The NBA and Social Media: How One League Dominates the Sports Marketing World

The NBA has always been one of the most popular sports in America and more recently across the world, being part of the "Big Four" major sports. But part of the popularity of a league today is how they've adapted their marketing strategies into Social Media, which the NBA has excelled at and almost set the bar for leagues to follow. Not only have they completely digitized their entire company, by adding features like NBA League Pass to allow fans to subscribe to their very own streaming service to a complete 32 team e-sports league, the NBA has pushed their athletes and the teams they play for to take a more active role in social media.  The league lives on Twitter nowadays, with the majority of their fans, reporters and players actively engaging everyday, and it happened by the league just encouraging their employees to get active.

"Lifting the Hood"
One of the reasons the NBA is so popular on Twitter specifically is because that is where players have begun to open up to fans. NBA players represent a crossroads of sport and culture, and as T.J. Adeshola, Twitter's Head of Sports Content Partnerships put it in an sbnation interview, "Fans want to understand who played well, who won and lost, but they also want to know what LeBron is listening to. They love knowing [Rockets forward] P.J. Tucker is a sneaker head. These lifestyle insights inform users in ways they haven't been informed before" (SBnation.com).

Fans want to feel connected to the players they follow. The NBA more than any other league has a mimicking fan base. Kids play basketball in their gyms and driveways and yell "Kobe!" as they shoot, trying to make a shot like Kobe Bryant. Fans in pickup games attempt the signature James Harden step-back jumper. Amateur players use NBA coined celebrations in their own games and competitions. So when people find out what music LeBron James is listening too, or what shoes P.J. Tucker loves, it brings that same sense of imitation on a digital level. No other league gives insight into a players lives like they do.

Fast Paced Game meets Fast Paced Platform
Basketball is the fastest paced game in major sports. There are minimal stoppages, and players are constantly running up and down the court. The off-the-court antics are the same. Player trades and league news erupts 24/7, 365 days a year. Twitter was the perfect place for the league to create a partnership to grow their social media presence. According to Twitters Developers page, "Twitter's real-time nature is a major benefit to a league which is looking to capture reactions to games and live commentary" (Twitter.com). No other league has their fanbase constantly posting about their games and happenings like the NBA. While it wasn't an in-game event, when LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Los Angeles Lakers, there were 55,000 tweets per minute about his free agency signing (SBnation).  Per minute.

The results for the NBA have been astounding. They have been able to embed Twitter into their NBA Mobile app so fans can follow games and tweets real time. Fans have been able to view game recaps and highlights on Twitter, whether from the NBA account of their teams accounts. Fans see their favorite players outfits and shoes before games, and follow the lives of said players both on the court and off. Personally, the NBA is my favorite league social media world to engage in. Players engage with each other on a wide spectrum of creating beef and rivalries to congratulating and celebrating each other. Teams even engage with each other. For example, a few nights ago when the Charlotte Hornets were one game away from clinching the playoffs, and needed the Detroit Pistons to lose to the New York Knicks in order to get in, the Hornets social media team edited their logo to having a Knicks hat on and posted it, mentioning the Knicks in order to show their support for a team that had their future in their hands. No other league has the type of interactions and engagements that the NBA has, and if the NFL, NHL and MLB want to reach the type of fandom and following that the NBA has, they need to encourage their various accounts to become more open and free with their content.