Here are 6 social media marketing lessons to learn from the San Francisco Giants.
As someone who grew up in Silicon Valley and enjoys baseball, it’s no surprise I’m a San Francisco Giants fan. However, living in Washington it can be hard to feel connected to my team. The main way I stay connected (especially during the playoffs!) is through social media.
Over the years I continue to be impressed with the Giants’ social media marketing tactics. As social media continues to grow, their marketing team embraces it and uses it to connect with fans. Here are a few lessons we can learn from them.
6 Social Media Marketing Lessons
1. Be spontaneous. From using hashtags like #PenceVsFence and posting photos right away, the Giants share news in real time. Although your business might not have exciting plays or at-bats to jump on, you can use memes and appropriate news stories to make your updates timely.
2. Mix it up. If you scroll through the Giants’ Twitter feed, you’ll see videos, photos, memes, quotes, articles, announcements and more. Instead of just relying on one type of post, mix it up and give your followers fresh ways to digest your company’s updates.
3. Embrace your followers. The Giants show their followers they appreciate them in a wide variety of ways: they retweet fan photos and updates, share exclusive offers, come up with fun hashtags to use during the game, etc. They also thank their followers and even have the theme “October Together” this month to show fans how important they are to the team’s success. Have you showed your followers you appreciate them lately?
4. Cross promote your platforms. The Giants are all over social media. They have accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram and Snapchat. Although they have links to each social media account on their website, I actually heard about most of them through other accounts. They shared a photo from their Instagram feed on their Facebook page. They linked to a Pinterest board through their Twitter account. Make sure your followers know how many different ways they can connect with you by cross-promoting your different accounts.
5. Have fun with it. You can tell the Giants’ social media marketing team has a good time coming up with new ideas like this one. Instead of thinking of social media as another item on your to-do list, relax, have fun and show off your personality!
6. Never stop learning. Social media is always changing, so make sure you don’t get stuck in a rut doing the same thing over and over again. As Giants Social Media Director Bryan Srabian explained, “I never stop studying what other teams/athletes/brands are doing in the space and thinking how we can continue to move the needle.” That’s a good practice to follow!
Do you follow the Giants on social media too? What other advice can we learn from their example?
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Photo Credit: randychiu