ESPN Twitter Engagement

ESPN has several different company Twitter accounts. Their original account is @ESPN and has over 6.6 million followers. But the public is not only limited to following @ESPN; viewers can follow accounts for their favorite ESPN media outlets, TV Shows, professional sports leagues, anchors, reporters, and analysts. There is even a Twitter account run by a branch of the company that provides information to ESPN production teams around the corporation and is called ESPN Stats & Info. This account has over 550,000 followers and gives viewers direct and timely access to the information that fuels the network’s content. If you include the on-air talent’s official twitter accounts, hundreds of ESPN accounts exist on this social media platform.  

During live program ESPN often posts stats and information about the game to keep viewers engaged and inspire additional conversation about the game. This is an excellent way to keep viewers involved and informed. Most of the statistics that are created are very unique, researched, and applied to current in game situations. During the NBA Finals @ESPNStats&Info posted over 10 tweets before halftime about the game simultaneously airing on ABC. This tweet garnered 31 retweets and 7 favorites immediately following the company’s post. 

 

This is an illustration of one type of “content we all crave”. According to Scott Aughtmon, there are certain types of content that can really resonate with an audience. The tweet about the Spurs first half scoring helps to illustrate the story of the game that is currently in progress. ESPN is looking for ways to make viewers feel as though they are watching more than a competition, but instead observing a story unfold right before their eyes. With informative tweets such as the one mentioned above, the network has succeeded in progressing the narrative of the NBA Finals and enticing viewers to retweet, mention, and endorse their coverage of the game. ESPN also focuses on using hashtags for every live event. They even go as far as to ask all individuals that are employed by the company to utilize the hashtags when live tweeting the game. They use the hashtags to find viewers that are tweeting about the event and retweet them on the official account.

            Although ESPN broadcasts 65 different sports, there are several periods during their 24 hour programming that there is no live programming airing and the masterminds behind the company’s twitter account must find ways to promote their network. Majority of the “time insensitive” content revolves around jokes, random facts, and viewer response questions. The original @ESPN account averages about 20 tweets a day. When there is important live content the number of posts may double or triple to feature more information and drive more eyes to the live programming. The company is always trying to find unique ways to get more people involved and interacting with their Twitter account. Here are some examples:

              

   

Judging by the massive amount of responses that both of these posts received, this is definitely the kind of content that ESPN viewers value. The decision to use little known facts like Kentucky offering “a football scholarship to a 7^th grader” sparked 774 retweets. It is such a unique piece of information that people are very interested in sharing it with their own followers, friends, and family. The @ESPN account allows sports lovers everywhere to remain informed and have Twitter timelines that appear incredibly sports savvy to their Twitter followers.