“Don’t you like when the winter’s gone/And all of a sudden, it starts getting warm” – Biz Markie “Spring Again”

One of the best times of the year has arrived. Spring brings us sunshine, green grass, BBQs, and America’s favorite pastime, baseball!

Opening day is here for the local minor league team, Indianapolis Indians, as they will face the Toledo Mud Hens tonight at Victory Field. They will need your support more than ever this season, especially after the year that Indianapolis sports teams have endured.

It was great to see the Fever and Colts reach their respective championship games, but the losing part was not too exciting.

When all hope was lost for a hometown champion, a small college out of Indianapolis shocked the basketball world and gave Indy another reason to smile. Butler University reached the biggest stage in college sports, only to be defeated in the closing seconds to my favorite team, the Duke Blue Devils.

I have lived in Indianapolis for over a year and a half now and one thing’s for certain: people love their local sports teams. These are the same people who probably have a Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube account.

Today, I am going to look into how local sports teams utilize social media to keep their fans updated and possibly create a new legion of followers:

Indianapolis Indians
AAA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates
2009 Record: 70-73
Home: Victory Field
Facebook: Facebook.com/IndianapolisIndians (3,700 fans)
Twitter: @IndyIndians (2,777 followers)
YouTube: NONE

Indianapolis Colts
2009 Record: 16-3
Home: Lucas Oil Stadium (@LucasOilStadium)
Facebook: Facebook.com/Colts (349,000 fans)
Twitter: NONE (Unofficial account @Colts)
YouTube: NONE

Indiana Pacers
2009 Record: 32-50
Home: Conseco Fieldhouse (@CFH_Events)
Facebook: Facebook.com/Pacers (18,700 fans)
Twitter: @IndianaPacers (8,500 followers)
YouTube: NONE

Indiana Fever
2009 Record: 22-12
Home: Conseco Fieldhouse (@CFH_Events)
Facebook: Facebook.com/IndianaFever (2,960 fans)
Twitter: @IndianaFever (1,935 followers)
YouTube: NONE

After taking in all of the social media networks for these four teams, there was one similarity; they did not have YouTube channels. Although each team did incorporate video onto their main website, there was not a presence on YouTube.

YouTube Activity

For the Pacers and Fever, some of their clips could be seen on the NBA and WNBA YouTube channels, but that was it. I also got a good laugh when YouTube suggested “Indiana Pacers brawl” as I started to type in their team name concluding that the brawl was the biggest Pacers highlight in 5+ years.

Such NFL teams as the Atlanta Falcons have created official channels and dare I say the Duke Basketball channel is a great example of how a team should utilize YouTube.

Facebook & Twitter Activity

In regards to Facebook and Twitter, all four teams do a nice job using these tools. You can find a direct link to become a fan or follower on their main websites. All of the teams use Facebook to primarily direct traffic to their main domain, but they also incorporate photos, discussions, and more on their fan page.

I think that the Pacers have used Twitter to their advantage during the season creating retweet contests for tickets and giveaways. I attended a Pacers tweetup in January and it was a great way to meet fellow tweeters and fans.

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In general, the Colts and Fever need to step up their game in the social media stratosphere interacting more with the fans on the web.

Social media can be a powerful tool for any business, sports team, or musician, if they do it the correct way. Fans love to be a part of the action and if teams utilize these tools they could gain more followers, which in the end, could equal more sales.

So #GoColts, #GoPacers, #GoFever, #GoIndians and play ball!

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