Social Media Slam Dunk

By: Angela Raleigh, Account Executive, Leonard & Finco Public Relations, Inc.

Internet TV, mobile apps, and social media…March Madness is fully underway and this year’s basketball tournament is more connected than ever. The NCAA took advantage of a great PR opportunity by providing sports fanatics and viewers with multiple ways to engage and watch every game possible no matter where they may happen to be, making March Madness more high tech than ever.

As with TV shows, viewers can now watch any March Madness tournament game live online with March Madness On Demand. Can we say second game screen? I am sure many basketball lovers will be connecting to Internet TV as way to watch more than one game at once.

But not only can viewers watch any game live and streamed right to their computers, they can watch games from an iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. By downloading the March Madness On Demand apps viewers can watch every game of the tournament.

Where would March Madness be without a Facebook page? No need to wonder. The NCAA has a Facebook page dedicated exclusively to March Madness. With 189,735 current “Likes” the page shows locations and dates of games, provides history on the tournament, photos, opportunity to order tickets and a quick guide for anyone planning on going to the Final Four.

The NCAA also has a Twitter account for March Madness, @marchmadness with more than 17,527 current followers. Two of the top hash tags to use are #NCAA and #MarchMadness. Fans are sharing on Twitter by rooting for their favorite teams and sport reporters are providing play by play updates.

This year’s March Madness has proven to be one where you don’t have to sit in front of a TV and watch the actual basketball games to get the scoop on the teams that are making their way to the Final Four. By connecting via social media people can get the latest updates on the entire tournament and root for their favorite teams with the click of a button.

This is yet another example of the pivotal role of social media and its ability to help people stay connected. How are you watching the tournament and staying connected this year?