How to tweet your brand during March Madness or any other sports event.
The eyes of sports fans all over the United States are focused on two big events this March: March Madness and the World Baseball Classic.
Twitter remains the most ideal platform for engaging with people in conversations about current events, in an open way and with fast feedback. Your brand should seize these opportunities, so and here are some things you should keep in mind when doing so:
1- Understand the game
You can’t be tweeting about what you don’t know. Make sure you understand what’s going to happen on the court/field or make sure you get a community manager that does for this special occasion. You’ll need to know the right terms, team players, moves, and stats. Do some research on the history of each team, so you can have some extra fun facts to share between the quarters or innings.
2- Know the right hashtags and handles
Again, research is key. Keep on hand a list of the most important hashtags to be used. Like the @NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) has its own Twitter handle, but also the @MarchMadness event itself is on Twitter too. Special hashtags like #MarchMadness, #NCAAw for the women’s games or #FinalFour are also key. As for the World Baseball Classic, you should use the handle @WBCBaseball and the hashtag #WBC2017. But make sure you keep a list of what the teams are using as well as the official TV channel and the main sponsors. Monitor their content so you can engage in their conversations.
3- Showcase your viewing party live!
Do you own a restaurant or bar? Are you having a live viewing party? Or just some office fun to ease some weekly tension? Show it to the world. Share pictures on how you prepare to host your guests. Show a live streaming via Periscope to present the cool vibe of the moment and engage with your followers.
4- Follow Influencer Twitter lists
It could be the game anchors or important influencers in basketball, baseball, or the sports world in general. “Listening to influential users in your industry and then connecting with them is a great way to build relationships. To do that, you can either create your own Twitter lists or follow lists that have already been created”, says Cindy King from SocialMediaExaminer.com. It will not only allow you to engage with these people but your brand will also gain exposure among their followers.
5- Create your own Ads and graphics
http://www.msmdesignzblog.com/wp-con your team and come up with your own creative Ads to share during commercial breaks. Gifs are a great and funny option too. Like this one we created for our client Kinetic Sports Club. Use creative captions to introduce your images and make different versions to alternate during the whole game.