Great article Dave, this example really highlights the importance of ‘engaging’ with social media rather than just ‘using’ it. Sounds like you had a good day out as a result of them getting it right too! This article in itself is evidence that if you take the time to engage with your fans/customers then they will be happy to give you the good publicity that you are looking for – afterall, real people’s opinions are much more important (and hold more weight when customers are make buying decisions) than ‘standard’ corporate messages.

Dave this is such a great example I passed it onto our new hockey team The Abbotsford Heat who the only time they finally made the local media was over the H1 flu shot debacle. You might recall their parent club the Calgary Flames also got into ho PR water during their week of hell.

I tweet about the Leafs all the time, have been a fan for 36 years now, have a Clark & a Sundin jersey, have Cujo autographed pucks from the final season at Maple Leaf Gardens, have spent thousands of dollars on tickets to games over the years, am on the season ticket waiting list & was born and raised in Toronto and haven't received one message from them on twitter. Colour me suspicious about how they are putting a human face on the organization. I tend to agree with Chris & John.

Dave, Nice story, but I agree with Chris Clarke -- would someone with two followers get the same VIP treatment? I hope we don't start to see the advent of selective social media. Cheers, John.

Nice but you have thousands of followers, which might be the only reason you were given any attention in the first place, then treated so well. I'm sure there are a lot of Leafs fans who would love to get that kind of access but never will because they're not on Twitter, and if they were they're unlikely to have thousands of followers. Squeaky wheel, meet grease. I suppose it's good that the Leafs are trying to engage, but can they engage all Leafs fans so personally and directly? Count me among the skeptics.

Dave - Great stuff and love the sports example here. Having previously worked in sports management, I can tell you firsthand that sports teams are terrific at building brand advocates, and frankly, have been doing the kind of tremendous fan engagement and outreach for decades. I really believe a TON of companies can and should look to sports teams for how to build true fans and advocates of a brand. Most sports teams have learned how to harness and appreciate the fact that your customers can become the biggest advocate or your brand. Now here's the bigger question I have for this: Can we apply these same concepts to any company? It's one thing to have a sports team take someone on a tour of the stadium, or for someone to go on a tour of where the iPhone is made, but what do you do to put a face on a company for more companies in more regulated industries, say pharma or healthcare, where it's often difficult, if not illegal, to give consumers that kind of behind-the-scenes access? @KeithTrivitt

What a great example of an NHL team having on online personality. The faceless organization's should take note of small victories such as this to help change attitudes.

Dave, Great example of how social media is SUPPOSED to work... So many companies don't seem to understand that people don't want to "engage" with a logo, they want to engage with a human. They don't care about corporate crafted tweets that read like mini ads, they want to chat and feel like they are being heard. It's so important that companies understand this two key points when the embark on their social media adventure. It's time for a real person to come out from hiding behind the logo and get real! This very topic was on my mind last week when I wrote this: http://bit.ly/3LM16z

Great post Dave. It's small steps like these that we are seeing more and more frequently that signal the broader audience is really beginning to "get it" too. The small gesture that the Leafs organization took, (response to your tweet) is so important and yet so many companies continue to be unaware of the conversation that may be underway about them...talk about risky business! What do I think? By being active in the conversation companies will see dramatic results over time. There is no "event" that is going to suddenly help a company or organization to figure more prominently in their space, but the evidence continues to grow, supporting a comprehensive online presence development plan (and execution) as a high ROI action item. Your post here is yet another piece of evidence in support of this argument. We are in a time of extraordinary opportunity. We have unprecendented tools at our disposal to help great companies and organizations be successful in their communications initiatives. Content+Promotion+Conversion+Metrics+Review and Revise=Online presence and results that count. We are at the edge of the future! Andy

Great article Dave, this example really highlights the importance of u00e2u0080u0098engagingu00e2u0080u0099 with social media rather than just u00e2u0080u0098usingu00e2u0080u0099 it. Sounds like you had a good day out as a result of them getting it right too! This article in itself is evidence that if you take the time to engage with your fans/customers then they will be happy to give you the good publicity that you are looking for u00e2u0080u0093 afterall, real peopleu00e2u0080u0099s opinions are much more important (and hold more weight when customers are make buying decisions) than u00e2u0080u0098standardu00e2u0080u0099 corporate messages.

Dave this is such a great example I passed it onto our new hockey team The Abbotsford Heat who the only time they finally made the local media was over the H1 flu shot debacle. You might recall their parent club the Calgary Flames also got into ho PR water during their week of hell.

I tweet about the Leafs all the time, have been a fan for 36 years now, have a Clark & a Sundin jersey, have Cujo autographed pucks from the final season at Maple Leaf Gardens, have spent thousands of dollars on tickets to games over the years, am on the season ticket waiting list & was born and raised in Toronto and haven't received one message from them on twitter. Colour me suspicious about how they are putting a human face on the organization. I tend to agree with Chris & John.

Dave,

Nice story, but I agree with Chris Clarke -- would someone with two followers get the same VIP treatment? I hope we don't start to see the advent of selective social media.

Cheers,
John.

Nice but you have thousands of followers, which might be the only reason you were given any attention in the first place, then treated so well. I'm sure there are a lot of Leafs fans who would love to get that kind of access but never will because they're not on Twitter, and if they were they're unlikely to have thousands of followers. Squeaky wheel, meet grease.

I suppose it's good that the Leafs are trying to engage, but can they engage all Leafs fans so personally and directly? Count me among the skeptics.

Dave - Great stuff and love the sports example here. Having previously worked in sports management, I can tell you firsthand that sports teams are terrific at building brand advocates, and frankly, have been doing the kind of tremendous fan engagement and outreach for decades. I really believe a TON of companies can and should look to sports teams for how to build true fans and advocates of a brand. Most sports teams have learned how to harness and appreciate the fact that your customers can become the biggest advocate or your brand.

Now here's the bigger question I have for this: Can we apply these same concepts to any company? It's one thing to have a sports team take someone on a tour of the stadium, or for someone to go on a tour of where the iPhone is made, but what do you do to put a face on a company for more companies in more regulated industries, say pharma or healthcare, where it's often difficult, if not illegal, to give consumers that kind of behind-the-scenes access?

KeithTrivitt

What a great example of an NHL team having on online personality. The faceless organization's should take note of small victories such as this to help change attitudes.

Dave,

Great example of how social media is SUPPOSED to work...
So many companies don't seem to understand that people don't want to "engage" with a logo, they want to engage with a human. They don't care about corporate crafted tweets that read like mini ads, they want to chat and feel like they are being heard. It's so important that companies understand this two key points when the embark on their social media adventure. It's time for a real person to come out from hiding behind the logo and get real!
This very topic was on my mind last week when I wrote this: http://bit.ly/3LM16z

Great post Dave. It's small steps like these that we are seeing more and more frequently that signal the broader audience is really beginning to "get it" too. The small gesture that the Leafs organization took, (response to your tweet) is so important and yet so many companies continue to be unaware of the conversation that may be underway about them...talk about risky business!

What do I think? By being active in the conversation companies will see dramatic results over time. There is no "event" that is going to suddenly help a company or organization to figure more prominently in their space, but the evidence continues to grow, supporting a comprehensive online presence development plan (and execution) as a high ROI action item. Your post here is yet another piece of evidence in support of this argument. We are in a time of extraordinary opportunity. We have unprecendented tools at our disposal to help great companies and organizations be successful in their communications initiatives. Content+Promotion+Conversion+Metrics+Review and Revise=Online presence and results that count.

We are at the edge of the future!

Andy