I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Bryan Srabian as part of my Sports Marketing 2.0 blog. Bryan is the Social Media Director for the San Francisco Giants and is doing some innovative things with social media. Here is part of that post:
One thing from this video that stands out is the way the Giants used Twitter during games. Whether they were using Twitter to host a trivia contest or post in-game photos, Bryan Srabian and the Giants found creative and effective ways to engage fans during games. I recently had the chance to talk with Bryan Srabian about the value of Twitter as an in-game marketing tool.
The Giants are doing some innovative things with Twitter, and the video touches on some of the in-game Twitter promotions you used last season. From a marketing perspective, is Twitter more valuable during games or outside the games?
Twitter is definitely a valuable tool/platform for teams. It's hard to say if it is more valuable in game or outside of games. It serves so many different purposes. I think it definitely adds to the experience of watching the game from home. It allows the team to engage fans, monitor what the chatter is, bring fans together as a community and for the team to communicate with those fans while they have their attention. This brings the fans closer to the game and allows for a more emotional attachment and creates a shared experience.
Outside the game, you don’t have the same attention or shared experience, but you are trying to keep that attachment going, keep your brand top of mind. In the offseason, it's very important. You can share key dates, news of the team, upcoming events like fan fest, monitor chatter on the brand during the offseason, and even announce your special events schedule for the upcoming season. These are all things that Twitter allows you to do like never before. I think both are equally important from a marketing perspective, but more importantly, forget the marketing for a second. I believe Twitter has allowed fans and teams to communicate like never before and it goes deeper than marketing, it’s a true relationship. Fans can voice their opinion on a number of factors and teams can communicate to broad specter of fans/followers or individually in real time.
You can find the rest of the post here. Also, you can follow Bryan on Twitter here.
