As anyone who has come to a Warriors home game knows, pretty much every night on #WarriorsGround is Social Media Night, especially with #DubNation in the mix. But on our 3rd Annual Social Media Night presented by Esurance, we all took things to another level – the organization, the players and the fans.
From the Run TMC era shooting shirts with @WARRIORS on the front and the players’ personal Twitter/Instagram handles on the back, to the 1,000 texting gloves handed out as part of our Facebook Check-In Offer, to the Instagram Wall, to mobile app beacon notification giveaways, to fan photos on the scoreboard, to section giveaways determined by the volume of fan tweets, to contests on Snapchat and even Weibo – this year’s Social Media Night was more connected than ever. And this year, one lucky fan (@melissaboose) also had the chance to be our #DubsSocialInsider for the night. Read more about Melissa’s experience below, and check out a complete social recap of the night, including the Warriors big win over the Atlanta Hawks.below.
#DubsSocialInsider Diary
Hey Dub Nation! It's Melissa Boose, your #DubsSocialMediaInsider, back for a behind the scenes account of Social Media Night. How great was that win against the Hawks? The Warriors are always an exciting team to watch but the atmosphere for the game on Wednesday night was especially electric! I had an amazing time with the Digital Media team seeing how they create a one of a kind experience for us fans both at and away from the game. The excitement started when I was picked as your Social Media Insider, it was surreal! Walking into Oracle Arena my family and I picked up official Twitter handle shirts just like the ones our players wore on the court. After checking out the Warriors Team Store we walked down to the court, does anyone else get their breathe taken away at first site of that gorgeous blue and yellow floor? Watching pregame warmups was definitely a highlight of the night. We all know Steph Curry is amazing, but seeing his ball handling skills close up was insane! Such control! It was also a thrill to walk on the court and shoot some video for the Warriors Vine and Instagram accounts. There were many in house giveaways and events going on throughout the arena in addition to the game and I was fortunate to be able to check them out. The Warriors' Instagram wall and selfie stick were a HUGE hit with fans in the building so naturally I had to stop and take a selfie. For showing the Warriors app on their phone, fans were able to pick up a set of awesome earbuds and for checking into "Warriors Home Game" on Facebook fans could pick up a pair of Warriors texting gloves. I was able to hang with the Facebook giveaway team and pass out texting gloves to many of you at the game. It was so fun to see how excited people were for the game and the giveaway!
Game time was getting close and it was time to head towards the media area to watch the game. As Kevin Cote (Senior Director Digital) and I were walking down a hallway I noticed up ahead the team was doing their pregame huddle! We walked in just in time to watch them sprint by (and of course bust out the cell phones for some video for the Social Media accounts). Seeing the players run by that close gave me the chills! It still brings a smile to my face to think of that moment, just so cool. Minutes left till game time I was seated up at the media area. I took my place and started firing up all of my personal social media tools (Instagram, Twitter, Vine). The first quarter went by quickly and I was up next for my Twitter takeover! That was the one portion of the night I was nervous for, it's one thing to tweet on your own account but when you realize you're tweeting to 600,000+ people it's a little daunting! Thankfully the Dubs were killing it on the court and the tweeting came easy. Second quarter wrapped up and it was time to switch over to Facebook to give away tickets to #GSWFanNight. I was so blessed to have my experience so it was truly an honor to pay it forward to another lucky fan. The Warriors got the W and it was time to come back down to the court and play H.O.R.S.E with NBA and Broadcasting Legend Jim Barnett. Jim was so gracious and friendly, it was a fun time. He still has that competitive edge and knocked my son and I out (we partnered up) with a 3 pointer. This was truly one of the most amazing nights I've had. It took a long time to finally fall asleep last night because I was still amped from all the excitement! I can't thank the Warriors Organization enough for this opportunity, and the Digital staff for being so helpful and supportive during the entire night. Thanks also to all of YOU Dub Nation for your awesome feedback and likes on Twitter and Instagram! It was a pleasure to be able to take you on an inside look of the Warriors.