PETER ROBERT CASEY

NBA Best Practices: Rap with the Rook on Facebook

2012-02-02T00:20:00.001-05:00

The NBA Digital Disciple Series is back.

It's been nearly two years since Andy Pawlowski (Digital Hoops Blast) and I completed our first digital 'dig through' of every NBA team's website. New tools have emerged and a healthy culture of fan engagement has been deeply embedded into the landscape. Time for a second sift.

Our mission: To share learnings of how NBA teams uniquely leverage digital tools to engage fans, build loyalty and use digital marketing and social media as strategic business drivers.

Looking back: Warriors | Celtics | Clippers | Nets | Lakers | Knicks | Suns | 76ers | Kings | Raptors | Mavericks | Bulls | Rockets

Next up: Cleveland Cavaliers

With a Facebook fan base hovering over 800,000, it's almost certain Cavs fans have questions for their beloved rookie, Kyrie Irving.

So why not canvass this massive audience for inquiries and let the first-year phenom record answers so they can get to know him better?

Great interactive idea.

That's exactly what the Cleveland franchise did back in June, shortly after David Stern announced the brief Blue Devil as the League's No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

Another smart move:

As soon as you press play, a "Like" annotation appears in the top-left hand corner of the screen, quickly converting video viewers into subscribers of the page.

The Cavs held similar chats in the past with Ramon Sessions and Tristan Thompson, both of which have generated over thousand questions, "Likes" and follow-up comments after the videos were produced.

We'd love to raise the Cavs one, and see them execute this chat in real-time on Facebook. Make it an event. Sync it with a sweepstakes or giveaway and cross-promote it on your other social channels to maximize impact.

What about you?

Thoughts on this concept and ways to take it up a peg? Tweet me at @Peter_R_Casey.

And don't forget to head over to Digital Hoops Blast, where @andypawlowski will wrap up Week 3 with a new Western Conference best practices post.

NBA Best Practices: Chicago Bulls Curate the News

2012-01-31T00:23:00.000-05:00

Next up: Chicago Bulls

What do we like?

The Bulls curate each weekday's headlines and links from major outlets so you don't have to. How cool and convenient is that?

Not only is Chicago recognizing its stable of beat writers, it's referring traffic their way too. Sadly, there are pro teams that treat the media - you know, those with significant reach and influence - as an enemy.

That's counterintuitive and bad for business.

I'd love to see this idea extended for bloggers as well. Most don't make a dime and are not credentialed on press row, but there are a bunch that do a bang-up job in offering fair and quality analysis. That acknowledgment goes a long way. Trust me. And you never know when a blogger will rise up to a larger platform or build a massive community of their own.

What do you think of this concept? Thoughts on ways to add to it? Hit me on Twitter @Peter_R_Casey. I want to hear your .02.

Make sure you swing by Digital Hoops Blast tomorrow for @andypawlowski's next Western Conference team analysis. Deal?

NBA Best Practices: Raptors' Social Media Landing Page

2012-01-29T19:16:00.001-05:00

The NBA Digital Disciple Series is back.

It's been nearly two years since Andy Pawlowski (Digital Hoops Blast) and I completed our first digital 'dig through' of every NBA team's website. New tools have emerged and a healthy culture of fan engagement has been deeply embedded into the landscape.

Time for a second sift.

Our mission: To share learnings of how NBA teams uniquely leverage digital tools to engage fans, build loyalty and use digital marketing and social media as strategic business drivers.

Looking back: Warriors | Celtics | Clippers | Nets | Lakers | Knicks | Suns | 76ers | Kings

Next up: Toronto Raptors

What do we like about our Northern Friends' digital deeds?

Their social media landing page.

The Raps have an active presence on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube, and weaves them all together with a simple page that gives you brief background on each player and staff member, shares their latest updates and allows you to quickly connect with them.

The proliferation of networks can make it quite easy for teams to have a fragmented or siloed social graph. Integration and cross-promotion of channels is an effective way to let fans know where they can access news, videos and updates on the team while incrementally growing opt-in numbers across the board.

This landing page accomplishes that.

One way to raise the bar?

Show off a high quality, recent YouTube upload to get fans excited about your video content and to build out your subscription database on the world's most powerful video search engine.

What about you? What are your thoughts on what the Raps do well with digital and social? Ping us on Twitter - @Peter_R_Casey and @andypawlowski.

And don't forget to check out Digital Hoops Blast Monday, where Andy will dive into the next Western Conference Squad.

NBA Best Practices: Sixers Give a Reason to "Like" Them on Facebook

2012-01-26T11:54:00.002-05:00

The NBA Digital Disciple Series is back.

It's been nearly two years since Andy Pawlowski (Digital Hoops Blast) and I completed our first digital 'dig through' of every NBA team's website. New tools have emerged and a healthy culture of fan engagement has been deeply embedded into the landscape.

Time for a second sift.

Our mission: To share learnings of how NBA teams uniquely leverage digital tools to engage fans, build loyalty and use digital marketing and social media as strategic business drivers.

Looking back: Warriors | Celtics | Clippers | Nets | Lakers | Knicks | Suns

Next up: Philadelphia 76ers

What do we like about the Sixers' social strategy?

They give you a clear and attractive reason to "Like" them on Facebook.

Research shows the number one reason why people follow brands on Facebook is ... you guessed it, special offers and deals.

How many times have you seen a team advertise their page with a "Like (Find) us on Facebook" call to action without a specific defined benefit?

That's a missed opportunity and easy way to in our book.

Philadelphia also has a shop tab on Facebook, which links you directly to the store where you can redeem the coupon code. Smart approach.

Our one concern is that the shop tab is below the fold in the list of Facebook apps (requires clicking the More arrow), so it might not be easily discovered.

Connect these two more seamlessly and you have a win-win activation. What say you? What other ways can the Sixers leverage their shop on Facebook? A full integration?

Kentucky Puts all of its Twitter Eggs in Coach Cal's Basket

2012-01-23T20:55:00.000-05:00

It's Monday, the new college basketball rankings are out, and Kentucky's back on top of the pile.

That's no surprise.

What caught me off guard, however, is when I went to see how the team's Twitter page responded to the good news, I quickly realized ... there is no team Twitter page.

The 'Men's Basketball' Twitter link under the team's social media menu takes you to directly to Coach Calipari's account. Further research turned up the same results.

Surely that's not a bad default. We all know Coach Calipari & Co. do a terrific job on the highly popular microblogging platform.

His 1.15M+ followers make him one of the top-360 most-followed Twitter users on the entire service, an impressive mark considering he only tweets around five times per day. Opposing college basketball coaches also know Coach Cal doesn't need added help to boost his already strong online presence or program.

But, what happens when Coach Cal retires or, instead, bolts for the NBA? If Twitter's still en vogue, the team will have to start from scratch. Is that a concern?

Kentucky's arguably the most successful program in college basketball history and Big Blue Nation rolls deep. Very deep.

Should the team have its own presence? I'm just thinking out loud here. Tweet me your thoughts at @Peter_R_Casey.

NBA Best Practices: Knicks Embed a Reporter With The Team

2012-01-23T08:47:00.000-05:00

[NOTE: In the spirit of full disclosure, I was a full-time freelance employee of the Knicks last year, charged to manage KnicksNow.com and help plan and execute the team's social media strategy.]

The NBA Digital Disciple Series is back.

It's been nearly two years since Andy Pawlowski (Digital Hoops Blast) and I completed our first digital 'dig through' of every NBA team's website. New tools have emerged and a healthy culture of fan engagement has been deeply embedded into the landscape.

Time for a second sift.

Our mission: To share learnings of how NBA teams uniquely leverage digital tools to engage fans, build loyalty and use digital marketing and social media as strategic business drivers.

Looking back: Warriors | Celtics | Clippers | Nets | Lakers

Next up: New York Knicks

What do we like?

The Orange and Blue provide unprecedented access to the Knicks through an embedded, team-employed reporter - @JonahBallow - who covers the team at every practice, game (home and away) and community event, and shares the content in real-time via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and KnicksNow.com.

Sure, beat writers are assigned to cover the same territory and can provide a much more objective analysis of the squad, but Jonah's flying on the team plane and also offering a first-hand account of players' lives on the road outside of traditional shoot-around and pre- and post-game coverage.

Most teams will have someone from their PR or communications staff dabbling with original content on the road, which is supplementary to their regular responsibilities. But installing a dedicated, traveling reporter who's a member of the team organization?

That's unique.

An embedded reporter is only part of the Knicks' social strategy. Rather than publish all of the reporter's content on NYKnicks.com - which serves as more of a transactional site for ticket info, stats, roster, and schedule - New York created a content hub and social environment with KnicksNow.com.

If you browse around the site, you'll notice a video and image-heavy vibe, capitalizing on the unfortunate trend of waning attention spans. The site's replete with contests, photo galleries, video highlights, leaderboards (with point-incentivized actions) and an aggregated news feed from beat writers and the blogosphere.

Facebook, YouTube and Google+ log-in prompts allow for the Knicks to build out their marketing database, and calls to action around tickets and television, which are supported by live game chats, align very well with the team's revenue triggers.

All combined, the embedded reporter concept raises the bar on how an organization covers and markets its own team. The content and dialogue are facilitated by the team in their ecosystem, which offers advantages to staying connected, getting to really know who your fans are and capturing sales leads.

What do you think?

Warning: When you start a tweet with @name, few people see it

2012-01-21T15:54:00.004-05:00

Here's a relatively unknown, but important Twitter tip:

When you start a tweet with @name, the only people who can see your message are people who follow you and people who follow the person/brand you're replying to.

For example: "@SHAQ says some crazy things on Inside the NBA."

If your followers don't follow @SHAQ, they won't see this tweet. Instead you can rewrite it this way:

"Wow, @SHAQ says some crazy things on Inside the NBA."

Simple enough, right? I see this often and just thought I should share. Hope you're enjoying your weekend.

Are you keeping an eye on this Facebook metric?

2012-01-20T22:20:00.001-05:00

"I don't want people talking negatively about us."

Only a few years ago, the primary reluctance for basketball teams and brands to experiment with social, outside of lack of know-how or resources, was a fear of the statement above.

Really?

Let's be honest. We're all basically equipped with the same publishing and commenting tools, and people are going to talk about our teams or basketball products and services whether we participate online or not.

That's not the problem here.

What if nobody, or very few people, are talking about your team, sneaker line or basketball shooting product, for better or worse? What if that issue exists after heavily investing in a media buy or other online advertising campaign?

That's a larger concern in my book.

Behold, one of Facebook's latest insight metrics: "People talking about this."

What is it? From a Facebook spokesperson:

“This metric refreshes daily, but goes back a week. So it’s the current barometer of how much conversation is being generated by someone’s Page on Facebook. It’s a good gauge of the content Pages are putting up and how to generate more conversations around a Page.”

There are many interactions that make up the "people talking about this" metric (full list HERE), all centered on how engaged current and potential customers are with your brand.

What good is it acquiring tens or hundreds of thousands of fans if they're not tuned into what you're putting in front of them? Gaining "Likes' is important, yes, but an engagement strategy must follow.

Though the brand above (which I'll leave nameless) has acquired over 88,000 fans, less than 1% of them have interacted with the page in the last seven days. Compare that with this brand below, which has a smaller audience but one that's responding more favorably to its content.

When people interact with your updates (now called stories on Facebook), your page reaches an audience beyond the fan base. A poor ratio of "people talking about this" to "Likes" may mean your content's not relevant, or you're posting too infrequently.

What do you think? Are you paying attention to this metric?

NBA Best Practices: Nets Believe 'Being' Social > 'Doing' Social

2012-01-19T09:16:00.001-05:00

The NBA Digital Disciple Series is back.

It's been nearly two years since Andy Pawlowski (Digital Hoops Blast) and I completed our first digital 'dig through' of every NBA team's website. New tools have emerged and a healthy culture of fan engagement has been deeply embedded into the landscape.

Time for a second sift.

Our mission: To share learnings of how NBA teams uniquely leverage digital tools to engage fans, build loyalty and use digital marketing and social media as strategic business drivers.

A look back: Warriors | Celtics | Clippers |

Next up: The Brooklyn-bound Nets.

What do we like?

The Nets don't 'do' social; they are social. Interacting with fans has become a fabric of the organization's culture. Take a peek at their Twitter stream and you'll see an abundance of @replies to bloggers, loyalists and average fans alike. They don't discriminate.

It sounds so simple, yet many teams continue to use social media entirely as a broadcast mechanism. Social's the operative word here, folks. It's a two-way exchange.

We all like to be wired in to our teams, but fans also appreciate acknowledgment. In some circles, it's becoming an expectation. The Nets get that, and their interactivity isn't exclusive to Twitter.

Drop a Facebook wall comment. They respond. Quickly. You can bet this simple form of recognition goes a long way in increasing fans' trust and loyalty with the team.

No?

Peep our boy Igor's avatar.

New Jersey even went as far as launching a formspring account to ensure all fans' questions get answered in a transparent and timely manner. Impressive.

How do you keep up with a team in transition? Tumble on over to the Nets' Tumblr page or install the team's toolbar, a 2.0 edition, to stay connected socially. Brooklyn updates included, too.

If you think the soon-to-be Brooklynites like to remain hidden behind the corporate veil, you're wrong. The Nets have completely humanized their social strategy, leveraging the talented Ben Couch, a resident journalist, as the primary face and voice of their digital trail.

And guess what? Ben's no 'Couch' potato when it comes to engaging in dialogue. All tweets from Ben are labeled ^BC, and he happens to carry over the same social habits on his own Twitter account, which is very Nets-centric.

In sum: There is a vast chasm between 'doing' social and 'being' social. Our peer Vanessa DiMauro writes:

"Doing social is the imperative part of the equation. This means making plans, defining objectives complete with outcomes, tracking and measuring success and making adjustments to the plan along the way....This usually looks like marketing managers using social tools to broadcast their message to the world."

However, being social means building competencies across the organization that encourage, support and institutionalize the use of social tools by a broad cross-section of employees," and having "a clear voice and a comfort level about interacting with [fans] online."

Our hats are off to the Nets for choosing the latter.

We're far from done here. Tune in to Digital Hoops Blast tomorrow, where Andy Pawlowski will tip-off the next Western Conference team analysis.

Have a great weekend, y'all. We'll be back here Monday.

NBA Best Practices: Celtics 3-Point Play

2012-01-17T21:57:00.002-05:00

One of the eight founding franchises of the Basketball Association of America, a precursor to the NBA, the Boston Celtics do a lot of things very well.

Most obviously, winning.

While 17 titles can help accelerate any marketing strategy, the C's success in cultivating a deep and loyal fan base goes beyond its envied collection of Larry O'Brien trophies.

Having Rondo, Allen, Garnett and Pierce in the fold doesn't hurt, either. But the surname that spearheads Boston's online success is Stringer. Peter Stringer. Not that Peter Stringer.

He's no shooting guard, but the six-year interactive marketing veteran does such a solid job with Boston's digital and social strategy and execution that it's hard to boil down just one example of benchmark behavior.

But that won't stop me from trying. So, here goes it...

Celtics 3-Point Play

A first-of-its-kind Facebook application among NBA teams, 3-Point Play embraces the trend of social gaming and allows fans to competitively predict statistics for their favorite players while building out the team's marketing database in the process.

What do I like?

1) 3-Point Play's baked into Facebook as an app, so when you play, all of your friends will know about it. The viral loop's an effective way of luring in new users. "Hey, if my friend's playing..."

Social proof's in the pudding. Did we mention if Facebook were a country, it'd be the third most populated in the world. Zuckerberg's creation is quickly approaching 1B users. Yes, that's a 'B.'

- The Leaderboard: We're all a bit competitive in nature. Knowing where we stand among fellow gamers gets the juices flowing and is sure to drive us back the next game to avenge a poor performance or retain bragging rights. So, when is the next match-up?

I planted that segue.

- Aha, the Countdown feature: Countdown clocks are a great psychological device for creating a sense of urgency. It helps move people from unawareness to anticipation.

- The Data Capture: In Peter's words: "The concept was simple: How do we get fans out of Facebook and into our database, while giving them a fun, easy-to-play game that allows them to compete with their friends and win Celtics prizes? That’s where 3-Point Play was born...And from the business side, it was a huge success."

By clicking the 'Play Game' button and granting the app permission, you're handing over your email address, name, birthdate, friends' list and other important marketing and demographic information to the C's. Hey, it's an even exchange.

- The last permission item deserves its own bullet: "Post to Facebook as me." As mentioned above, the viral loop feature of posting your 3-Point Play score on your wall is built-in marketing. Roughly 2.9M Facebook users ages 13 and above in the United States list 'Celtics' as an interest in their profile.

The team already boasts 5.9M Facebook "Likes," and the app has approximately 10,000 monthly users. Which means there's a lot of growth potential for an already successful activation.

That's what I like. Now it's your turn. What else are the Celtics doing from a digital and social marketing perspective that teams should adopt?

Stay tuned tomorrow as Andy Pawlowski of Digital Hoops Blast tackles his next Western Conference team. Don't miss his spotlight on the Golden State Warriors HERE.

Coming Monday: NBA Digital Disciple Series, Volume II

2012-01-13T19:39:00.004-05:00

Picture Copyright: Peter Robert Casey

We're baaaack!

It's been nearly two years since Andy Pawlowski (Digital Hoops Blast) and I completed our first digital 'dig through' of every NBA team's website. New tools have emerged and a healthy culture of fan engagement has been deeply embedded into the landscape. It's time for a second sift.

The mission: To share our learnings of how NBA teams uniquely leverage digital tools to engage fans, build loyalty and use social media as a strategic business driver.

As students, or disciples of the game, we'll examine and pick the one thing that each squad does best and spotlight it over a six-week journey. It all starts Monday. Stay with us, spread the gospel and share your own thoughts with us.

Cool? Let's go...

PS: Andy will tackle Western Conference squads.