Advertisement
Jim CutlerJim CutlerJim CutlerJim Cutler
BSM SummitBSM SummitBSM SummitBSM Summit

A Twitter Strategy From The Play-By-Play Booth

In this day and age, social media can be a useful tool, but if not used correctly it can end up being your worst nightmare. All of the popular sites are great resources to self-promote, give out valuable information or gather the same. Don’t approach social media, well don’t approach social media without an approach. I use most of the platforms, but the one I use most is Twitter, so I’ll gear this column towards that. 

My basic need while the game is going on is information sharing. Now, I don’t just repeat or retweet things I may see on Twitter unless I know the source. I make sure I follow credible sources for each Major League Baseball team: beat writers, beat reporters, radio announcers, television announcers and the teams’ various PR Twitter handles. 

For example, on the night of July 12th, I was doing a game in Oakland with the White Sox, there was something special going on a few hundred miles down the coast. The Angels were combining to throw a no-hitter in their first game at home since the tragic death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs. I was following along through the Angels account and several of their beat writers. It was an easy way for my listeners to know what was going on in Anaheim without me being distracted and looking all over the place for information. It was a special thing that I wanted my audience to be aware of. I use Twitter for just this reason, to provide up to date information on things of note that are going on around the league. 

- Advertisement -
Image result for angels no hitter

I make sure to return the favor when it applies. During a day game in Chicago on April 17th, the White Sox and Royals had the benches clear after Tim Anderson was hit by a pitch following a home run in which he ‘flipped’ his bat. A large gathering of players and coaches milled around the field while the umpiring crew tried to figure out who stayed in the game and who was to be ejected.

I tweeted the information so my fellow broadcasters and my audience that couldn’t be listening to the game would know what had happened. I also tweeted out a picture of the aftermath of the incident to supplement our coverage.  I did offer a few opinions about the decisions on ejections as well, because we were talking about it on the air after order had been restored. That’s just an example of the information during a game that I will tweet out. 

Before a game, I get to play reporter. Providing news from the pregame manager scrum, things I learned in the clubhouse that day and giving out information on official team releases as well. Plus, I get to tie in a promotion for my pregame show and guests and the game broadcast time and radio station. Free advertising for yourself and the flagship station is never frowned upon. I will from time to time use a photo of the field or something else going on at the park before the game to enhance the tweet. I especially include a picture when the weather is either beautiful or awful!  I think fans really appreciate those times you take them behind the curtain, showing them the inner workings of the broadcast and of the field before a game. 

Another thing to get in the habit of doing is ‘retweeting’ others. A lot of the time there is a guy in Chicago that is a master of the “nugget” during games. He’ll Tweet out excellent information that can’t easily be gathered. I admire his effort and will retweet him often with a comment. I feel like his information is accurate and credible, so give him credit. It also shows that you are willing to share someone else’s information for benefit of your audience. Promote others and they are likely to promote you when you have information that they don’t have. 

That’s the good of social media, but believe me there is a not so good side too. You will be told sometimes how bad you are, how many mistakes you’ve made and try to bate you into a retort. Best bet is to ignore it and move on. I’m sure your first thought is to fire back, but what good will it do you to engage a fan online? Live by this motto: THINK BEFORE YOU TWEET. If you remember nothing else, remember those 4 words, they could save you a lot of unnecessary headaches. 

- Advertisement -

Think about who is going to see the response, your friends, colleagues and more than likely your bosses. Is it worth it? Probably not. Is your job worth it? Again, likely the answer is no. A good portion of these active tweeters just do it to get a rise out of you. Don’t engage. Sometimes to get my anger out, I’ll open up a word document and type out a response just to get it off my chest and then delete. There are other occasions where it’s necessary to respond. Every once in a while, I’ll respond with a “thanks for listening, we appreciate it.”. More often than not, the listener will respond by ‘back peddling’ because they never thought you’d either see it or for sure respond. 

I’ll wrap this up by giving you a list of things that you should be thinking about doing and not doing on your social media posts. 

DO:

  1. Update your profile on the platforms regularly to make sure they’re current.
  2. Be consistent, during the baseball season, I’m all about baseball, people expect it.
  3. Interact with your audience, but again don’t respond to all the negativity. If you are asked a question, try to answer it to the best of your ability. 
  4. Just like during a broadcast, inform and entertain the audience. 
  5. Try new things, like polls, photos and GIFS.
  6. Be on your best behavior, be couteous on Social Media. Be conscience of who you are tagging in posts.
  7. Be careful on posting political opinions, you will likely alienate half your audience. Not saying you can’t, but be ready for the backlash.  
  8. Use your account for good

DON’T:

  1. Use improper grammar or spelling, makes you a less credible follow. Typos happen, so proof before tweeting. 
  2. Overshare things. If you have a podcast, or a blog post, don’t share it 25 times during the day. Maybe once in the morning, once in the afternoon and once at night. 
  3. Along those lines, don’t be a needy Tweeter. Oversharing, begging for followers or retweets is not a good habit to get into. 
  4. Retweet “fake accounts”. I’ve been burned a few times especially during baseball trade season with the copycat Ken Rosenthal account. Block them. 
  5. Provide fake information yourself either
  6. Come across as someone that knows everything and can’t be challenged on things
  7. Spend all your time on social media platforms, there’s a great big world out there
- Advertisement -
Andy Masur
Andy Masurhttps://barrettmedia.com
Andy Masur is a columnist for BSM and works for WGN Radio as an anchor and play-by-play announcer. He also teaches broadcasting at the Illinois Media School. During his career he has called games for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. He can be found on Twitter @Andy_Masur1 or you can reach him by email at Andy@Andy-Masur.com.

Popular Articles