For a few months now, the NFL has been trying to figure out how to corral its players online and develop a social media policy. Their formal stance, announced in August, allows for players to express themselves before and after games, “The NFL said Monday it will allow players to use social media networks this season, but not during games. Players, coaches and football operations personnel can use Twitter, Facebook and other social media up to 90 minutes before kickoff, and after the game following traditional media interviews.”
Today, the NFL Player Development Department released a series of “official” lists of Twitter accounts for League personalities:
Jeff Brunelle of Carrot Creative, who consulted on the creation of the account, noted, “We were able to pinpoint usernames of all the players using Twitter (still adding to the list too) and it offers fans a way to easily monitor what players are saying throughout the day. NFL PD will add to the list as they hear of more players joining Twitter.”
It’s so smart for NFLPD to realize that fans crave that ‘personal’ interaction with players. The thought of a Superbowl winning quarterback may be daunting, but a guy who’s taking classes as he works towards a degree in marketing is relatable. It’s off field activities that bring the human voice to these athletic superstars.
I think this is a good step by the NFL. The players want to use Twitter and the fans certainly are using, so it’s better to intelligently embrace it than try to avoid it altogether.
I’d like to see more “official” participation by teams though. Yesterday I looked at the official Twitter accounts and Facebook pages of all 32 NFL teams. There’s still a lot of opportunity for increased engagement.
The Most Popular NFL Teams on Twitter and Facebook
http://www.adamsherk.com/social-media/most-popular-nfl-teams-twitter-facebook/