Facebook Best Practices

Since the inception of the new Facebook layout in March, 2009, company best practices for using Facebook have changed. Now, the site is dramatically less reliant on independently-developed applications and much more focused on fan pages. The following are company best practices, mostly from outside of the sports property sphere, for developing a fan page.

Integrate other platforms. On the “Year One” page, fans have the option to play “Rock, Paper, Spear,” a clever game that redirects fans to YouTube. After a quick video that ties in the new Year One movie with a humorous version of rock, paper, scissors, fans play a two-round game of rock, paper, spear with a tribal warrior. The video then directs viewers to watch the movie trailer.

Converse with fans. The Disney fan page is a leader in this practice. With increasing frequency, the Disney asks its fans questions to create a conversation. After Disney recently asked, “Who is your favorite Disney couple?” 1,294 fans posted comments in the first two weeks. Talk about engagement.

Another way to engage with fans is through the “reviews” feature on the Facebook fans page. Several brands make excellent use of this feature, such as EA Sports in its FIFA 09 page. Here, fans have free rein to post unfiltered opinions about the game, some of which are vulgar, others unfavorable, but most of which are overwhelmingly positive.

Get and use feedback. In a recent conversation with Pat Coyle, former Executive Director of Digital Business with the Indianapolis Colts, I asked haw the Colts get feedback. A major source of feedback is forum threads about marketing issues or emotional topics, which they use in various ways.

Use Flash. Fox news goes a little overboard with its Flash games, but is a good fan page to look at to see the different applications of this tool. Here, Fox News has a “Fox News Flair” Flash widget that lets fans send buttons of their favorite conservative pundit, a “360 degree studio tour” that lets news junkies get a view of the inside of three studios and the Green Room, a Flash tile game, a “Fun Facts” widget for fans to learn more about these TV personalities, and a shop that allows fans to buy trinkets like hats and mugs.

Post events. Barack Obama used social media as a successful campaign tool, on the way garnering more than 6 million Facebook fans. Part of his success came from keeping his events calendar stocked with upcoming meetings, rallies, and speeches.

Create albums. Just like individuals, brands are starting to create photo albums. A classic example of this is the Coca-Cola page. Here, Coca-Cola has 11 different albums with hundreds of photos, in categories like “Coke is Everywhere,” showing cans from around the world, and “Coca-Cola Archives,” displaying vintage advertisements. The site also allows fans to post Coke-related photos, which has led to more than 1,300 pictures of fans engaged with the brand.

Twitter Best Practices

I recently had a conversation with a senior executive at an NBA franchise that opened my eyes to how much corporate leaders distrust Twitter. There is a commonly-held view that Twitter is populated by ego-driven geeks who drone on about what they had for breakfast. While there is certainly some of this, brand managers should also be aware that Twitter is filled with millions of users who are talking right now about their needs, their likes & dislikes, and about your brand.

Hundreds of companies are using Twitter to successfully promote their brands and engage with customers. Here are six best practices for Twitter:

1. Provide customer care and feedback. This is the most talked about brand management tool available on Twitter. Ford, JetBlue, and ComCast all put tremendous effort into responding to customer complaints, praise, and questions. By using the search function on Twitter or more advanced listening tools, brands can immediately redirect frustrated customers toward the help they need, often turning a bad experience into a positive one.

2. Engage your audience. Customers want to feel like they have a voice. Starbucks asks its followers to come up with new ideas, EA asks its gamers what they’re playing now, and 10 Downing Street (Tweets from the Prime Minister’s office) asks followers to throw questions out via YouTube.

3. Start a conversation. Whether it’s Al Gore reflecting on the market for electric cars in China or John McCain lambasting the Wall Street bailout, Twitter is a public forum for conversation. Brand spokespeople can make use of this great feature, too, by authentically raising a concern or praising an achievement. It’s best if the achievement isn’t their own.

4. Learn about customer needs. Marcel LeBrun, CEO of Radian6, encourages companies to use Twitter to answer key questions about their customers. What other things (besides my product) are customers interested in? What are the most important subjects being talked about by people who use my product? Who are the key influencers?

By learning and listening, companies have the opportunity to meet their customers at a point of need. Most people won’t open an email coming from a lawn-care company, but are happy to listen to a pitch right after they complain about their brown grass.

5. Advertise an event or promotion. AdidasRunning promotes running events around the world, Powell’s Books lets readers know when an author is coming to Portland, and Samsung pushes cell phone deals and giveaways. All these companies are taking advantage of their large voice that comes with thousands of followers, brand loyalists, and industry influencers.

6. Be creative. Ashton Kutcher is quickly becoming best known for his Twitter personality, thanks in part to the gauntlet he dropped at the feet of Larry King and CNN to see who could be the first with 1,000,000 followers. EA has taken advantage of the media hoopla to offer Ashton’s 1,000,000th follower 10 EA games, and a role in the Sims 3. EA’s individual titles also creatively use Twitter to engage customers. Battlefield Heroes, for example, holds Twitter trivia contests and gives away swag to the winners. Great publicity, and a model for Twitter best practices.

@SamBoush

Sports that Tweet

The hottest new Web 2.0 site isn’t really that new at all. Twitter—the subject of recent adulation from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, LA Times and more—started as former Blogger creator Jack Dorsey’s side project in March 2006. Now this stripped-down, not-for-profit social networking site has an avid group of followers, estimated at around 7 million. Not so much compared with Facebook’s 132 million unique users, or Myspace’s 117 million users, but a rapidly-growing vanguard of early adopters that Web 2.0-savvy sports properties shouldn’t overlook.

So far, an impressive collection of sports apparel manufacturers, teams, sports media, and athletes have staked out virtual territories on Twitter. The NFL has 600 followers (and no posts), while ESPN has 36,000 followers and Lance Armstrong has 150,000 followers.

Among sports video games, EA Sports has some of the best content. About two dozen employees, developers, producers, and community managers actively tweet, including Will Kinsler (Raczilla), who has 1,300 eyes reading his Madden and NCAA series posts. Sports game publishers Activision, 2K Sports, SEGA, and Sony Computer Entertainment also have Twitter accounts.

At minimum, a Twitter presence can help communicate with customers and fans. At best, Twitter can build a brand by engaging a pre-segmented market of tech-hungry loyalists, sharing insights into upcoming products, pointing fans to a Web site or other forum, and relating with consumers in a non-corporate setting.

The white hot risk with Twitter seems clear, though. Even at 7 or 8 million unique users, Twitter has a lot of catching up to do before it can compete with its larger Web 2.0 kin, let alone traditional media giants. But, like Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams, many companies are betting that if they build it, fans will come.

Warsaw Guest Speakers

Last winter I posted a list of the fantastic guest speakers and visitors who came to the Warsaw Sports Business program. Here’s a list of sports industry leaders who have recently shared their insights with MBA students in my program.

Adam Antoniewicz, NBA China

Stephen Baines, Sports Business International

David Baker, AFL

Eric Barmack, ESPN

Lee Berke, LHB Sports

Declan Bolger, Stoneybatter, Inc.

Gert Boyle, Columbia Sportswear

Justin Byczek, NBC Sports

Carter Carnegie, NTRA

Tim Chen, NBA China

Emilio Collins, NBA

Jason Day, IMG

Len DeLuca, ESPN

Andy Dolich, San Francisco 49ers

Dave Doroghy, Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Games

David Dunn, Athletes First

Dennis Farrell, Big West Conference

Sal Galatioto, Galatioto Sports Partners

Chris Granger, NBA

Stephen Greyser, Harvard University

Arthur Griffiths, Octagon

Eric Guthoff, IMG

David Haney, AFL

Chris Heck, NBA

Heather Higgins, NTRA

Stu Jackson, NBA

Akash Jain, NBA

Patt Keck, AT&T

Erica Kerner, adidas

Hollis Kosco, IMG

Peter Land, NTRA

Amy Lasky, NTRA

Sheng Li, Visa

Hunter Lockman, NY Knicks

Donna Lopiano, Sports Management Resources

Joe Mattson, Relay Worldwide

Mike McCarley, NBC Sports

Chris McCloskey, AFL

Jim McDonald, Cornerstone Marketing

Nolan Mecham, IMG

Jason Michelotti, Millsport

Jim Noel, ESPN

Vince O’Brien, General Motors R*Works

Donna Orender, WNBA

Lisa Orzechowski, Relay Worldwide

Andy Peake, Under Armour

Jeff Price, Sports Illustrated

Shannon Pruitt, FremantleMedia

Emma Qui, Fudan University

Dave Rosen, Electronic Arts

Peter Rotondo Jr., NTRA

Peter Rotondo Sr., NTRA

John Rozeira, General Motors R*Works

Beth Schnitzer, Pier 39

Adam Silver, NBA

Andrew Sippel, ESPN

David Stern, NBA

Robert Strand, Jarden Outdoor Solutions

Lucy Strong, Octagon

Tyler Vaught, EA Sports

Marvin Washington, University of Alberta

Carter Westfall, Helios Partners

Pat Zeedick, Nike

Chris Zimmerman, Vancouver Canucks

Warsaw Guest Speakers

The sports marketing program at the University of Oregon had a strong group of guest speakers this winter. Below is a list of the industry professionals who recently shared their insights with students. Source: Lundquist College of Business biannual magazine, Business. (Volume 5, Number 11, Winter 2008)

Rick Alessandri, ESPN

Grant Armbruster, Columbia Sportswear Company

Marc Badain, Oakland Raiders

David Baker, Arena Football League

Scott Bedbury, Brandstream

Jeff Benjamin, Printroom.com

Malcolm Bordelon, San Jose Sharks

Renee Brown, WNBA

Carter Carnegie, National Thoroughbred Racing Association

Arjun Chowdri, Genesco, Inc

Michelle Collins, IMG

Ron Coverson, Stanford Athletics

Bob Cramer, Genesco, Inc

Jarrod Dillon, Oakland Raiders

Andy Dolich, Memphis Grizzlies

Kelly Dredge, IMG

Jarrett Dube, ESPN Andrew Fink, NFL

Evan Frankel, NASCAR, Inc.

Tom Fritz, Marmot Mountain, LLC

Mary Pat Gillin, NBA

David Haney, Arena Football League

Chris Heck, NBA

Stephanie Heidrich, Columbia Sportswear Company

Mike Herst, Electronic Arts, Inc.

Calen Higgins, Columbia Sportswear Company

Heather Higgins, National Thoroughbred Racing Association

Gregory C. Houser, Marmot Mountain, LLC

Stu Jackson, NBA

Akash Jain, NBA

Brian Jennings, NHL

Ilana Kloss, World Team Tennis

Katie Lacey, ESPN

Amy Lasky, National Thoroughbred Racing Association

Michael Leming, Nike, Inc.

Dana Lent, NASCAR, Inc.

Hunter Lochmann, New York Knicks

Mike Lopono, Arena Football League

Marc, Lowitz, Arena Football League

Julie Malmberg, Nike, Inc.

Mark Martin, Marmot Mountain, LLC

Donovan Mattole, Nautilus, Inc.

Chris McCloskey, Arena Football League

Tom McDonald, San Francisco Giants

David Murrell, Columbia Sportswear Company

Darrin Nelson, Stanford Athletics

Kim Nelson, Nike, Inc.

Jim Noel, ESPN

Jolynn Ovington, nau inc.

Steve Patterson, Portland Trailblazers

Andi Poch, WNBA

Jeff Price, Sports Illustrated

Craig Purcell, Oakland Raiders

Dan Reed, NBA

Andrew Rentmeester, Oakland Raiders

Michael Rooney, ESPN

Peter Rotondo, Jr., National Thoroughbred Racing Association

Peter Rotondo, Sr., National Thoroughbred Racing Association

Robert Rowell, Golden State Warriors

Jennifer Rowland, Visa International

Norris Scott, NASCAR, Inc.

Adam Silver, NBA

David Stern, NBA

Jimmy Su, NBA

Aaron Taylor, ESPN Bob Thompson, Fox Sports

Gary Treagen, Electronic Arts Inc.

Donna Tripiano, IMG

Jeff Tucker, San Francisco Giants

Jim Tucker, NASCAR, Inc.

Steve Tseng, IMG

Heidi Ueberroth, NBA

Matthieu Van Veen, NBA

Ted Van Zelst, NASCAR, Inc.

Tyler Vaught, Electronic Arts Inc.

Pamela White, National Thoroughbred Racing Association