Facebook is not only used to stalk people you went to high school with and to keep in touch with current friends while in college. Collegiate athletes have been using social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to promote their games, to grow their fan base, and to communicate well throughout their team.
Aside from Division I basketball and football teams, college sports do not get too much recognition. It is a sad sight when you and your team are all pumped up for a big game against a rival and you look at your stands and see only a few parents and maybe someone’s boyfriend.
To rectify this situation, getting the word out about your team on Facebook is one of the best steps to take. Between 80 and 90 percent of college students are not only on Facebook, but also are daily active users. Creating a Facebook event a week or so before that rival game and having everyone on the team invite their friends is a great way to sell those tickets.
Creating a Facebook page for your team is another great way to gain support. Having a team member create the page and invite their friends, then have other teammates “suggest friends” to their friends could be a great way to keep fans involved. Posting statuses bi-weekly or even daily about recent games would remind college students of the game on their Facebook News Feeds, which is a place they are known to look when using Facebook.
Twitter is another great promotional tool. Having teammates tweet a link to the school’s athletic website is a great way to start, along with tweeting game information.
Within a team, creating a Facebook group is a step closer to great communication, and one step away from those pestering group text messages. Ensuring that everyone has and uses Facebook is obviously essential before doing so. Also creating the group based off of the roster is a must to guarantee no one is forgotten.
Finally, posting highlights on YouTube shows college students why they should go to your game. Getting a parent or the school even to video tape a game and having a film student edit it into a highlight reel could then be posted to YouTube and posted on the team’s Facebook page, tweeted, and posted by teammates.
Good luck this upcoming season and best of luck packing those stands!
-TravelBug
I’m reading Chemistry: Principles and Reactions
Across the U.S., people are digging themselves out of the heaps of snow and bundling up to combat the freezing temperatures. More snow is on the way for much of the midwest and northeast. Most people are tuning into the Winter Olympic Games for entertainment. With the Olympics in full swing, there have already been many stories to come out of Vancouver. The U.S. is atop the medal count after a dominating men’s half pipe show by Shaun White, performing a Double McTwist 1260, American Evan Lysacek upset Russian Evgeni Plushenko in men’s figure skating and Lindsey Vonn won gold for women’s Alpine Skiing. There is more then a week of competition still to come and here are my top three events that I will be looking forward to watch ing the rest of the way.
4 men Bobsled- Ever since I watched Cool Runnings, when I was a boy, I have been enamored with this sport. Four men running, jumping and pushing speeds exceeding 80 miles per hour flying down an icy track. The U.S., captained by Steve Holcomb, is looking for their first gold since 1948. Sadly, the Jamaican bobsled team failed to qualify for this year’s games.
Men’s Speed Skating- American and Sports Illustrated cover boy, Apollo Ohno, has already tied Bonnie Blair as the all-time U.S. medal count leader by taking silver in the men’s 1500m. He still has three more chances (including individual men’s 1000m) to become the most decorated athlete for the U.S. in all winter Olympics.
Curling- I am most excited about the Men’s Curling event. It seems to be the only sport where “Average Joes” compete. It is a lot like shuffleboard on ice, where one player slides a stone towards a “bull’s-eye” type target while two other teammates insanely brush in front of it to guide there rock into position to score points. It consists mostly of strategy, however as much as I enjoy it, it does not seem to require much athletic ability. The U.S. isn’t doing much thus far, but check it out as it is very entertaining.
Want to know more? Check this book out at eCampus.com:
The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition.
This will get you up to date on all the different events taking place.
Tim the Intern
I’m reading Tort Law and Alternatives
College basketball is in full swing, and here in Lexington, KY we know all about it. Here are a few tips to help you stay on top of things this basketball season.
Be Informed – read the latest news, watch a little sportcenter, or pick up the new ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. All of these are great resources to keep you ready and on top of your basketball knowledge this year.
Be the Best dressed – you don’t always have to spend a whole bunch of money, be creative. What says super-fan better than embarrassing yourself with bodypaint in the name of your favorite squad.
Go to the games- Even if you have to camp out for 4 days in snow, sleet, or hail, get those tickets and be there for the big exciting wins.
SeanJohn
I am reading Lifespan Development
