Our blood over here at Grey Street Media truly runs Blue & Orange – we are Oilers fans through and through! I got to go to the Edmonton/Vegas game last night (stellar performance, by the way!) and while the game day experience is top notch especially at the new Rogers Place, I have to say that following along on Twitter throughout the game was also incredibly entertaining. I don’t know who they hired in Las Vegas to manage the Golden Knight’s Twitter account, but hats off to them – they are crushing it. Yes, they may just be a fun NHL Twitter account, but underneath the surface there are still some lessons to be learned about marketing and Social Media from their strategy!
PSA: Our bandwagon is always open☺️ https://t.co/iu3rUD830o
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 14, 2017
Good night, Las Vegas! Remember, when you wake up tomorrow, it's the first morning of your life where you wake up & WE have an @NHL team!👊🏻
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 23, 2016
Being Real
You always hear marketers talk about being real and authentic on Social Media, and we agree! With so much content out there, people need to hear your unique brand voice. But it’s also more than that – people appreciate a down-to-earth, real comment that they can empathize with. Basically the calling-out-the-elephant-in-the-room, saying-it-like-it-is, what-everyone-was-already-thinking type of comments. Using the Golden Knights as an example, last night’s game did not go great for them (the Oilers handed them an 8-2 loss) and they were very honest about how it was going. Here are some tweets from during the game:
this is the worst game in franchise HISTORY rn
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 15, 2017
given that we play in the same division, it's honestly TERRIFYING how many more times we have to play against McDavid in the next 20 years.
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 15, 2017
☠☠☠☠
hockey is more fun when we're scoring goals
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 15, 2017
Now, this type of personality isn’t right for every business, so you should look at finding your own voice that reflects who you truly are. (For some ideas, you can check out our blog with 7 social media content ideas to help your business personality shine through)
Pop Culture/Engagement
Striking a cord with your audience and standing out is key to succeeding on Social Media. The Golden Knights are great at this by using memes and pop culture references that are relevant at the moment. It’s clear that a) there’s a real person behind the account and b) they’re paying attention.
Here they make a comment on the weather, ask a question as a poll (so their audience can easily engage in the conversation), and then proceed to “beak” the response they got in a fun way!
our twitter dot com tricked a bunch of canadians into arguing over whose city is coldest. brb going to get our popcorn😆😆😆 https://t.co/bPmty8KXss
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 15, 2017
The Line
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the key to success on Twitter is to go out there and say whatever you want, whenever you want. There definitely is a line where being clever or sassy can turn into insensitive and rude. And with Twitter’s fast pace, the line can easily become a blur. The Golden Knights ran into some trouble in mid-October when they posted a series of tweets that listed the Boston Bruin’s starting line-up with women’s names from a sexist joke in the movie Ted instead of the real player’s names. The Twitterverse called the Golden Knights out on it, which led to the team releasing a statement of apology and, of course, the offensive tweets were deleted.
We know that Social Media management and platforms like Twitter can seem overwhelming, but you don’t have to do it alone! At Grey Street Media, we have lots of experience managing Social Media for our clients. Check out what we offer and get in touch. We would be happy to chat with you about your marketing needs and how we can help!