Posts Tagged ‘social-media’

Fantasy sports – The first wave of social media?

March 5th, 2010

Recently my inbox was bombarded with emails concerning NBA fantasy trades in my local NBA fantasy competition.  It got me thinking that if social media is defined as connected discussion then the boom of fantasy sports online could be seen as a pioneer in social media.

Like social media, fantasy sports connects people bringing them together over a common interest.  It stimulates off-line meetups like we see on Twitter with tweetups.  Our NBA fantasy competition regularly holds our draft night each year in company board rooms or stadium corporate suites.  Do you meet with your fantasy sports friends IRL (in real life) if so let us know how?

We keep hearing the statistics on how much time people are spending on social media websites like Facebook, Twitter & YouTube.  Fantasy sports is a huge driver of web site traffic as the guys at SuperFooty can attest with SuperCoach.  Not only is there a huge spike in traffic when the teams are announced each Thursday, fans flock to the site for the final match of the round on Sunday to check the progress of their weekly matchup.

On that note there are still spots available in the SuperCoach Twitter League Code 404204 please join in the fun.

What do you think?
Can fantasy sports be regarded as social media?

Why do you play fantasy sports?

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Building community via sport

March 3rd, 2010

Last night I presented to club presidents at the Southern Football League about the impact social media can have on local sports.

It was great to see the passion for the game at grassroots and it will be great creating a strong social media strategy for these clubs.

Social media can allow sporting clubs to become an online community hub for sports, families & local business if executed correctly in the same way they have been an “offline” community hub for many years.

And because the Slideshare – YouTube embed seems to playing up here is the video I played, an oldie but a goodie for people who are not quite understanding the impact social media is having on the world.

Sports Geek Social Media Workshop comes in 2 forms:

Social Media Heavy Hitters – Comprehensive workshop targeted to leagues, franchises & facilities who want to grow and manage their social media presence.

Small Sports Big Opportunities – Sports Geek gives back to local clubs & leagues to help them find new sponsorship opportunities via social media.

Check out Sports Geek Social Media Workshop for more info.

Connect with Sports Geek on Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook & LinkedIn
Contact Sports Geek
about the Sports Geek Social Media Workshop.

Sports, social media & impro…

March 1st, 2010

or How to create engaging social media content in sports…

Brad goalI am lucky enough to learn Impro from the talented group at Impro Melbourne (@ImproMelbourne). Impro is all about creating something (a story/scene) from nothing or at least very little.  In impro workshops we are taught different techniques and games in telling stories.  One of these games is called Action, Colour, Emotion where the one person tells a story to a partner.  The partner listening to the story calls for more action, more colour or more emotion to reflect what they want to hear in the story.

You can apply this same game to identify the social media content produced by sports teams.

Action Updates

Action – keep the story moving, don’t get stuck in the same place.

Keeping your fans up to date with your sport is a goal of you social media plan (You do have a plan don’t you? If not contact Sports Geek) these updates are staple of sports communications but fans expect more than just news clippings & score updates.

Colour Updates

Colour – description required, give me more in-depth detail.

Fans love finding out the news they don’t normally get from newspapers or sports radio reports.

What do fans want?  These example may seem minor but not to the fans.

  • Updates on player injuries
  • Notice when players or coaches will be appearing in media
  • Changes to team lineup
  • News when team in on the road

Emotion Updates

Emotion – tell us how you’re feeling in the story we want to feel it too.

Emotion may be the toughest to convey via a tweet or a status update but it connects with your team with fans the most.  It may be a simple as a picture shared of the team in celebration after a big win or an empty locker room after a disappointing loss.  The fan feels the elation with winning & pain of losing sometimes moreso than the players, social media allows them to share that passion.

Did we get the puck in the net?

OK I got caught up in the Canada-USA gold medal game.

Next step is to track which content hits home the most that way you like the impro game you’ll find out what the listener (your fans) want to hear more in your social media content.

What do you track?

  • Replies/Comments – How many fans responded directly to you content with support or questions?
  • Retweets or Shares – How many fans promoted your message to support the team?
  • Traffic – How many views or visitors did you receive from each kind of message?

Need help tracking your social media response?  At Sports Geek we can assist you in tools & techniques to use to give you the information you need quickly.

Additionally I can’t recommend Impro Melbourne enough, do yourself a favour and check out a show or workshops.

Check out Sports Geek Social Media Workshop to learn more about sports & social media.
Contact Sports Geek
for more info on our Sports Geek Social Media Workshop.

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