2012 Sports Social Media Predictions

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1. Gamification

2. Context

3. Fan Identification

4. Second Screen

5. SoLoMo

6. Measurement

7. Google+

8. Emerging Platforms

9. Fansourcing

10. Major Sports Events

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10 SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS FOR 2012

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Gamification Let the games begin! Most often defined as the use of game mechanics for non-game applications, the concept of “gamification” is not new. It’s typically suited for brands looking to drive action by turning otherwise dull tasks into games, but sports fans are already engaged and passionate about their teams and athletes so where does that leave the game layer for sports marketers?

While sports fans may not require extra incentive to initially engage, this does not mean teams, leagues, sponsors and athletes can’t benefit from gamification. For example, gamification can be used to drum up support during a losing streak or during a league’s offseason when fan engagement and interest naturally wane. It’s also an effective way to grow, identify, and reward active supporters as well as move merchandise and bump ticket sales in quick spurts.

Look for brands to leverage the in-game experience and creatively play off sports terminology in their 2012 gamification efforts. For example, Lexus recently partnered with NBC Sports to produce a game called “TweetDrive” that allows football fans to interact with sports trivia and win prizes during the NFL Playoffs. Each correct answer adds yardage toward a touchdown drive, which enters fans into prize drawings.

Other examples in the sports world involve the LA Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Baylor Bears. Predictive gaming applications during live sporting events are also making a comeback also and apps like OneUP Games and PrePlay Sports are leading the charge.

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10 SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS FOR 2012

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Context There’s more competition than ever for the attention of your fans. Your message needs to stand out and

For example, ESPN partnered with Shazam to allow Winter X Games viewers to use the app to access video highlights, photos and even music from the event. You can begin to imagine the opportunities for activation and advertising that this type of second-screen capability provides marketers.

Data facilitates context and the most valuable data in 2012 is where you are right now. Lucky for you, sports fans are among the most likely demographics to own a smartphone which signals their location and intentions via social media. This provides opportunities to serve relevant and timely offers. For example, if a sports team recognizes a fan’s Foursquare check-in to the arena, the team can then push a 20% off discount to the team shop where the fan will then spend money.

One of the emerging leaders in this area is Google which amassed a $200 billion contextual business with AdWords. Now Google+ is leading the context battle between major social networks with its Circles feature by enabling brands to segment fan groups.

Shazam and Yahoo’s IntoNow give us a glimpse into the future of context in action. After just seconds of scanning your TV’s audio, these apps will recognize the game or show you’re watching and serve relevant content to your mobile device.

context is what will break it through the clutter. “Context” means delivering the right message, at the right time and to the right audience, at the right location

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10 SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS FOR 2012

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Emerging platforms like Wayin enable teams like the Denver Nuggets and LA Kings to learn more about likes and interests of their fans in a fun way. Fans can then be segmented based on answers for contextually relevant offers down the road. Look for more innovative efforts to track and reward top fans like the Tampa Bay Lightning executed with RFID enabled jerseys for season ticket holders.

Fan Identification

It’s easy to get lost in the never-ending battle for “Likes” and followers, but the teams who focus on learning more about their social media fan bases will win the monetization war. The more you know about your fans, the better you are able to target them with relevant marketing offers such as discounts on their favorite player’s jersey or even their favorite foods at the concessions.

Identifying social media fans will emerge as a priority for sports teams and brands in 2012. Brands will start tracing their fans across social media platforms then leverage this insight to fill out their CRM database and monetize through more proven methods such as email marketing.

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So how do you learn more about your fan base? Most sports fans are willing to exchange personal information for a simple chance at winning tickets or autographed merchandise. Another option is to create a more sophisticated ambassador program featuring rewards and incentives for fans to link their social media accounts and earn points for actions.

10 SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS FOR 2012

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Second Screen 2011 saw the end of viewers using TV as a standalone technology. Now, viewers are using their tablet, smartphone, and laptop to interact with whatever programming they are watching—whether it’s checking-in, updating their status, or live-tweeting. For example, during the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, 7,196 tweets were sent per second. Viewers, particularly sports fans, are looking for opportunities to get in the game.

According to one infographic, 70% of sports fans would like to interact digitally while watching a sporting event.

Here are a few key predictions for 2012:

Twitter and Facebook will launch their second-screen efforts. Twitter has the best chance of dominating this field because its focus is already on real-time conversations. Facebook already utilizes Open Graph to share what users watch on Hulu if they’ve opted into “frictionless sharing.”

Facebook recommendations will be integrated into Comcast’s upcoming Xfinity experience, where viewers can “like” shows from their TV sets. Social media posts will be included in the show. This has already been done on NBC’s The Voice and the same can apply to sports games. Social TV producers of sporting events can pull tweets, Instagram pictures, Facebook posts, or GetGlue check-ins from the fans to show on the air. Second screen apps will consolidate.

TV networks, cable providers, and tech startups have all launched or plan to launch their own second-screen app. Some of the apps developed this past year include GetGlue, Miso, IntoNow, TV Dinner, and many more. There are also ones that are sports-specific, such as Kwarter or Football Meister. Some have already developed partnerships with providers such as AT&T and DirecTV. By the end of this year, we will see many of these startups either disappear, like BeeTV, or get acquired by a larger media entity.

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10 SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS FOR 2012

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So-Lo-Mo One of the latest buzzwords flying around the social media community is SoLoMo, which stands for Social, Local, and Mobile. It represents the intersection of these three concepts in order to personalize an experience for the consumer. Many apps are already cashing in on this concept, including Foursquare, Gowalla, Shopkick, and even Starbucks. While 2011 was finally the year that geolocation and checking in burst onto the mainstream, expect to see the use of geo fully realized at sport stadiums and venues in 2012.

StadiumVIP, a free smartphone app, allows you to purchase food, beverages, and merchandise right from your seat. Products are either delivered right to you or can be picked up. Expect to see more of these stadium-focused apps where fans can make purchases, check-in, and share their game experience with their friends.

Footballmeister is a mobile gaming app that’s focused on soccer. It allows you to predict matches of all major European leagues, earn points, compete with friends, and earn titles, trophies, and badges in order to reach the ultimate goal of becoming “the Meister” of your favorite team or league. At the moment, the app only utilizes the social and mobile elements of SoLoMo, but look for a location component before the end of 2012.

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“In 2012, more than half of all social media usage will occur on mobile devices adding greater emphasis and key context to location .”

Two examples of sports So-Lo-Mo apps to keep your eye on in 2012:

10 SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS FOR 2012

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In 2012, actions will speak louder than words. ROI will continue to shift from simply measuring “likes” and followers to measuring amplification, cross-channel impressions, and sales units purchased on a campaign and global basis.

Measurement

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6 A continuing trend from the past year (and the year before that) is the sophistication with which marketers measure the ROI of their social media marketing efforts. Two out of five marketers have little confidence in the effectiveness of their ability to measure social media campaigns, according to recent research from Chief Marketer.

One of the most underserved areas of social media and mobile analytics is among the long-tail. For a few years now, products like Radian6 and Lithium have offered expensive measurement platforms. Now services like Sprout Social are emerging that offer cheaper price points and simplified, yet powerful dashboards.

10 SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS FOR 2012

For example, Starcom MediaVest Group recently teamed up with ShareThis to pilot a new metric for ad buying that values content based on how often content is shared and the impact of those shares weighed against unique page views. Sharing metrics highlight brand affinities and identifies brand advocates. Expect to see more customized digital metrics develop.

For sports marketers, companies like Brand Affinities Technologies (BAT) offer dedicated tools like @BAT Social to effectively measure athlete campaigns from both a consumer and an advertiser perspective through patented technology.

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Google+

Hangouts: The video chat feature that allows up to 10 people is a unique feature to Google+ that the sports industry can use to create intimate experiences between fans and athletes. The Dallas Cowboys conducted a hangout with linebacker DeMarcus Ware where nine Cowboys fans had the chance to ask questions. Google+ ‘On Air’ functionality will open up the ability to broadcast Hangouts to a wider audience in 2012. Expect sports organizations and athletes to make announcements, chat with fans, integrate contests and more.

Circles: As Google+ becomes more popular, look for teams and athletes to use Circles as a way to segment fans whether it’s to share exclusive content with their biggest supporters or to target a specific demographic.

Ripples: Google+’s measurement feature, Ripples, is unlike anything other platforms offer with the ability to see who is engaging with your content and whom it is reaching. The incredibly useful feature will be used in 2012 to find the most engaged fans, reward them and reach out to their networks.

2012 will be a make or break year for Google+. It’s the year that Google+ needs to find its relevance in a Facebook world. The one driving force that will keep it going is the integration with the Google network and Google’s search engine.

Google finally arrived on the social media scene in 2011 with its much-anticipated social network Google+. The site has quickly amassed 90M registered users but has generated low activity levels from users.

The MLB and NBA jumped on the bandwagon, creating pages for each of the leagues’ teams. In 2012, we see Google+ becoming more widely used by brands looking to integrate it into their social media plans using features such as Hangouts, Circles ,and Ripples that Facebook and other platforms don’t offer.

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10 SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS FOR 2012

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Emerging Platforms 2011 was the year that niche social networks came into play and stuck. As we enter a new year, look for these platforms to weave into the sports industry. These social networks have immense opportunity for sports organizations and fans to connect in smaller communities with focused interests. Expect teams, athletes, and brands to experiment with their marketing through platforms like, Tout, Viddy, IntoNow, Kwarter, Pinterest, and Instagram community. Pinterest: The online pinboard that allows users to organize and share things they love has gained serious traction, nearly quadrupling in users. While the service skews heavily female, Pinterest remains an open platform for the sports industry. The visual nature of Pinterest lends itself to sports brands like Nike and Under Armour to share their products and styles.

Tout & Viddy: Athletes and teams will use services like Tout and Viddy to update fans with brief happenings. These short videos give fans instant access into the life of an athlete such as pre-game rituals and the aches and pains of the sport.

IntoNow & Kwarter: As smartphones and tablets continue to grow, teams will use services such as IntoNow and Kwarter to connect with fans both at the game and home. Apps like these can create more interactive and engaging experiences.

Instagram: Like Pinterest, Instagram, has experienced enormous growth in 2011. Athletes are using it on a consistent basis to share photos of their life. In 2012, look for teams to employ this popular app to show behind-the-scenes looks of the organization and run promotions to tie fan experiences together with the team’s community.

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10 SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS FOR 2012

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Fansourcing

With the growing usage of content creation based sites and apps, the average fan now has the ability to shoot and edit original content. Organizations will harvest this content for ads and other purposes much like Pepsi has in the past with Super Bowl commercials. To further involve fans, the industry can put the design of logos, merchandise and other elements into the hands of fans.

At the end of last year, the Philadelphia 76ers came up with three options for a new mascot and turned to fans to choose which one would represent the team. Sports Illustrated also turned to fans, in an unprecedented move, letting them decide which cover would appear on the Best Sports Moment of 2011 issue.

ESPN ran a contest for the design of the Winter X-Games medal that will debut at the event this January. The design of Sally Fitzgibbon’s surfboard is yet another example of fansourced design. By giving fans the reigns and directly involving them in the decision-making or design process, sports marketers can build a stronger knit community with their fans. In return, fans feel empowered as key stakeholders in the process.

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9 Crowdsourcing, or fansourcing in the case of the sports industry, has become increasingly more widespread in its use. With the help of social media, sports organizations are finding ways to better serve their fans by using their combined brainpower, creativity and excitement to gather new ideas. Social media is a platform for communication and 2012 will be the year that teams embrace it, offering their fans new experiences and allowing them to drive decision-making.

10 SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS FOR 2012

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Major Sports Events Many of the technologies used during Super Bowl XLVI will also be utilized during the London 2012 Olympics, including live-streaming on the web, the social media command center, and the prevalence of second screen and mobile apps. However, we also expect brands to incorporate new technology into Olympic campaigns.

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RFID, or radio-frequency identification, has many practical uses. Several brands including Mercedes and Coca-Cola and sports organizations like the Tampa Bay Lightning and ING New York City Marathon have already experimented with RFID tags at events. This innovative technology could be used at the Olympics by putting an RFID chip in badges so that attendees can check into different venues and instantly send pictures and updates to their Facebook newsfeeds. Athletes could use also do the same in the Olympic village to keep fans updated.

10 SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS FOR 2012

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Augmented reality (AR) is the super-imposing of computer generated content over a live view of the world. We think this technology will be on prime display in London. There is already an app called the Olympic AR Navigator that covers the 2012 London Venues, Olympic Flame locations, and Olympic cities dating back to 1896. You can aim your mobile device anywhere in London and the viewfinder displays pop-ups which tell you the direction and info related to a nearby Olympic event.

Near field communication, or NFC technology, allows mobile devices to pay for items by simply tapping the phone on a specialized reader at the cash register. Samsung and Visa have already announced a partnership to offer NFC mobile payments before, during, and after the Olympics. Google is also looking to incorporate mobile payments via Google Wallet in London this summer.

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