May 24, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) and Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) during the second quarter in game three of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
With the NBA postseason inching closer to the 2015 NBA Finals every day, there is another competition between the last four teams that were left standing in the league. The Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, and Houston Rockets are all still alive in their quests for a championship. While the teams duked it out on the court, each organization has a staff tasked with keeping fans informed and engaged while drawing in some new ones as well. The Cavaliers and the Rockets are leading the pack through production of quality content and personality.
(Not so) Honorable Mentions:
While Cleveland and Houston are doing the best with their digital work, the Hawks and Warriors aren’t dropping the ball or anything along those lines. Their presences have their strengths and weaknesses but lacked the cohesion of the other two squads.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors has plenty of activity on their social accounts, for sure. The issue with that lies in the fact that the Warriors are a TEAM. While Stephen Curry won the MVP award for the NBA this year, he can’t keep the Warriors in this position by himself. The Warriors social media pages are absolutely dominated with press for Curry, but with the representation balance online, one might think that the team was only Steph, a coach, and a player or two for support.
It’s very logical for a team like Golden State to want to center their identity on a guy who won the league MVP, has a great fan following, and has a pretty strong case for a Finals MVP if things continue along these lines. The issue becomes fans following the Warriors and getting maybe too heavy of a dose of Curry, which they can get from any other sports news outlet already.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks have a pretty diplomatic presence on their social media. The majority of posts are newsworthy articles or blurbs, mixed in with interviews and team updates. Their game coverage is solid, but it can be a bit bland. They scored some major cool points by keeping a running tally of flame emojis to show the three-point shots made in their Game 3 triple-overtime loss, as a way to honor Kyle Korver. Korver, who is known for his long-range shooting skill, was injured in Game 2 and will not be able to return for the rest of the playoffs, no matter how long that may be. Something as slight as a rolling tally of flames to represent the threes shows a lot of humanity in a “professional” setting. The Hawks had a cool feel to their page, but ultimately could do a bit more to engage fans.
The Finalists (of the Internet)- Eastern Conference:
Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland’s social media presence is a great example of an effective way to approach the missed opportunities that held back the Warriors and Hawks. The Cavaliers have the best basketball player in the world right now on their team, but they make sure that the guys around him get their shine; even the mascot. The news presence is clear across the platforms, but the Cavs don’t get things too bogged down.
Cleveland has plenty of Vines, GIFs, and emojis to establish a more relaxed tone, but they make sure to share coverage, news, and interviews for those who are curious. Much like Lebron’s moniker, the Cavs are kings in their own right. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the kings of in-game updates. Their tweets are prompt, informative, and packed with personality. The voice that the Cavs use in their coverage seems like a good impersonation of the late, great Stuart Scott.
Much like on the court where the Cavaliers are praised for being such a solid all-around team, their presence on social media doesn’t seem to have a weakness. The team’s Twitter page is the crown jewel of the collection, as it should be. Twitter holds the bulk of the updates and the majority of the personality. On Facebook, the news aspect is zoned in on a lot more, and videos are the focal point. Their Instagram account has plenty of visual appeal, but it also shows the players, staff, and fans, which make up the entirety of what the team really is.
The Finalists (of the Internet)- Western Conference:
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets have it all, digitally speaking. While the team has been mixed up in controversy after a questionable tweet from a former account manager, they are still leading the pack in regards to social media. The organization fired the manager of the account at the time of the controversy, but has managed to not miss a beat. Under their new leadership, the Rockets have been able to provide quality news, personality and humor, and insight into the workings of the franchise.
The posts coming from the Rockets have shown more looks into practice, training sessions, and behind-the-scenes situations than any other group that was considered. Their in-game coverage was solid and had a good voice, but wasn’t a standout performance. The mixture of players that were represented across their posts was well done, considering the marquee names like James Harden and Dwight Howard on their roster.
The news was done well, but had a quality, especially in the pictures and captions, that felt a lot more intimate and inclusive than the other teams, which was a big plus.
Similar to Cleveland, the Rockets had a very balanced attack across their social media outlets. The Facebook page focused more on the news, but managed to avoid feeling like a carbon copy of a Rockets Bleacher Report hub. The Instagram account had a wealth of court-level photos mixed in with shots of the crowd and arena that are worthy of praise. While image filters can easily make a cheesy selfie on a personal account, the filters that the Rockets use manage to work well and make the images a little more visually appealing, without being overdone. Houston’s Twitter page is a fan’s dream. Whoever is in charge of the account now manages to make the fan feel like the tweets come from someone as engulfed with the team as any member of #RedNation.
The 2015 NBA Social Media Finals Champion:
The Houston Rockets
While the Cavs have a very balanced approach to social media along with solid execution across all lanes, the Rockets are the only team of the four contenders that managed to capitalize on one aspect of social media dominance.
The Houston Rockets were the only team to actively interact with their fans on a visible basis!
Something as simple as a retweet from an organization is a perfect way for fans to see and feel like they are a part of the playoff run their team is making. While it makes sense that all the squads have made their rounds favoriting mentions and tossing a follow or two, Houston has tweets from fans mixed into their account creating an inclusive atmosphere. There aren’t too many better ways to let your fans know that their voices are being heard than letting a kid with less than 50 followers be showcased to the 718,000 followers.
The smallest thing makes the biggest difference in this race, and the Rockets figured that out, mastering the social aspect of social media better than all of the rest.
The Rockets are currently down 3-1 in their series with the Golden State Warriors but after getting their first win in Game 4, winning the Social Media Finals could be the fire that propels the team right back into the series. The rest of the teams in the NBA need to take notes as long as Houston’s season lasts, and make some changes in the offseason if they hope to unseat the Rockets in next year’s Social Media Championship race.
