Friday, November 25, 2016

The NBA Winning at Social Media

The NBA is a great example of doing social media marketing correctly and effectively. Even though they are not selling an actual, tangible product or service, they know how to reach out to their target audience and how to engage with them through the use of social media. They have been successful in almost every major social media platform (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube). The amount of followers the NBA has across the different platforms demonstrates that they are doing something right.

The NBA is leading in the amount of likes, followers, and subscribers when comparing them to the other three major U.S sports leagues, (the NFL, MLB, and NHL).

Here are some quick numbers:

Facebook
NBA: 31.6M
MLB: 6.7M
NHL: 4.2M
NFL: 14.9M

Twitter
NBA: 23.6M
MLB: 6.4M
NHL: 5.1M
NFL: 20.5M

Instagram
NBA: 19.5M
MLB: 3.1M
NHL: 2.2M
NFL:  7.7M

YouTube
NBA: 7.2M
MLB: 700K
NHL: 686K
NFL: 1.5M

The strategies the NBA has developed through social media has created an even bigger fandom of the league and the sport itself. They have built a strong relationship with their audience simply by creating content that is captivating, useful, and entertaining. Some of this content includes graphics and simple infographics with player or team statistics, videos and GIFs, and simple images.

Here are some examples of their content.

Graphics and Infographics:


A photo posted by NBA (@nba) on

A photo posted by NBA (@nba) on

A photo posted by NBA (@nba) on

These graphics are captivating and entertaining; there is a lot of thought put into these images. The NBA graphic designers know how to make graphics that will generate many sharings and comments. 

Videos and GIFs:

A video posted by NBA (@nba) on




The NBA has mastered the use of video throughout every major social media platform. These videos mostly consist of game plays and this is something that the fans enjoy watching. They are very consistent on every platform and post multiple videos throughout the day. This is something that the other three major U.S sports leagues are not doing and they are missing out on this opportunity. 

Images: 

A photo posted by NBA (@nba) on
A photo posted by NBA (@nba) on

A photo posted by NBA (@nba) on

The images posted on the NBA's social media accounts are simple, yet they include so much detail and focus. These images are mostly action shots that are very appealing. 

Almost every post on the NBA's social media accounts are of some use to the audience; these posts have information that is valuable to the audience. And this is an important aspect of social media marketing as it creates engagement and essentially builds a stronger connection with the audience. 

Although the NBA is not the most popular sport, it is definitely gaining much attention through social media, and that is something the NBA is winning in. 

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