PEORIA, ILL – There are all kinds of reasons to be out of touch.
A night out with friends.
Working late at the office.
Going out of town for the weekend.
Deer season.
Vacation.
“Do you know what you missed?” a friend might inquire.
These days, the most likely answer might be “Yes.”
Take your favorite hockey team. Instead of sifting through days old newspapers, asking a friend, or looking online for days old box scores, you can have live game updates sent to your email or cell phone. Using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, some teams are keeping fans in constant contact with their team.
The Peoria Rivermen have embraced social networking and are finding it to be both beneficial to the fans and the team.
“We’ve got about 600 followers,” says Matt Brooks, Rivermen Account Executive, “We’ve had a great response. The other day I posted a quiz and we had over twenty responses within the first two hours – not bad for an afternoon during a workday.”
Brooks lead the Rivermen into the social networking waters at the end of last season while he was an intern and is building on that success this season as a full-time employee. He says the benefits of social networking aren’t just for the fans, though.
A quick check shows more than 600 followers on Twitter and almost 500 fans on Facebook. Those fans receive game updates, breaking news, chances to win prizes, as well as chances to interact with other fans. These updates appear on web pages or can be sent directly to a cell phone. Social networking has given the Rivermen the ability to tap a (generally) young and/or plugged-in (or rather, wireless) portion of the fan base.
“We are keeping in-touch with our fans but we are also getting back in touch with some fans who haven’t been to a game in a while but are still interested in the Rivermen. We want to bring those fans back to the games. We are making contacts with potential business partners, as well.”
“Fans get updates quickly, have chances to win prizes and discuss topics related to the team on our Twitter feed and Facebook page,” according to Brooks.
These on-line fans are even affecting the in-game experience. As of this writing, the Rivermen are even using Facebook to solicit ideas from fans about what songs should be played after the Rivermen score a goal.
In the end, what this leads to an enhanced fan experience. Information flowing both directions helps the team keep a finger on the pulse of the fans. Meanwhile, the fans have more avenues to with which to enjoy the sport of hockey in Peoria.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/AHLrivermen Facebook
http://twitter.com/Peoria_Rivermen Twitter
http://www,rivermen.net on the web
Contact the author: Shaun.Bill@ProHockeyNews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.