5 Social Media Lessons the NBA Can Teach Businesses
This post is part of Mashable’s Fab Five series with Jalen Rose, which highlights trends in the social media space.Jalen Rose is a former 13-year NBA star and current ESPN basketball analyst but may be best known for being a member of the famous University of Michigan Fab Five.
One of the biggest misconceptions in sports is that the fans in the stands are the only die hard fans, when sometimes, the “true” fans are stuck watching the game at home. In this economy, there are fans who can’t afford to pay for tickets, parking, and concessions, but still follow their team very closely. The NBA is doing a good job reaching out to these fans using social media.
Here are 5 ways the NBA is succeeding with social media:
1. Engage Fans
The NBA realizes the importance of engaging their fans and has done a good job accomplishing just that. The league has a Twitter account, Facebook Fan Page, and an RSS feed that fans can follow for up to the minute updates and breaking news. On their website, they also link to popular Twitter feeds from NBA players, personalities, and all of the teams.
Lesson: Businesses can learn from the NBA’s example. Business owners can and should set up their own social media accounts to connect with their fans and customers. Also, they should make it easy for customers to find them by having links on their website and other relevant places (such as email signatures) to their social media accounts. It can really only be an asset for them.
2. Calls to Action
The NBA has numerous outreach initiatives through their NBA Cares program, and recently hosted a Martin Luther King Day social media initiative, which I participated in.
With the help of the NBA, on January 18, Points of Light Institute and HandsOn Network engaged the nation in an MLK Day Virtual Town Hall – an online, interactive dialogue that looked to bridge social, economic and cultural diversity by exploring innovative ideas for how service can bring us closer to Dr. King’s dream of one community. Many dignitaries and NBA players participated and promoted this event which engaged the nation in impactful service events and meaningful conversation around Dr. King’s vision.
Lesson: Participation in the NBA Cares event was easy – it was all done through Twitter. Small businesses and personal brands can follow this approach by getting their community involved in their outreach initiatives through social media, which lowers the barrier of entry for participation. Sometimes, it doesn’t take physical action to lend a helping hand.
3. Give Fans a Voice
Blogs and forums have been around longer than Twitter and Facebook, but they are still an important part of getting the fans involved. The NBA offers their fans an endless list of blogs from NBA analysts, players, and teams, and even features NBA Fantasy Blogs. The blogs and forums offer a bit more information than the Facebook and Twitter updates we often see. This can be engaging for the fan who wants more to the story and would like to potentially get into an extended discussion about a posted topic.
Lesson: Business owners should definitely offer blogs and forums to their customer base as a way to communicate with them and receive in-depth feedback. Twitter is great for interaction, but both blogs and forums give the chance for more substantial engagement.
4. Filter, But Don’t Censor
The NBA is doing a good job filtering their players’ social media platforms, and while I believe that players should be able to enjoy their freedom of speech, the league does have restrictions on what the players can and can’t say through their social media accounts. Players who don’t follow the league protocol can be fined.
I think the NBA should continue to monitor these comments, but they should remain uncensored so the fans can relate to the athlete in a real way by hearing their real thoughts (whether good or bad) about a situation.
Lesson: Similarly, customers should always be able to freely voice their complaints or share their opinions. While a small business or personal brand may not be happy about receiving negative feedback, those comments may be what spurs a change that improves that brand’s business and customer satisfaction.
5. Spread the Word
The NBA is doing a great job of spreading the word about their social media outlets. You can’t watch a sports broadcast without one of the broadcasters or analysts dropping their Twitter or Facebook URLs to try to get the word out. The great thing about it is that the NBA and media outlets aren’t discouraging this self promotion, but encouraging it. Everyone realizes that the promotion is for the greater good of the sport.
Lesson: Businesses need to make sure they spread the word about their social media platforms in any way possible. By promoting their social media initiatives, andencouraging employees to do so as well, they will have the opportunity to have more customers participating on one level or another.
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