From Forbes.com What The Knicks Told LeBron: Come To New York And Make $1 Billion

Here is the InterBrand presentation that backs up the numbers that the New York Knicks should be the destination for @KingJames.

Perhaps the Knicks could’ve used this fan photo added to LeBron’s Facebook page to the presentation as well?

Just a quick post to understand the importance of branding your events.  With so many channels available sometimes fundamentals of event branding can get lost.

Effective use of team’s logos and colour is crucial to your event.  Your fans display their affiliation and pride in your team by wearing your logos & merchandise.  BUILD ON THAT!

Any venue can quickly become “home-ground territory” which your fans will love to soak up.

Additionally connect your event with your online fans using hashtags like #jetsrally.  Extending your event branding to your online platforms helps your fans to show support for your event.  What you will find is fans will be engaged online both at the event and away from the event (at home or on the move).

Take a look what the NY Jets did on a very large scale with their Jets Championship Rally held in Times Square before their big game against the Chargers earlier this year when I was in New York on #SportsGeekTrip.  Not only were the fans excited about the upcoming game (which they lost unfortunately) but when all the billboards started to change to Jets green the energy in Times Square was magnified.  You could say the fans loved the branding of the event as they tore down the sponsor signs (as pictured above) and walked back to the subway with them, then again that may be Jets fans

What have been the non-game sports events you’ve been to?  What made them special?

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SRG Conferences – July in Sydney & Auckland – NBA, Real Madrid, Tottenham
Follow @SportConference for updates

Good work by Cam Schwab (@camschwab) of the Melbourne Demons starting “Whiteboard Wednesday” discussing strategy behind running a sports franchise.

I’m sure Demon fans are stoked to get this level of access to their club’s CEO.

It’s a great use of YouTube as a video sharing platform I’ll look forward to more Whiteboard Wednesdays.

If you’re looking for the book mentioned in first video then look no further, Management Secrets of the New England Patriots Volume 2

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The AFL has launched it’s “official” iPhone application from the social media chatter we’ve monitored footy fans are not happy with the pricing of the app at a recurring $6 every 30 days.   Unfortunately for the AFL there is already iPhone applications that provide similar functionality for free  (Footy Lite sponsored by Triple M, Aussie Rules Live 2010 sponsored by CarSales.com.au).

The subscription-based iPhone application is relatively new concept as Apple has opened up the ability for in-app purchases.  In-app purchases allow upgrades inside the application rather than purchasing a new application in the App Store, a good example of this is extra levels or upgrades in a game.  As a contrast to the subscription model the MLB delivers one of world’s finest sports iPhone application MLB At Bat at a premium one-off price of $17.99 which has been a big hit with baseball fans despite the higher than standard price.

As sports fans what do you think? Have the AFL price this app correctly?

Do you think more iPhone apps will follow a subscription model?

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Last night I presented to club presidents at the Southern Football League about the impact social media can have on local sports.

It was great to see the passion for the game at grassroots and it will be great creating a strong social media strategy for these clubs.

Social media can allow sporting clubs to become an online community hub for sports, families & local business if executed correctly in the same way they have been an “offline” community hub for many years.

And because the Slideshare – YouTube embed seems to playing up here is the video I played, an oldie but a goodie for people who are not quite understanding the impact social media is having on the world.

Sports Geek Social Media Workshop comes in 2 forms:

Social Media Heavy Hitters – Comprehensive workshop targeted to leagues, franchises & facilities who want to grow and manage their social media presence.

Small Sports Big Opportunities – Sports Geek gives back to local clubs & leagues to help them find new sponsorship opportunities via social media.

Check out Sports Geek Social Media Workshop for more info.

Connect with Sports Geek on Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook & LinkedIn
Contact Sports Geek about the Sports Geek Social Media Workshop.

The issue of athlete identity theft hit the papers again this week regarding fake athlete (AFL) accounts on Twitter.   Last time I spoke about this issue on SEN’s The Run Home regarding identity theft on Facebook.   If you want Sports Geek’s take on how athletes can handle the problem of online impersonators then check out my post – Fake sports stars can damage a personal brand. Kudos to Collingwood’s Harry O’Brien extending his social media work from Twitter to Facebook to Harry’s World website and taking control of his online brand.

How do you get rid of these fake athlete accounts?  Contact Sports Geek for more info on how to eliminate fake accounts in your sport.

What about the general public – how do you know who to follow & who to listen to?  Who is real?

Sports Geek’s Twitter Quick Follow Guide

What is their username?

Is it a real person or a real brand?  It may be nickname or an online name but if the name looks suspect don’t bother following.

What is their Twitter avatar?

Same question – is it a real person or logo? Admittedly some people use cartoon avatars or non-descript pictures but they maybe just shy.

Some fakes use the same avatar on multiple accounts if you see the avatar repeated in may be a fake or an automated account.

What is their bio say?

Gives you some insight into what they will tweet about and how that might interest you to follow back.

How many followers do they have?

This one is more subjective as some people relate follower numbers with influence & expertise.  This is where you look at the follower to following ratio.  High following numbers can be automated via tools to automatically follow people on keywords.  Twitter tries to restrict this by implementing rules & guidelines but they can be exploited by third-party follower tools.  How can you spot an inflated follower count?  They are following as many people as they have following them – maintaining the Twitter 1:1 ratio. However many of those accounts may be automatically following back to increase their follower counts as well.  These accounts use technology that works on following people & unfollowing them 24 hours later if they haven’t followed back, churning through the Twitterverse looking for accounts that automatically follow back.

Sports Geek Tip: High follower numbers does not automatically equal expertise or influence.

What do they tweet about?

This is the main criteria I use to decide whether I follow back.

What are they tweeting about? Is it topics of interest to you?
Who do they tweet with? Do other people you know tweet with them?
If they just broadcast and never engage in discussion, will it provide value to me?

Now that might seem like too much to check, yet it only takes 10-15 seconds and allows you to have a stream of quality tweets in your field of interest.

Fake accounts crave attention and followers if you don’t follow them you don’t have to worry about them.

If you want to follow me please do so @seancallanan (I talk about sports & tech funnily enough) or for article & blog posts from @_sportsgeek_.

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If you work in the ever changing world of sports communications you maybe:

• wondering “what’s all the fuss social media about?”
• starting to use Twitter but not sure what to tweet or why to tweet or when to tweet?
• the administrator for a Facebook Fan looking for strategies to grow your fan base?
• aware of some social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube), heard of others (Foursquare, LinkedIn) but wondering how to tackle them all with an integrated approach.

Well what you need is the Sports Geek Social Media Workshop!

After the Sports Geek Social Media Workshop you’ll understand how social media can keep your fans connected.

Some of the topics covered in the Sports Geek Social Media Workshop include:

• How to monitor your brand in the digital space
• How to find your fans using social media
• What platforms your fans are using
• How to engage your Twitter following
• How to make sales via social media platforms
• Creating engaging social media stories

You’ll also receive some useful information on:

• Social media usage in USA garnered through recent Sports Geek Trip
• How the New York Knicks integrated their “I Declare” campaign with social media

Sports Geek Social Media Workshop comes in 2 forms:

Social Media Heavy Hitters – Comprehensive workshop targeted to leagues, franchises & facilities who want to grow and manage their social media presence.

Small Sports Big Opportunities – Sports Geek gives back to local clubs & leagues to help them find new sponsorship opportunities via social media.

Check out Sports Geek Social Media Workshop for more info.

Connect with Sports Geek on Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook & LinkedIn
Contact Sports Geek about the Sports Geek Social Media Workshop.

As blogged previously by Sports Geek slowly teams & media are sitting up and taking notice.

Monitoring of your brand is mandatory to hear what your fans are saying but in some cases also your players.  Conversely, athletes also need to be aware of the impact a tweet or picture on Facebook may have on their image and their club’s image.  Most athlete’s “get it” but for those who don’t there needs to be sports executives monitoring the digital space to protecting the team & league’s brand.

This from Sports Illustrated saying the tweets shared by NBA players may be crucial in monitoring the big free agent class of 2010.

Social networking will influence the free-agent market this summer. So promises a league insider with an extended background in college basketball.

“In the old days, teams used to control players,” he said. “Now the teams have lost that control, to the point that the NBA had to put in rules that players are not allowed to use Twitter at halftime. The thing with these players, their lifestyles revolve around technology. They want instant information.

“You’re now dealing with kids who think that anything you do or say is public. To them it is public, because they all communicate with each other.”

This week, the Celtics dealt with a half-day of speculation that Pierce was out for the year after teammate Shelden Williams posted a Twitter message that suggested bad news was on the way. As a result, the Celtics rushed out a news release late at night diagnosing Pierce as day-to-day with a sprained foot. “They don’t think about the rules or privacy when they use Twitter,” the league insider said. “The Celtics don’t want the opposition to know if Pierce is injured, but Williams didn’t think about what he was doing to the Celtics; he just did it.

“Twitter has become a broadcasting network for athletes. Around July 1, there is going to be so much tweeting among the free agents, and all of these guys will be communicating with each other, and if you don’t think they’re going to be telling each other about the offers they’re getting, then you’re crazy. It’s going to be the summer of instant information, and it’s going to change the whole market, because everybody will know what kind of money is out there and what each team is trying to do.

“If I were a GM, I’d hire two or three kids from college and have them scour the Internet every day to find out what’s being said by who. If you want to know what’s going on, that’s how you can find out.”

If you want to see what athletes are tweeting then follow our list – Athletes Who Tweet.  Are we missing your fave athlete who tweets? Let us know at @_SportsGeek_.

Follow Sports Geek on Twitter @_SportsGeek_ & @seancallanan

Contact Sports Geek for more info on how to manage your digital presence

One of the biggest challenges many teams face is differentiating themselves whilst adhering league brand guidelines.  It was a common theme with the teams I met with on #sportsgeektrip.

Many leagues across the globe follow a similar digital model.  League web sites are developed and team web sites are created under the league umbrella.

MLB.com, NBA.com,  NHL.com, AFL.com.au are some examples of these Leagues that follow this “Umbrella model”.
(*edit thanks for comment: Essendon stand alone as an exception running independently of the AFL very successfully with EssendonFC.com.au)

If you take a look at team websites e.g. LA Dodgers Vs New York Yankees or Collingwood Vs Hawthorn you’ll see some team customization but they are locked into a League framework.  The NBA follows a similar model but teams are using custom landing pages (or splash pages like the Mavs do) to offer fans special deals.

Other leagues like the NFL.com & PremierLeague.com have decoupled the League’s web deal from the teams.

What’s better?

The “Umbrella model” makes administration of League branding much easier and sometimes can lead to a better sponsorship deal as it is league-wide.  However, it can be restrictive both creatively and financially to the teams who want to push the Web 2.0 envelope.  From a technical prospective a league wide CMS (content management system) does reduce the need for in-house web staff for teams but many people who use these systems find them too restrictive.  Leagues that abandon the “Umbrella model” face the problem of a potentially creating a tech gap between the have and have-nots.  Some teams like those run by MSG (Knicks, Rangers, Liberty) help promote their teams outside the standard team’s sites through the stadium (TheGarden.com), then again with so many sports properties MSG is a unique business.

What are your thoughts?

• Does the ability for league’s to secure deals outweigh a team’s desire to innovate?
• Would teams do a better job if they could go it alone?
• Would small-market teams struggle maintaining own website?

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A big focus of #sportsgeektrip was to see how much of the buzz around social media translated IRL (in real life).

Most of the teams & even some of the facilities now have a presence on Twitter, it’s how they use it is where it gets interesting.  For a list of League & Franchise Twitter accounts check out our Sports Geek Stars list.

The tweets from sports Twitter accounts fall into 4 categories.

Sports News Information

These tweets are standard fare for sports accounts generally relaying news & articles from the team’s website or local news reports.  These can use tech like Feedburner or TwitterFeed to automatically post to Twitter.  The key is to ensure these tweets are sent at a time when your fans want them and are sufficiently spaced out so you do not flood your fans twitter stream.

@thenyrangers Rangers alum Steve Vickers was this week’s guest on Rangers Radio, check out this week’s show here: http://bit.ly/5ubq1v

But sports twitter fans love the easy “insider” access that you can get with services like Twitpic to get closer them to the team.  It is these kind of updates that give your stream value & are unique to your Twitter “broadcast”. News & notes from practice or simple updates from your team’s road trip that are exclusive to your Twitter stream are more likely to generate buzz amongst your fans.

@VanCanucks http://twitpic.com/117p7l – All #Canucks Olympians wearing their Olympic gloves at practice this morning.

Promotions & Marketing

This is where you can make offers to fans.  Some might be ticket offers like below from the Clippers or sponsor promotions.  The New York Rangers were the only team that I witnessed on #sportsgeektrip that used Twitter at the game when they upgraded some of their twitter followers.  As more sports fans tweet during games expect sports facilities to start engaging with fans in the stadium.

@laclippers Here’s an exclusive offer just for our followers: buy 1 ticket to Sat’s game v. @Spurs, get 1 free: http://bit.ly/951eYQ /CODE: CLIPTWEET

Play By Play

Using Twitter for play by play or score updates can be fraught with danger as many fans may tune out the tweets or worse unfollow due to the high frequency of tweets in a short period.  It can work in a low-scoring sport like hockey or soccer where scores are rare but in higher scoring sports twitter doesn’t translate.  The key thing to remember before tweeting is “Am I providing value to my followers with this tweet?” if the answer is no then don’t hit that enter key.

Score update or highlight tweets however can help generate fervor in your fan base triggering your fan’s Twitter support.  It’s a fine line if you turn your in-game tweets into a more conversational stream (next category) you may see more Twitter action from your fans.

Conversational

This is where Twitter can really help you engage your fans.  Ask questions, answer questions, join in the conversation with your tribe.  Conversations can happen with a “corporate” sports account but many people like talking to a person rather than a brand.  This is where Peter Casey has had success when covering St John’s games via Twitter.

@stkildafc RT @BridgetteHEY: Lock and load! Got my @stkildafc membership today. Two more weeks checking the mail box #gosaints

@CFL Not anymore! Thanks for the heads up… RT @merlin67: @CFL you are missing @MrMann86 on your cfl players list

Here’s one of my faves from a game I was at at MSG

@Peter_R_Casey The ref just copped a feel on the other ref. Right cheek. #awkwardmomentsinsports #stjbb

In a future post I will look at the tech you can use to monitor, track & build your Twitter presence.

Read more about the #sportsgeektrip in these posts.
Contact Sports Geek for more info on how to manage your Twitter presence .