The Warriors have "stepped up their social media game to take advantage of the spotlight afforded by the team's second playoff appearance in the past 19 years," according to Benny Evangelista of the S.F. CHRONICLE. The Warriors are using "various forms of digital and social media to create their own direct-to-consumer news and information channels." Over the past two years, the club has been "expanding the team's social presence to reach fans wherever they are." The team also is "now using Twitter's new Vine app to post instant six-second video clips with exclusive action both during and between games." It also uses content "from an in-house TV reporter and its broadcasting department to produce a constant stream of video on YouTube." Warriors Dir of Digital Marketing Kevin Cote said, "We view ourselves as content creators now. It's not just about all the good news. We're still employees of the team, but we want to be trusted sources." The Warriors also "aggregate fan-provided Twitter and Instagram photos marked '#WarriorsGround' for display on the main arena scoreboard and on the Warriors.com website." In the past two years, the team has "expanded its digital media marketing staff from two to five." Cote said, "When new ownership took over, they not only realized how important digital was at the time, but how it was going to continue to grow. We didn't want to be people who just sold tickets. We also wanted to provide them content, not just with fluff pieces, but to be authentic and transparent." The Warriors have added "about 200,000 new social media followers this season, which is a team record." As of yesterday, the Warriors had "429,500 Facebook followers and nearly 193,900 Twitter followers" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/30).
