A New App that Could Change Sports Seating

Who doesn’t love cheaper tickets, free food, or even a ticket upgrade? With new apps such as “LetsMoveDown,” co-founder Derek Shewmon, it’s hard for fans to resist themselves. But how well do these apps actually work? Using an algorithm, LetsMoveDown finds opportunities for fans to receive better seats or pricing on a ticket.

This app sounds a lot like a sport’s teams campaign to real in fans to their games. Teams are always trying to get their fans to sign up for their email lists, like their Facebook pages, or follow them on Twitter in order to get the hottest deals on tickets and special promotions. Well what if fans could skip all that and just download LetsMoveDown?

This app could revolutionize how people receive promotions at sporting events. Of course, this is only a mobile app compared to major ticket retail seller who controls a huge deal of the market. The benefit of downloading this app would be that promotions are right in front of you, rather than having to follow all social media of your team, so a “shortcut” in a way. The downside is, no team updates or that sense of fan family. Whichever route you choose, no one can pass up better seating tickets.

How Can The NFL Use Social Media More Effectively

Many teams have been using Facebook and Twitter to promote events and merchandise, but teams can also use social media in more creative ways. Social media has paved the way for teams to be more interactive with its fans. By creating promotional campaigns that allow fans to interact with its favorite teams could prove to be very successful. Instead of posting about upcoming promotions and events, teams could look to get its fans more involved. Surveying and asking its fans about promotions would be an easy and effective way to conduct market research. This would allow teams to truly know what its fans want and what is working and what isn’t.

Promotional events have always been a useful way to sell tickets and draw fans to the parks because fans love to receive free team merchandise. I feel that through the use of social media, fans would respond positively to being a part of the decision making process of different promotional events. An example of this could be polling fans on Facebook and Twitter to see which players they would want for “Bobblehead Night.” This would help inform teams on which player’s bobblehead would draw the most fans to the game. People on Facebook have also shown to respond better to companies that try and inform the customer better than companies that try and sell to their customers. Customers are more likely to share the information that they receive with friends. Interaction with fans will create more loyalty and tell the fan that the team cares about them. Social media allows for better communication with fans than ever and that needs to be taken advantage of.

What Can Kobe Bryant Teach Us About Social Media?

There’s no question that Kobe Bryant’s recent surge of numerous social media posts has caught the attention of many. If you pay attention, there are many things you can learn from him about how to create buzz. I came up with a few helpful tips that have seemed to help Kobe.

1. Be yourself, even if it’s raw and painful at times.

It’s never good to overshare, and everything you post should be done with an awareness of how it comes off to others. But filters aside, the greatest value of social media is that it allows you to share yourself with people near and far. Those thoughts and feelings don’t always have to pump the sunshine but they should always be honest. Bryant went on a lengthy Facebook rant just hours after his injury, venting about his frustration and, shockingly, expressing doubt about his ability to come back.

2. Know where your audience is  and go to them.

When Bryant began stepping up his social-media game over the past year, he didn’t just go with big American networks such as Facebook and Twitter. He’s now active on Sena Weibo, China’s hot microblogging network.

The NBA is wildly popular in China, so giving Weibo some love makes sense. There, Bryant is able to reach thousands upon thousands of fans — all potential customers for the brands he endorses.

3. Keep exploring new platforms.

Even if you’ve mastered Twitter, that doesn’t mean other social networks can’t offer new audiences and opportunities. Bryant just recently joined Instagram.

4. Don’t duck.

Bryant’s recent social success all comes down to the fact that he’s refused to withdraw after suffering a major setback, something anyone looking to build an online following and reputation can draw from. Whether it’s joining Instagram, sharing his deepest thoughts on Facebook or interacting with Chinese fans, Bryant has turned hard luck into opportunity.

5. Most of all, stay positive.

While being oneself often includes confronting tough issues, people who remain upbeat and constructive online tend to have more appeal to followers. One major Facebook rant aside, Bryant’s post-injury attitude online has been relentlessly upbeat. He’s poked fun at his appearance on Instagram, thanked teammates for visiting him in the hospital and tweeted encouragement to the Lakers as they fought for a playoff spot.

NBA Leads the Social Media Race

When it comes to the NBA and social media, players take interaction to a whole new level! The NBA has done remarkably well to capitalize on the power of Twitter as a means of connecting and communicating with fans and viewers across the globe. The NBA’s is the most-followed Twitter feed of any that belongs to a major pro sports league. The Association is also home to the single-most followed team in American pro sports (the Los Angeles Lakers). At present, more than 90 percent of the league’s players are currently active on Twitter, some more than others. The most followed of those players also happens to be considered the best on the planet. I’m talking, of course, about Lebron James. The three-time MVP and 2012 champion with the Miami Heat leads all NBA affiliates with more than 7.1 million followers. I’m honestly not surprised! The NBA has some of the most interesting and fan involved athletes! This is a great way to interact with those who support!

Should Athletes Tweet During Games?

We know that social media has revolutionized the way athletes connect with their fans, its more personal and efficient then any media source we’ve ever seen. But at what point do players cross the line and start becoming a distraction for your team?

Recently Kobe Bryant has been getting a lot of press about his twitter rampage that he went on during Sunday’s game against the Spurs. To him he was merely doing what he felt was right, trying to support his team while also venting his desire to be playing. We all respect that side of Kobe, the die-hard competitor, and we all know that he meant well but as a leader it was a very distasteful move. If he really needed to tell the team how he felt then he should of put a call into the them at half-time, not post his thoughts on Twitter so the whole world can read them. On the positive side, it seems that he’s learned his lesson (once again) and has opted out of tweeting during Wednesday night’s game.

Nothing worse then watching your bothers struggle and u can’t do crap about it #realtalk

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 21, 2013

This experience that Kobe’s gone through should be a lesson for all players for the future, while people are still trying to grasp the best uses of social media.. it is obvious that this is not one of them. Don’t get me wrong, players should try and communicate with their fans and they definitely should take advantage of social media to do that but they have to look at being an athlete as a job. Imagine if a business executive felt the need to tweet about how bad his presentation was going, or how much he despised his clients. Those things wouldn’t fly in the business world, and athletes should be held to those same standards of professionalism on and off the court.

Golf Channel Rolls Out Live Streaming

The Golf Channel will begin streaming their entire channel to authenticated customers from Cablevision, Comcast, Mediacom, Suddenlink, Dish Network and Verizon FiOS. Users will be able to watch and stream content via broadband or mobile connections. The most valuable asset to the streaming capabilities is the channels live tournament coverage, in which European tournaments are available in the morning and U.S. played tournaments are played in the afternoon. TV Everywhere is the is a verification system that allows television service providers to authenticate those who wish to view select content. Although many leagues and entities have experimented with TV Everywhere, executives have been frustrated by the pick-up rate among viewers. The major compliant among customers is the lower quality of video and difficulty authenticating. NBC Sports Group, who is in charge of the Golf App, authenticated 10 million plus viewers during the Olympics. The success of the Olympics app was one of the main reasons executives at the Golf Channel decided to pursue the TV Everywhere avenue. An interesting revelation made by those in charge also came from the Olympic model. Executives say increased viewership on the authenticated app helps the linear TV channel. Obviously the more compelling and high quality content, the more successful this TV Anywhere venture will be.

XFINITY Announces Winner of the Ultimate Sports Social Media Job

Earlier today, XFINITY announced that Tupelo, MS native Vance McCullough had won their Ultimate Sports Social Media Job competition. Vance will now serve as the voice of XFINITY’s social media, “sharing exclusive content and insights from the @XFINITYSports Twitter handle, with a fan reach of 17,000+ followers.” Some of this content and insights include live tweets from the biggest sporting events, firsthand interviews with notable sports personalities, and several others. 

Until now, I was completely unaware that XFINITY had a designated sports media department, as well as this competition. But I think this a great idea! Not only does the competition generate buzz around their Twitter account, but also around their brand as a whole. For instance, when someone realizes the advantages of using XFINITY for sports coverage, he/she may be influenced to seek the use of other XFINITY services, such as its Home Security System or its High Speed Internet. I wouldn’t be surprised if other companies began to follow because competitions like this can only benefit a company’s brand, as well as people looking for jobs. What do you think? 

Has Social Media Caused the Decline of Sports Photography?

We all love sports photography.  It’s amazing to see those stopped-action close ups of the things that otherwise we would never get to see.  Not to mention the fact that we get to see all the crazy, hilarious faces athletes make when they’re in the moment (Think: pictures of divers faces mid-dive http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/picturegalleries/9459199/London-2012-Olympics-divers-funny-faces.html)

But sports photography is not quite what it used to be, and a big reason for that is the emergence of social media.  We can all take pictures now with our smart phones and our digital cameras.  And not only that, we can immediately publish them for all the world to see.  Because of this, there are reports that because of this, the quality of sports imagery is slowly disintegrating.  Instead of professional photographers shooting pictures that are innovative, crisp, and designedly framed and executed, photographs of sports are slowly becoming either 1. Professional photographers all shooting the exact same picture in effort to get their photo “out there” first and most published, 2. Amateur photographers shooting poor sports photographs or 3. The fans shooting cell phone pictures.  

Has social media and the demand for instantaneous coverage caused the complete decline of creativity and quality when it comes to sports photography?  Go look around.  See if you can find anything new and exciting and amazingly beautiful in the mainstream social media when it comes to sports photography. It’s harder than you may originally think.  

Perhaps it hasn’t exactly made it decline, but change.  In a bit of an “I think I’ve seen that type of picture a hundred times before” kind of way.  

Manchester United Looking to Expand U.S. Presence

Fresh off their 20th English Premier League title, arguably the most recognizable soccer brand in the world is looking to expand their reach to the United States. Manchester United is looking to expand their marketing efforts in the U.S. on the heels of a new NBC deal to screen English Premier League games. The deal, reportedly worth upwards of $250 million, allows NBC to exclusively show games taking away rights from ESPN and FOX. Manchester United is looking to open a marketing arm on the East Coast of the U.S. to team with outlets in London and Hong Kong. Sponsors have already been convinced of Man U’s global branding footprint, as General Motors will pay around $560 million for a title sponsorship of the Chevrolet brand. The deal, which will run for 7 years starting in 2014, is the most lucrative in soccer history. The team and its holding company, United is now publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, under the abbreviation “MANU.” Investors were originally disappointed in the clubs lack of sponsorships but have warmed up to the brand with the GM and NBC deals looming. It’s important to note that Manchester United is owned by the American Glazer family. Look for Man U to be a more prominent and established entity in the landscape of American sport.

Joey Logano’s Refreshing Attitude

Joey Logano, the youngest driver to ever win a nationwide series race at the age of 18, has had a rough past few weeks. It started on March 24^th with his and Denny Hamlin’s last-lap crash that killed his chances of winning and injured a former teammate of his. Two weeks later at Texas Motor Speedway, The rear-parts of his car were confiscated by NASCAR as well as parts from his teammate’s car, and they were each penalized 25 points each, leaving them with a suspended crew chief, car chief and lead engineer. The next Sunday at Kansas, fell victim to Kyle Busch’s spin out that destroyed his car.

Kid can’t catch a break.

If that was my experience, I would be ready to throw in the towel, because I’m human. However, Logano expresses that he plans to keep everything in perspective and still feels like he is where he needs to be, especially after comparing what he does on the track with the jobs of military men. It’s refreshing to see a professional who can keep in mind such a humble perspective, regardless of one’s high-profile career.

Joey Logano will continue to be a favored racer of mine, simply because he has one of the best attitudes in the sport at such a young age.