Friday, October 12, 2012

The NFL & Social Media: For the Fans, By the Fans

I absolutely love football. Everything about it. The jerseys, the stadium, the weather and the game itself – everything. You can catch me every Sunday with a game on and a plate of hot wings in front of me.
I also really love how the NFL taps into its audience through the use of social media. I follow the NFL and multiple football players on Twitter. I am a fan of the NFL Facebook page. But I was most delighted to hear about another way the league is reaching out to its audience and integrating them into the game itself.
If you’re a big NFL fan like me, you have probably noticed on Thursday night games there is a lot of fan footage. Being the PR investigator I am, I turned to the internet to find out if this was a new marketing campaign. Turns out I was right! The videos of fans used during the games are actually crowdsourced.
The NFL is now encouraging fans to record their favorite team’s “fight song” for a chance to be featured during the opening video montage during a Thursday Night Football game. Through the NFL’s Fanchise site, viewers can upload their fan video from their house, a bar, the stadium or even at the tailgate! All you have to do is pick your team, record your video, upload it and voila – you’re on your way to 15 minutes of fame.
From a public relations perspective, this is a really smart move. Not only is this marketing the NFL in new and different ways on the web, it is also increasing the league’s social media presence.
So, if you have a favorite team and are ready to sing loud and proud, upload your video today! I know I will be for my favorite team (The Eagles if you haven’t already guessed it, I’m a Philly girl!).

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