand on Twitter

http://jem499.blogspot.com/2013/04/social-media-week-infographic-sports.html

• The League has been on the cutting edge of breakthroughs in sports social media

• Sacramento: First NBA team on Twitter (January 2007)

• Denver: First team to sell tickets on Facebook

• 2012: NBA hosts first ever social media awards; celebrates social content

The NBA Ahead of the Game

#pssmp Source: http://www.sporttechie.com/2012/08/09/interview-with-sacramento-186/http://www.sporttechie.com/2014/01/29/denver-nuggets-become-first-nba-team-to-sell-tickets-directly-from-facebook/http://www.sporttechie.com/2012/06/07/nba-becomes-first-129/

Survey Time!https://twtpoll.com/1zayy527ydg773k

• Manager of New Media - LA Lakers

• Twitter - @lakers - 3.72M followers

• Instagram - @Lakers - 1.1M followerso @LakersScene - 25K followers

• Facebook - 19M likes

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Tyler Nowell - @tynowell

• Coordinator of Digital Media - Buffalo Bills

• Twitter - @buffalobills - 223K followers

• Instagram - @buffalobills - 74K followers

• Facebook - 546K likes

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Anna Stolzenburg - @annastolz

• Social Media Managers - Buffalo Sabres

• Twitter - @BuffaloSabres - 196K followers

• Instagram - @buffalosabres - 50K followers

• Facebook - 403K likes

#pssmp

Craig Kanalley - @ckanal

Adelyn Biedenbach - @adelynlee

• Coordinator, Digital Media and Communications for the Florida Panthers

• Twitter - @FlaPanthers - 110K followers

• Instagram - @flapanthers - 17K followers

• Facebook - 115K likes

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• Varies from team to team

• Position could be called Social Media Manager, SM Coordinator, Digital Media Manager, etc.

• Could be 1 person, 4 people, or more

Structure of Social Media Teams

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• Social Media Center controlled by 25 fans

• Follow the Devils’ buzz

• Allow fans a place to converse

• 70,000+ Facebook Fans

Mission Control Centers

Environment: The New Jersey Devils

#pssmpSource: http://www.brafton.com/blog/four-winning-sports-social-media-marketing-campaigns-you-can-learn-from

• Every team handles it differently.o Lakers - Aim towards marketing even though they

don’t need help with ticket saleso Bills - Need help with ticket sales so it’s a combined

PR/Marketing strategy

• But when it comes down to it…o “Fans just love when they can interact with us--

when we’re a face and not just news.” - Anna Stolzenburg

Social Media as PR or as Marketing

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• Varies

• Some PR departments step in and take over

• Others have control, but work closely with PR department

• Example: Ralph Wilson passing; Kobe Bryant injury

How teams handle situations...

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When Do You Respond?

• Customer Service Questions and Legitimate Concerns

• Engaged, Consistent Fans

• Especially Unique Photos

• Improvement to Come for In Game Interaction

Sports Promotions on Social Media

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• The University of Michigan in 2011

• Football tickets presale via “Michigan Football” Facebook

• Must “Like” the Facebook page to be eligible…Incentivize!

• 7,000+ “Likes”

• $74,000+ in ticket sales

More than just events...

Sales: The University of Michigan

#pssmp Source: http://www.brafton.com/blog/four-winning-sports-social-media-marketing-campaigns-you-can-learn-from & https://www.facebook.com/michiganfball

• Dewayne Hankins (@DewayneHankins)

• Pat Donahue (@patatack)

More than just events...

Tone: The LA Kings

• Entertaining• Funny

#pssmpSource: http://www.brafton.com/blog/four-winning-sports-social-media-marketing-campaigns-you-can-learn-from

“Access, 100%”

More than just events...

Andy Pregler (@acpregler) of SIDEARM Sports

#pssmpSources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0dGJMwZaPg & https://www.facebook.com/andy.pregler?fref=ts

Andy Pregler, radio play-by-play man Matt Park and SU assistant coach Mike Hopkins in a Google Hangout as part of #CuseMadness.

Access

#pssmp @Seahawks, @Colts, @Lakers

Access: Information and behind the scenes action you can give your viewer that they can’t get from home or other sources

63% will browse social media even if they’re at the game! Team pages provide access they can’t even get from their seats.

#pssmp @Rangers

Ty Nowell@tynowell@Lakers“Pictures and video are essential. Gives

fans at home the experience of being at the event! We can show fans things they wouldn’t normally see like locker room pictures and practices. Anything that can make the players seem more human.”

Anna Stolzenberg@annastolz@buffalobills“Something we focus on a lot is the fact that only we have the access we need to take fans behind the scenes. It’s what makes our brand special and what people will keep coming back for. Access is what will be important for the future.”

#pssmp

Access

Offer incredible access to fans with photos and video

Joined Twitter: February 9, 2009

Klout Score 93#pssmp

“Only a small percentage of our fans get to attend a game so anything we can show them from the in-arena experience is of value in communicating with our fans.” -Nick Kioski, Director of New Media and Technology for the Los Angeles Lakers

#pssmp

120.5K followersUses: Practices, giveaways,

flashbacks, locker room

Los Angeles Lakers Vine

#pssmp

Monitoring Draft PicksTeams are using Facebook and

Twitter to check out possible draft picks to make sure they won’t be a PR liability for the team.

What’s Next

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Bitcoin● Implemented by the

Sacramento Kings starting March 1, 2014

● Fans can purchase tickets and merchandise with online currency

● Using Bitpay, Kings are paid in actual cash

Source: http://www.sporttechie.com/2014/03/07/why-the-sacramento-kings-have-gone-tech-crazy/

Sacramento Kings and Google Glass

Implemented January 24, 2014

Gives fans courtside experience through

the eyes of reporters, dancers and some

players.

#pssmp Source: http://www.sporttechie.com/2014/03/07/why-the-sacramento-kings-have-gone-tech-crazy/

“While social TV is moving to a world where time doesn't matter, sports is still very much a live, spectator event. Social media is the place our fans check when they are

unable to watch the game.”

-Adelyn Biedenbach @adelynlee

Future of Social Media and Sports