Wanted/Needed…Social Media Sideline Reporter @PhoenixSuns

As sports teams/organizations get more social smart and social savvy, you will see more of these calls for help. Sports teams are looking for ways to keep their fan bases alive with anticipation…and fans want to be involved.

Is your perfect night watching the #Suns while talking about them on Twitter? We're looking for YOU. http://t.co/0EgqIItO #SocialSideline

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) October 3, 2011

As we learned during our research for Collaboration and Co-Creation, the Phoenix Suns have one of the most loyal fan bases in the NBA. The Suns are committed to involving fans as much as possible and understand the value of fan-to-fan interaction. Recently, the Phoenix Suns made an announcement for a new job opening for a social media sideline reporter, the first and only one of its kind in their history.

Preparing an NFL Social Media Game Plan

Social media needs to play both sides of the ball. Just like a successful football team can’t choose to play just offense, or just defense; a successful social media program must Engage and Respond.

KLM – Committed to “Response”

A Brands new role is service, being a resource provider and an enabler.

KLM is committed to listening, and responding, to people.  To demonstrate this commitment, today KLM is “live” responding  to tweeted service questions via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, and in a big way.

Engagement is the First Step…Influence is More than Numbers

Brands have created exciting and immersive forms of engagement that have really captured the interest of people and compelled them to talk about it! Enter the Influencer.  Influencers have been defined and positioned as the “ideal” source for motivating brand messages.  But, are we looking at influence and engagement as the be-all and end-all of social media?

Influencers cannot be selected by numbers. They have to be selected via contextual insight and nurtured into lasting diplomats.

Engagement is the first step. The opportunity to create interest and to build on that initial hello occurs within every interaction.  Influence is an action that derives from an emotional excitement, an attachment to the brand, its services or resources.    So, How Do You Make it Last? To define sustainability; you must build true loyalty, stronger influence and possibly co-create engagement through original content.

The diplomatic approach…

Lasting connections begin with that first engagement, but it certainly does not end there.  Understanding what captured attention, and what delighted people enough to say hello again is important.  This is the process of discovery and for brands, a journey that should have no end.

The Ultimate Influencer is engaged…

Let’s have a look at an influencer, one that would most likely be under the radar.  Just as other Moms, Tiffany has looked forward to her family’s Disney World vacation for a very long-time.   Even planning a Disney vacation is an exciting part of the magic.  The planning and reservation encounters can set the tone for the entire Disney occasion!

Winning Social Media…There is No Off-Season

The Buffalo Bills are off to a good start. They began the season meagerly with small steps, but are starting to make bigger strides. This goes for their on-the-field team as well as their social media team.

Yes, social media is an important part of the program. With social media there is no off-season, draft, training camp or play-offs. The social media team has to be effective year round, and at the top of their game. It is time to take the next step. Buffalo Bills fans are tremendous fans, in good times and…not so good times, they have been for many years. (I can attest to that, as I am a Homer and fan for my entire life.)

I Watched the News Last Night…On Twitter

That’s right…On Twitter! What better way is there to keep up on the Breaking News about the Boehner Plan Vote in Congress? Up to the minute tweets detailing the back room meetings, pizza parties, calling Representatives in for closed door meetings, and the like.

Our “filtered” news channel of choice on Twitter is @LukeRussert. He embraces social media as a tool for reporting the news. His tweets are accurate (not sensationalized), to the point, honest and delivered with a sense of humor when appropriate. It doesn’t hurt that he is a Buffalo Bills fan also, but that’s just an added bonus.

Twitter, as well as other social media platforms, are becoming the preferred devices for delivering the news. They are NOW…when we want them. With Twitter pushing ads to user timelines, it looks like they see it coming too. News can now be delivered on your device of preference, at your location of preference. No more being held captive by a television news channel…ranting a network’s version of the news…at the time that they decide you want to hear it. Now it is news when you want it…where you want it…how you want it!

Tonight give it a try. Turn off your television…tune in to Twitter…and watch the news!

. @NancyPelosi tells me she found it surprising that @SpeakerBoehner debated #debt bill on the floor without having the votes.

— Luke Russert (@LukeRussert) July 29, 2011

What Could Be Next For Netflix

What were they thinking? Raising their rates like that? How could they?

Those are some of the questions you, or your friends and acquaintances, must have been asking of Netflix. What could be in store for the future?

Are they trying to eliminate, or at least decrease, the use of dvd’s? (We hope so!) Trying to force people to choose one-or-the-other? Streaming video or dvd, but who would pay for both? There are too many choices out there with iTunes, Xbox 360, Hulu and the others. Heck, BitTorrent is even an option. At our house, no great preference really, we don’t watch network television, except for news. Political news seems best delivered by Jon Stewart, so we wait to watch online. We don’t care which channel we use…as long as it is NOW! Honestly, the only reason we would ever use a DVD is when we absolutely could not get the content we wanted digitally.

Maybe Netflix is posturing for something down the road. Some big deal or merger. Will they expand content and get social? Are they preparing for an increase in shipping costs (for dvd)? Is there concerns over legislation or future bandwidth caps and metered broadband services (for livestream)?

All of these questions come to mind while pondering this recent move. Will the second quarter earnings statement shed any light on the future. We will just have to wait and watch and see.

As long as we don’t have to watch on dvd when it arrives in the mail…and we can livestream it!

Of course we love DISRUPTION and all of this is subject to change if Apple buys Hulu! Apple flirts with $400

Image: Netflix

The X-Factor: Sports Teams and Social Media

Even though social media should be second nature to professional sports teams by now, not everyone gets it. Sports, especially professional sports, is a social interaction. Not just the game, but the activities associated with it. Fan Clubs, Tailgates, Draft Parties, Rallies, Team Introductions, All-Star Games and the like, are all social experiences.

Does your favorite team truly engage and connect with it’s Fans?

“Great social media moments are born from great social media opportunities!”

–Buffalo Bills Introduce New Uniforms with Military Personnel.                      -Dallas Mavericks- friends.mavs.com Site                                                            –Cleveland Indians Social Suite seating

Does your favorite team really interact with the Fans, or do they just broadcast the team news via social media platforms.

The X-factor: Emotional connections.  Teams must engage and connect with their fan-base. Allow the Fans to play out their emotional role in the game/team. Compel the Fans to feel as if it is Our Game/Team, not just the game/team. When the Fans go to the ballpark, stadium, etc., the overall feeling should be- “I’m in my element…part of the team”.

It seems all professional sports teams participate in social media. But there is only a handful that actively immerse fans in the game and themselves within social media, to engage and connect.

What about your team? Any thoughts?

Click images for original source

Buffalo Bills…True and Enduring Emotional Connections!

Recently the Buffalo Bills unveiled their new NFL uniforms. It was done at Ralph Wilson Stadium with all the ceremony deserving of such an event. The thing that made it special was the “models” that were used to present the new uniforms. Local military personnel, all avid fans,  were chosen to be the “models” to introduce the Bill’s new uniforms.

For these “models” of a true fan, this was a much deserved honor and a dream-come-true. Talk about a truly immersive experience! This not only formed enduring and emotional connections with the military men, but with all of the fans that watched or heard of it. These are connections that will not soon, if ever, be broken!

#Buffalo Bills: Military men honored to wear Bills colors: They traded one uniform for another this past Friday … http://bit.ly/kQz1Um

— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) June 28, 2011

Go You Buffalo Bills…and our military too!

We’re Going Streaking!…ESPN

That is currently the battle-cry of my son-in-law. No, not that 70’s fad. We’re talking ESPN Streak For The Cash.

Not only has ESPN created an addicting game/competition, they have also engaged hundreds-of-thousands of players.  You log in each day (as many times as you choose), to make selections/guesses on the outcome of certain sporting events or circumstances. You are measured by your win streak. Yes…that’s consecutive wins.