NY Jets Experience & Social Media
Posted on 13. Oct, 2009 by Mike Olaski in Athletes, Events, Executives, Individuals, Leagues, Staff, Teams, The Connection, The Fans Perspective, The Sports Perspective, Websites
By far, one of the highlights of our Sport Fan Connection Tour was the September 27th NFL game between the NY Jets and Tennessee Titans. The day began early as we made our way to the wet parking lot to partake in some pre-game tailgaiting. We ran into a great group of guys from New Jersey that welcomed us under their canopy for some good eats and drinks.
NY Jets – Post-Game Tailgaiting
As per NFL rules, we were unable to take video footage within the stadium, but we did capture manage to capture some great footage in the parking lot after the game. NY Jets fans are a passionate group and I am always overwhelmed with how friendly and inviting New Yorkers are. In this video footage, we captured the thoughts of some NY Jets fans on Mobile applications (Blackberry, iPhone and Web Apps), online streaming video and Fireman Ed stopped by for some of New Jersey’s finest sausage and bread!
NY Jets & Social Media
We chatted with the Marketing and Communication department prior to our trip and had an overwhelming response to our project. The NY Jets organization is really leading the charge among NFL teams when it comes to embracing social media. They have prominently displayed links on www.newyorkjets.com that help drive their fans to their Facebook Fan Page and Twitter Page.
Here are some examples of how the NY Jets are using social media:
Facebook Fan Page
The official New York Jets Facebook Fan page is a great example of how teams can use popular social networks to engage in a two way conversation with fans. The Jets have created a “Welcome” page that helps inform fans of all the ways to connect with the team. There is a quick opening video where current players Kerry Rhodes, Dustin Keller and D’Brickashaw Ferguson welcome fans to the Facebook Page. There are also quick links included that help direct fans to the videos and photo sections and an open invite to “write on the wall”.
The official NY Jets Facebook Fan page has just over 32,000 fans and it is evident that a number of them are quite active on the site contributing to the “Wall” conversations, participation in polls, uploading fan generated videos and photos.
The Jets also use their Facebook Fan page as a means to promote their team schedule, tickets sales, the “Jets Flight Crew” cheerleaders and upcoming events.
NY Jets Players on Twitter
One of the things that really stood out to me on the Facebook Fan Page was that they have a section promoting their players on Twitter. This is a very proactive approach to embracing social media as a number of teams, leagues and conferences have outright banned their players from using Twitter. The Jets are doing the exact opposite by embracing the fact that their players are an extension of their brand and are a major contributing factor to the overall success of the team – both on and off the field. The NY Jets players profiled on Twitter include:
- Mark Sanchez
- Kerry Rhodes
- Nick Mangold
- Derrelle Reves
- Dustin Keller
- Bart Scott
- Braylon Edwards
- Jeff Feely
- James Ihedigbo
- D’Brickashaw Ferguson
- Damien Woody
NY Jets on Twitter
The Jets organization does a great job of using Twitter in a very open and engaging way. They understand that the fans are not always going to be happy with the team. After all, it’s pro-sports…..and you can’t win every game.
One thing that really stand out for me is the fact that the Jets do an exceptional job of responding to fan comments and questions. I constantly hear the question of whether or not a person/team with a large number of followers should follow all of those people back. The NY Jets currently have almost 14000 followers and are following back 1600 of them. I’m assuming they have chosen to engage with those fans that are providing quality comments and feedback as I don’t believe it is feasible to converse with 14000 fans.
The Jets also use their Twitter account to keep fans updated on game highlights with regular posting during Jets games. Each contributor to their Twitter page uses their initials to keep fans informed on who is broadcasting the message.
