The Phoenix Suns - FTW!

Someone at the NBA’s Phoenix Suns deserves a bonus. A big bonus. In a world where brands are searching for the perfect social media strategy, it seems that the Suns have hit the proverbial jackpot. Their formula is pretty simple - multiple Twitter accounts, a Social Network dedicated solely to the team, plus Facebook and MySpace pages. Groundbreaking formula no, but the magic is in the execution.

Planet Orange - The Official Social Network of The Phoenix Suns

Planet Orange, the social site, is pretty standard fare as far as social networks go. You can build a profile, add friends, share media, join groups, etc. But you have to give kudos to the brand for not just defaulting to a Facebook fan page. The site itself has a decent interface, and member videos and game photos are nice bonus for even a casual Suns fan. There is certainly a lot of room for the site to grow, but what they have going (6500+ members) is a decent start.

The Suns on Twitter

The real brilliance in what the Suns are doing is on Twitter. The charge is led by Amy Jo Martin, better know as @PhoenixSunsGirl. With over 4,200 followers Ms. Martin actively tweets everything from Twitter specific contests to game day “bets” against other official NBA Twitters. Recently, she even started a Suns running club (#SunsRunClub).

There are also several players, coaches and official club personalities actively posting on Twitter. A less than comprehensive list (shame on you Suns) can be found here. Perhaps the most famous, and definitely most followed, of the Suns is @The_Real_Shaq. The Big Quotatious is an active, make that extremely active, Twitter user and currently has over 270,000 followers. Known for his comedic nature and great personality Shaq lends authenticity to all the Suns are doing on Twitter. Following are highlights of recent Phoenix Suns Twitter activation.

• While on a road trip @The_Real_Shaq is enjoying lunch and tweets his general location. The challenge is to find him, touch him and mention Twitter. The first person to do so received free tickets to that nights game.
• A Tweet-up was held for local followers of the team. Fans were invited to buy discounted tickets and get a behind the scenes experience. Video here -
• The newest member of the Suns, Jason Richardson (@jrich23) has joined Twitter and is running a fan poll to select his new Twitter identity logo.
  
• Last week was Shaq’s birthday. In celebration Shaq Day was held. Via Facebook and Twitter, @PhoenixSunsGirl challenged followers to create birthday messages for The Diesel and share the urls via Twitter. The best video as selected by Shaq would receive a special gift from the man himself. You can see all the videos by searching @ShaqDay on Twitter search.

Calling All Professional Sports Franchises

The buzz around the Suns in social media is only getting louder. By combining player involvement and the great personality of PhoenixSunsGirl, the team is clearly on to a winner. So why are other professional sports teams not following suit? Are there risks in social media for sports teams? I don’t see what they would be. No matter how well a team is doing there are always going to be haters writing negatively about them. Does a social media presence not extend valuable tools from which further marketing efforts can be leveraged?

My Mission, and your chance to WIN Toronto Raptors tickets

As a loyal Toronto Raptors fan, season ticket holder, and professional marketer, I have decided to take the bull by the horns. Today an offer was sent to Shannon Hosford, Senior Director of Marketing at MLSE, offering a free one hour presentation outlining a social media strategy for the Toronto Raptors. My hope is this presentation will lead to Raptors fans being able to connect to the team in a fashion similar to what Suns fans enjoy. On a more selfish note, I want to be the one to develop this strategy and bring it to fruition. So here is where I ask for your help. I am asking all friends, Raptor Fans, and social media enthusiasts to help me out by demonstrating the power of social media to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Simply send an email to Shannon Hosford (shosford@mapleleafsports.com) urging her to meet with me (please copy me on the email - josh_dyan@mac.com), I will draw a name from all those who participate and one of you will recieve a free pair of tickets to the March 27th Raptors game (draw to be held on March 20th). If as a result of the emails I am granted the one hour presentation I will also buy the winner dinner for two at a local restaurant.

Every brand is searching for the right entry point into social media. I belive the Suns have found theirs, and that others can learn from the approach - it doesn’t have to be complicated, you don’t need to have an offer, you just have to add value and be real.