What is Digital Cheer Squad?

Digital Cheer Squad is an online frequent flyer rewards system that grades a fan based upon the support they show for your team or brand via Twitter and Facebook.

It’s a great way for sports teams to connect with fans and sponsors in the continually growing world of social media.

Sports Geek first launched with Minnesota Timberwolves at the 2011 NBA Draft and now have teams in AFL, NRL and Super Rugby activating digital fans using Digital Cheer Squad.

Let’s check in with some teams using Infographics built using Infogr.am to highlight what is happening behind the scenes.

Auckland Blues – #TrueBlueHQ

Auckland Blues have done a great job engaging Blues fans with True Blue HQ take a look at some of the results they have got for the presenting partner Barfoot & Thompson, New Zealand’s largest privately owned real estate company.

Impressively, #TrueBlueHQ fans have received over 10,000 points simply from interacting with major sponsor Barfoot & Thompson on Twitter.  Fans are able to gain points simply by following and mentioning the @BarfootThompson on Twitter, as well as retweeting their tweets, if you take a look at @BarfootThompson mentions they is a lot of love from Blues fans, we are looking forward to being able to say “Real Estate company sells house via Twitter activation”.

 West Coast Eagles – #TheSwoop

The West Coast Eagles are in their 3rd season with The Swoop, they launched in 2011.

One thing that’s clear from this infographic – a goal after the final siren to win your team a game of footy doesn’t do your online popularity any harm at all!  Nic Naitanui does a great job engaging fans on Twitter and Instagram, The Swoop has helped the Eagles profile their growing roster of players active on Twitter.

North Queensland Cowboys – #CowboysSocialClub

North Queensland Cowboys launched #CowboysSocialClub last week and  fans have produced some really impressive numbers so far when it comes to sharing content on Facebook.

Posts on the official Cowboys Facebook page have received nearly 700 likes from #CowboysSocialClub fans while  around 11,000 points have been distributed to fans who have gone on to share these posts with their Facebook friends. Giving fans an extra incentive to share official team content helps the Cowboys maintain a strong online brand and presence.

South Sydney Rabbitohs – #SouthSydneySocial

The Rabbitohs’ Digital Cheer Squad – #SouthSydneySocial – was launched last night, and we’ll be sure to bring you an update on how that’s tracking in the coming weeks.  Early returns are good with fans registering around Australia and a few international fans from the Rabbitohs wide fan base.

Check them all out

• Blues – True Blue HQ
• Eagles – The Swoop
• Cowboys – Cowboys Social Club
• Rabbitohs – South Sydney Social

Follow @DigiCheerSquad on Twitter to see fans from all teams firing up.

Stay tuned for more teams launching soon, so keep an eye on SportsGeek’s Facebook and Twitter accounts so you can be sure to sign up as soon as it drops!

Interested in Digital Cheer Squad for your team? Simply contact us

In this podcast we discuss the world of location based social networks or geolocation with Tariq Ahmad from Sport Shadow on ABC Grandstand Digital with Francis Leach.  On HarfTime with Daniel Harford we discuss the 12 types of social media personalities.  Since David Beckham announced his retirement last week we go back to our archives and ask Lisa Bregman from LA Galaxy about the impact Beckham had on the Galaxy’s digital platforms.

More specifically, in this podcast you’ll find out about:

• How sports fans are using location based social networks
• What are the 12 types of personalities on social media and what does this mean for sports marketers
• What was it like having a sports mega brand like David Beckham on LA Galaxy squad
• How to design and prototype your next mobile app using pen and paper
• How athletes should behave on Twitter and why swearing is sometimes OK

Download the episode here

Resources from the episode

• Take a look at the stats for stadiums at SportShadow.com
• Link to Kevin Cote’s tweet regarding check ins at Warriors playoff games
• Here is a quick list as promised on ABC Grandstand of stadiums I have been to. (I’m positive I’ve missed a few)
• The 12 types of social media personalities infographic and Exact Target’s breakdown of social media consumption and contribution
• Full interview with Lisa Bregman on LA Galaxy digital and David Beckham
• Download POP here to design your next mobile application using pen and paper
• In case you didn’t see David Warner’s tweets (since have been deleted) and here is his interview/apology on YouTube
• Harry O’Brien’s strong and quick response on Twitter to TV viewers who read lips

On iTunes? Subscribe to the Sports Geek Podcast in iTunes, if you liked the episode please leave comment or rating.

Don’t use iTunes? Subscribe using this feed, we are also available on Stitcher

Thanks for tuning in, I’d love your feedback in the comments or send me a tweet @seancallanan

Dr David Giles, an expert in social media behaviour and a Reader in Media Psychology at Winchester University, said: “Most people using social media will display a combination of those personality types, and they may even behave differently on Facebook, for example, to how they behave on Twitter.

The 12 personality types are:

• The Ultras
• The Deniers
• The Dippers
• The Virgins
• The Lurkers
• The Peacocks
• The Ranters
• The Ghosts
• The Changelings
• The Quizzers
• The Informers
• The Approval-seekers

What is your social media personality type?

Let us know in the comments what personality type you are.

Sir Alex Ferguson retires. #thankyousiralex

— Manchester United PO (@ManUtd_PO) May 8, 2013

Last week, in one of the year’s biggest sports news stories, Sir Alex Ferguson called it quits on his illustrious 26-year career at Manchester United. Ferguson’s popularity on and off the pitch has been well documented (including on Sports Geek Podcast 002), and the online response to the news from fans and players past and present, was understandably overwhelming.

Sports stars show Twitter love

Thanks for everything, Boss. twitter.com/Cristiano/stat… — Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) May 8, 2013

The bosses work ethic, his desire to win + to make us better players were unrivalled. Thanks boss. — Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) May 8, 2013

Sad day for football.The Great Man RETIRES. One of the GREATEST managers ever.SAF is 1 of the most infuential people that I have met #KING — Tim Cahill (@Tim_Cahill) May 8, 2013

As we’ve come to expect when significant sports news breaks, social media goes into an frenzy. Within five minutes, the official Manchester United Press office tweet announcing Ferguson’s retirement had been retweeted 5,000 times. An hour later, that number had grown to over 100,000. It wasn’t long before the #thankyousiralex hashtag was the number one trending topic worldwide, as reported by Head of sport for Twitter in the UK/Europe @LewisWiltshire:

The official @manutd_po hashtag #ThankYouSirAlex already trending number one globally. twitter.com/LewisWiltshire…

— Lewis Wiltshire (@LewisWiltshire) May 8, 2013

Analyzing Twitter data

According to Topsy.com the #thankyousiralex hashtag was used around 350,000 times on Twitter in the week following the news being broken, with spikes of 167,000 on May 8th and 140,000 on May 12th, here is a quick infographic we built with Infogr.am.

A look at Facebook traffic using Bit.ly

Fans were also encouraged to leave messages of support via a custom Facebook application, which to date has been clicked more than 240,000 times from a number of locations around the world, as explained in Sports Geek Podcast.

Facebook numbers, WOW!

The announcement was handled extremely well by Manchester United’s media team, who were able to incorporate their respect and appreciation with a number of Facebook posts that oozed class and a strong sense of fan engagement:

But the most heart-felt sign of fans’ appreciation came before his side’s penultimate match of the 2012-13 season, where players from both Manchester United and visiting team Swansea City joined to form a guard of honour:

Professional til the end.

#ThankYouSirAlex

This year was Golden State’s first time in the playoffs since their incredible run in 2006-07.  The years between appearances resulted in placing of 3rd and 4th in their division and missing the playoffs.  Sean was lucky enough to be in town just as they clinched for the 2013 playoffs.  Their absence over the past couple of years has elevated fan excitement and the Golden State Warriors have used this to their advantage and have taken to Social Media to interact and engage with their fans through an exciting competition.

The Playoff Ticket Scavenger Hunt is a contest which the Warriors ran giving away a range of prizes in the ten days leading up to their first home playoff game.  The contest revolves around all social media and digital platforms for the Warriors including: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Mobile App, Insider email, Insider mobile and Youtube.  Each day there would be clues and challenges published on one of these platforms, which required you to respond to win.

Having a contest which incorporates all digital platforms has given the Warriors an opportunity to develop and improve their reach with their fans. If fans wanted to increase their chances of winning, the best opportunity is to sign up or follow all of the Warriors 8 digital platforms so they don’t miss out on the clues or challenges posted. This in turn possesses as an incredible opportunity for the Warriors to develop their fan base in a digital sense, but more importantly allows the organisation to interact and engage with followers in the future.

Let’s now look at how the Golden State Warriors used their Social Media platforms for the Playoff Scavenger Hunt.

Day 1: Engaging Facebook Fan Base

The Warriors started the scavenger hunt contest with Facebook, which has the most amount of followers at 458,384. Starting with their most popular platform is a great way in informing their largest base of followers of the competitions commencement. It also allows for Facebook users to become aware of other social media platforms the Warriors use regularly throughout the season.

The day 1 challenge started off with an easy assignment for followers which required them to ‘LIKE & SHARE’ the below post. Winners were chosen at random and announced the following day. The post received 6,983 likes and 6,815 shares.

Day 2: Driving a Twitter frenzy

Following Facebook the @Warriors took to Twitter, their second largest following at 219,348, for the hardest challenge in the competition. The Warriors did warn that this challenge was ‘Extra Challenging’ in their first tweet. The challenge required followers to find a clue within their ‘Gameday Photo Galleries’ from the season.

Followers on Facebook who don’t have twitter received a clue via a photo post of Stephen Curry wearing a ‘@warriors – #letsgowarriors’ t-shirt. The picture also featured the twitter logo over the top of the Warriors logo. For followers on Facebook who don’t know what twitter was, hand no idea what the clue was, as comments of “blue jays carrying them over the bridge” and “a mocking jay?” featured throughout the comments section. Other fans where nice enough to direct those lost to twitter to follow the challenges instructions.

This is where the challenge gets tricky. There are 24 galleries per page and 17 pages of gallery photos since the start of the season with numerous amounts photos in each gallery, I guess the Warriors really wanted fans to work for their tickets. I have to be honest I didn’t manage to find the clue through the galleries as I gave up after close to an hour of searching, as did many others who didn’t have time to search.

Day 3: Driving Fans to Mobile App

Day 4: Everyone loves Bobbleheads

The day 4 challenge was for Oakland residents to head down to a specific Lucky Supermarket and find a Klay Thompson bobble head. Once found you were required to take a photo with the bobble head and post it on Twitter or Instagram with the #FoundKlay hash tag.

This is a simple challenge which incorporated Lucky Supermarkets, who are the official grocery store sponsor of the Warriors and the Oakland Raiders. A great way of using sponsors in the social media competition to increase brand awareness for the grocery store.

Time is running out on Day 4 of the Scavenger Hunt, but some bonus prizes might be on the way later tonight… | twitter.com/warriors/statu…

— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) April 19, 2013

Day 5: Show some love on Instagram

Instagram was the sole target of the day 5 challenge via their account @officialwarriors. The challenged prompted fans to be as creative as they can while impersonating player Kent Bazemore’s famous three point celebration named ‘Bazemoring’. The photo had to be tagged with #bazemoring hash tag for winners to be picked. Entries featured poses on top of cars, outside Oracle stadium and where ever the opportunity presented itself for fans.

Kent Bazemore is known as the NBA’s number 1 towel-waver and bench hype machine, who continually displays his game long energy celebrating player’s shots. This signature move of celebrating 3’s was used by the Warriors as a Facebook check in competition for fans at a home playoff game to receive a 3 point foam finger, drawing on the ‘Bazemoring’ and ‘Splash Brothers’ hype. This is another impressive opportunity which the Warriors have used to their advantage to engage and interact with their fans. The Winner of the challenge was announced on Twitter and can been seen below

Congrats to Paul L. for winning our Playoff Ticket Scavenger Hunt #Bazemoring Contest! twitter.com/warriors/statu…

— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) April 21, 2013

Day 6: Mobile promotion using SMS

1/2) Next clues for today’s Playoff Ticket Scavenger Hunt. You can find the @gswarriorgirls in front of Emeryville @metropcs & @jambajuice

— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) April 20, 2013

2/2) @gswarriorgirls will be there from 11:30am to 1:00pm today. Find them, get the secret code word, and text it to 53548 to qualify to win

— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) April 20, 2013

Day 7: #DubNation pins down Pinterest

The Warriors Pinterest page has the least amount of followers out of all social media avenues used for the Warriors. As a result the scavenger hunt competition stands as a great way of promoting and increasing followers. The challenge was for users to create a ‘board’ labelled ‘#DubNation’ and required you to post 20 things that creatively display your Golden State Warriors pride.

As Pinterest is continually growing and relatively new to sports teams, the ways in which teams interact and engage with fans and supporters is different. Pinterest has a large female following and the inclusion of this platform in the scavenger competition is an excellent way for the Warriors to reach their female fans and supporters.  Check out our Sports on Pinterest board.

Day 8: Share and Like the team you love on Facebook

We are back on Facebook with the 8th challenge looking at fans relieving their favourite moments from the season. To officially enter the challenge followers needed to again LIKE & SHARE the post and provide a comment on their favourite moment.

An easy challenge to complete which provides an opportunity for fans to talk about the amazing season the Warriors are having so far and continues the hype and excitement leading into game two of their round 1 matchup against the Denver Nuggets.

I thought i should also provide my favourite moment of the season. I feel sorry for the rookies . . . . .

Day 9: Crowdsourcing fan video on YouTube

The final day of the Scavenger Hunt continued on from the favourite moments challenge from day 8 and fans needed to get the camera out for YouTube. An extra two tickets were up for grabs and fans needed to film a 30sec clip of a re-enactment of their favourite play, people #Bazemoring, the Landry flex, putting up some 3-point goggles or wearing some Warriors merchandise.

This challenge was promoting their YouTube channel and needed fans to submit their videos via the Warrior’s website. Riding their playoff excitement fans really produced some impressive videos in the short time they had. Below are two of my personal favourites

Day 10: Integrating Adidas with Twitter and Instagram

The Warriors weren’t done yet and threw in a BONUS day, giving away a Harrison Barnes jersey. The final challenge used Instagram and Twitter once again getting fans to take a photo of themselves with a mannequin wearing the jersey at the Adidas store in San Francisco. Once again we see an opportunity for a sponsor to be involved in the competition.

Final notes

In summary most of the challenges were fairly easy to follow and complete, the only challenge which maybe and should have been altered was the day 2 challenge. This could of been improved with the inclusion of a clue indicating which date the gallery clue might be from. This could have saved a lot of time for followers and been more engaging and positive, as many people commented that they had given up as it was too hard.

The challenges throughout the scavenger hunt were fair as most challenges were not a race. This made each challenge available to all fans and supporters as everyone who entered had an equal chance of winning. The majority of the challenges were different as some involved appearing at stores and then using Instagram to the basic sharing and liking posts on facebook.

Using their most popular social media platforms as the primarily avenues to inform followers of clues and challenges was a great way of promoting other developing platforms such as Pinterest and their Mobile app. Drawing on key moments through the year such as the #Bazemoring poses, continually keep fans excited leading into the playoffs.

The only question which remains is, how active will these users be if they have only signed up to win playoff tickets, will they be influencers in the future?

What did you think?  Let me know in the comments.

In this podcast I discuss the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson from Manchester United on ABC Grandstand Digital with Francis Leach.  On HarfTime with Tony Schibeci filling in for Harf we discuss the some of the social media and digital tools we use at Sports Geek and recommend to out clients.  We are also joined by BJ Scott on a Clarity call discussing Linkedin and how I built Sports Geek using Linkedin.

More specifically, in this podcast you’ll find out about:

• How many fans said #ThankYouSirAlex on Twitter and how much traffic was generated from Facebook
• What to do when you accidentally tweet big news too early
• What tools do we use at Sports Geek
• How to save Instagram photos you like to your Dropbox
• How to get a phone call with Mark Cuban

Download the episode here

Resources from the episode

• A look behind the Manchester United stats via their bit.ly link (Sports Geek Tip: Just add + to any bit.ly link to check for yourself)
• Twitter Sports blog post on #ThankYouSirAlex, thanks to Lewis Wiltshire and @ManUtd_PO
• Sean Walsh‘s post on the Manchester United mistweet, good pick up Sean.
• Sports Geek Tools list made using List.ly
• Here is some of my IFTTT recipes I use and share with clients.
• Tao of Sports podcast with Troy Kirby interviewing myself, Ted Johnson and Christine Stoffel
• SEAT Conference this August in Kansas City
• Clarity – where you can call Chris Brogan, Sean Malarkey, myself or even Mark Cuban
• Connect with Sports Geek on LinkedIn or connect with me and connect with BJ Scott on Twitter

On iTunes? Subscribe to the Sports Geek Podcast in iTunes, if you liked the episode please leave comment or rating.

Don’t use iTunes? Subscribe using this feed, we are also available on Stitcher

Thanks for tuning in, I’d love your feedback in the comments or send me a tweet @seancallanan

Kevin Love signs autographs for fans to kick off the Get Closer campaign

The Minnesota Timberwolves, like many other professional sports organisations, use multiple social media platforms to engage and interact with their fans and supporters. Recently, the team has used to their YouTube channel to support and promote their innovative ‘Get Closer’ season-ticket renewal strategy.

The campaign draws on sports fans’ desire to be as close to the action as possible, but also embodies a sense of appreciation for fans who have continually shown their support. Driven by the hash-tagged #GetCloser slogan, this theme of ‘appreciation’ is consistent across all mediums, and herein lies the strategy’s uniqueness and effectiveness.

Instead of promoting season ticket renewals directly or giving away merchandise, the Timberwolves are showing how they have and will continue to give back to their fans and the community through, player/fan events and behind the scenes access. This gives us a sense that the fans are as important as the players are which is particularly evident through their recent series of videos on YouTube:

Behind the scenes access:

As you can you see from the videos above, Minnesota gave season ticket holders an opportunity of a life time to be part of their campaign commercials. The videos portray fans with players in a real life conversation discussing topics not relating to basketball. This shows another side of the players rather than their athletic abilities which are usually on display for the fans, but insight on a personal level, in a very comical way (Andrei Kirilenko’s ‘Get Closer:  AK’ was a personal favourite).

There are also a couple of videos which give fans a behind the scenes access of their jet, inside the TV Truck, interview with Wolves radio host Alan Horton and Player outing coverage. There is also a special playlist dedicated to season ticket holders who have renewed their membership with a special message from individual players, again going above and beyond for their support.

As we can see Minnesota has been very active and measured through their Youtube channel when showing fan appreciation and continually offering an experience even when the final buzzer has sounded.

To improve the campaigns effectiveness and reach the Timberwolves have effectively used their other digital platforms. Facebook was used to show the benefits and access the Wolves give to their fans which is the experience unlike another teams offer:

Twitter was also used with the #GetCloser hash tag to group and follow tweets:

#GetCloser – @tomscottm discusses exclusive benefits of being a #Twolves Season Ticket Member – youtube.com/watch?v=CqODvc… @wolvesmembers

— MN Timberwolves (@MNTimberwolves) April 2, 2013

At our #twolves seat member clinic Luke just informed me that “Just so you know my Dad owns season tix – #getcloser twitter.com/MinnesotaMunn/…

— Jeff Munneke (@MinnesotaMunn) March 30, 2013

Event coverage was seen through Instagram:

Last but not least Google+ and Vine have also been used to support the season ticket drive:

One final note, Social media platforms all have their own unique way of engaging and interacting with followers and users, this provides opportunities for Sports organisations to establish deeper connections with fans and supporters. The Minnesota Timberwolves have executed a thorough campaign involving a range of platforms to show how they give back to their fans who give so much.