We all know professional athletes have extraordinary skills in their sport – but they’ve been showing impressive expertise on social media as well. Recently, many hyper-social athletes have been active in representing their personal brands and sports brands in the social space, while rocking social media engagement in ways that delight, inspire and entertain their online communities.
Here are some examples of a few athletes winning on social media that will inspire brands and agencies in their own engagement strategies.
Engage On International Sites – Kobe Bryant
NBA superstar of the LA Lakers, Kobe Bryant, clearly understands the value of reaching his international fan base on social media – beyond Facebook and Twitter. After setting up a Sina Weibo account (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter), he had over 100,000 followers within a few hours. He started his account just a few days after a message appeared on Nike Basketball’s Sina Weibo account on Chinese New Year’s Day: “Hey it’s Kobe, I’ve decided to take over Nike basketball’s Weibo handle for a few days and I wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year.”
Kobe Bryant has successfully demonstrated the value of engaging on international sites like Sina Weibo, Renren and VKontakte, for brands and celebrities alike. If you have customers, or fans in countries that host their own local social media sites, don’t miss the opportunity to tap into a whole new online community.
Have a Sense of Humor – Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin of the LA Clippers has taken a comedic approach to his social media presence. He is a funny guy and his twitter account is certainly an extension of his witty personality. He’s active on Twitter and engages with his fans with frequent Q&A sessions – delighting his fan base by responding to tweets with funny answers that show his personality. This prime example (below) of Blake Griffin’s comedic Twitter presence was retweeted almost 20,000 times!
Whether you’re a brand or celebrity, a good sense of humor on social media not only entertains your community, but reveals a little of your brand’s personality to your followers, helping to create stronger relationships with your fan base, while humanizing your brand.
Engage Your Community With A TweetChat – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, former American Footballer, WWE Superstar and actor is one of the best examples of a professional athlete or celebrity engaging on social media. On Twitter, The Rock actively engages with fans by replying to them directly with inspirational words of wisdom or wishing them a happy birthday. Not only does the Rock excel at providing his community with friendly and natural one-on-one engagement, but he gives them a unique and exciting opportunity to ask him questions with his TweetChat, #RockTalk. TweetChats are an excellent way to develop credibility and thought leadership within your community, and as The Rock has demonstrated, they’re a great way to engage one-on-one with your fan base and followers.
Who are your favorite athletes on social media? Let us know in the comments! For further reading on sports brands leveraging social media, check out our post – Top 3 Engaging Sports Brands on Social Media.
