College Sports Information Directors of America

by Eric Rhew, Towson University athletic media relations assistant director

Here is a basic overview of both Facebook and Twitter, and how to use both social media tools to publicize and promote your athletic program.

To read Rhew's pointers in full, go to the PDF below.
The Basics on Facebook and Twitter, by Eric Rhew, Towson University (PDF)


FACEBOOK FAQ

What is Facebook?

Facebook is currently the most popular of a group of electronic, interpersonal communication platforms referred to as "social networking web sites."  Facebook users communicate with friends, become "fans" of Facebook pages of television shows, bands, animals, sports teams (almost anything) and join Facebook "groups" with users with similar interests.  A chat client is built into the web interface of Facebook and Facebook has both a mobile version of its web site and the capability for its users to access some of the platform's communication tools via text messaging. 

There are more than 200 million active users on Facebook, including more than 100 million who log on to Facebook at least once a day.  The average Facebook user has 120 "Facebook friends." 

How can Facebook help me promote my athletic department?

In terms of promotion, Facebook is best described as "word of mouth" for the digital age, amplified by about one-thousand percent.  In the real world, if someone comes to a basketball game and really likes it, they *might* tell their friends.  In the Facebook world, if someone RSVPs to come to a basketball game or becomes a fan of the Big School Bobcats, Facebook itself tells all of that person's friends via the news feed. 

The best two methods to promote your athletic department on Facebook are by creating a "page" for your department or by creating a "group."  Both are similar.  Facebook users "become fans" of pages and become members of groups. 

The big difference is that any new posts made by a "page" that a user is a fan of show up in the user's news feed, whereas the primary method of communicating with the members of a group is via a message sent to all group members or on the group's message board or wall.  When a Facebook user becomes a "fan" of your page or joins your group, that action shows up in the news feed of all of their friends. 

In both cases, be it through a page or a group, you can create an event to invite members or fans to.  So, if you've got a big hockey game coming up, you can invite all of your fans or members with the click of a button. 

Here's where the news feed really helps again.  Any Facebook users who RSVP a "yes" to your event will have that RSVP appear in their friends' news feeds, whether or not those friends are fans of your page or members of your group.  If you get 200 people to RSVP "yes" and the average Facebook user has 120 friends, your message has now reached a much wider audience than before.  In addition to events, you can share videos and web page links and post messages on your page on group. 

Unlike a traditional web site, where users have to find you in order to receive your message, on Facebook, a user simply has to know someone who has found you in order to receive your message.  Your fans or members will continue to grow as other Facebook users see your page or group mentioned in their friends' news feed.

That sounds great, but how do I get that initial group of fans or members?

This is where your student-workers can be a huge help.  Ask them to become fans of your page or members of your group and have them invite their friends (via Facebook) to do the same.  Your alumni office may also be interested in promoting your athletics Facebook presence since the most rapidly growing age demographic on Facebook is users who are 35 and older. 



TWITTER TIDBITS

What is Twitter?

According to Wikipedia, Twitter is “a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read each others' updates, known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters, displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to other users - known as followers - who have subscribed to them.

Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS) or external applications. The service is free over the Internet, but using SMS may incur phone service provider fees.”

Facts About Twitter

?    There are 17 million registered users for Twitter … The number of Twitter users is growing six times faster than Facebook.

?    Twitter ranks third among the major social networking sites in terms of users.
o    Facebook – 67.5 million users
o    MySpace – 54 million users
o    Twitter – 17 million users
o    LinkedIn – 13.4 million users

How is Twitter different from a school website?

?    Twitter will provide a quicker means of receiving up-to-the-second news and information.
?    Followers can receive updates any way they choose: at Twitter.com, via text message, email, RSS news feeds, on Facebook or any other social networking sites.

How do I receive information?   

?    Twitter allows you to pick and customize how you receive your messages. Get alerts via the web, text messages, instant messages, on Facebook, e-mail and RSS feeds.
?    You do not need to sign up for a free Twitter account to read updates on other Twitter profiles, but individuals who create their own profiles can receive instantaneous updates using a variety of applications.
?    If you are interested in following a Twitter profile, text updates can easily be turned on and off at your convenience.

What does it mean to follow someone on Twitter?

Following someone simply means receiving their Twitter updates. When you follow someone, every time they post a new message, it will appear in your Twitter home page. New messages are added to your home page as people post them, so you always get the updates in real time. When you log in, you can see what the latest updates are.