Posted: Feb. 25, 2011
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns were recognized as a “Business That Gets It,” winning a SMAZZIE Award for their efforts on Twitter and Facebook during a recent Social Media AZ event in Tempe. The category was open to non-social media/marketing entities, which demonstrate creative and proficient use of social media.
Recognized as one of the most active and engaged teams in the NBA, the Suns organization is utilizing social media within many, if not all, of its business initiatives, connecting and interacting with fans to grow the team’s brand, while also selling tickets and extending the brands of its marketing partnerships.
The team’s primary Twitter account, @PhoenixSuns, has more than 55,000 followers, but the organization’s Twitter roster also includes eight players who tweet and more than 25 front-office executives, who serve as brand ambassadors on Twitter.
Similarly, the organization maintains a number of unique Facebook pages, including ones for US Airways Center, the Suns Dancers and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. The team’s official page, Facebook.com/PhoenixSuns, has experienced rapid growth since launching in January 2009. This NBA season alone, the Suns’ page has grown from 190,000 “likes” in October to more than 340,000 in late February.
“Our fans enjoy interacting with us and with each other on Twitter and Facebook, sharing their love of Phoenix Suns basketball,” said Suns Vice President of Digital, Jeramie McPeek. “At the same time, we love hearing their feedback and celebrating our wins with them in ways we never really could before these channels. So to be recognized for our use of social media by winning a SMAZZIE is an honor, but it is also a credit to our fans who ‘get it.’”
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