Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Home Run Derby Players Connect with Social Media

For the first time, players in Major League Baseball's Home Run Derby were able to interact with fans live via social media. MLB Advanced Media announced that the incorporation of Twitter and Facebook would be used to share video and picture content shot by the players during the event. Fans were encouraged to ask questions and cheer on their favorite players during the Derby.

Each player was able to tweet and post to their Facebook fan pages during the Derby on their personal handheld devices. If they didn't have a device, or a Twitter account, they were still able to interact from social media stations set up on the field. These stations included laptops, video cameras and tablets, as well as representatives encouraging players and fans to use the hashtag #HRDerby to be a part of the conversation.

During the game, the video board was showing tweets using this hashtag in between batters. Aside from Facebook and Twitter, fans were also able to check-in at the Home Run Derby through the MLB.com Bat 11 application for iPhone and Android mobile phones. MLB.com also provided a home run tracker as well as live video stream during the Derby.

How did you use social media during the Derby? To see a full list of MLB Twitter accounts to follow click here.

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