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Insight and Analysis December 11, 2011

Stein: Who are the CFL’s best in social media?

Jaime Stein
CFL.ca

Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. In fact, it is on its way to becoming the new form of communication in our society – at least in my opinion.

Very few industries have been impacted in such a positive way by social media as the wide world of sports. While there have been some gaffes along the way – and the odd fine – without a doubt, social media has benefitted the people who matter most: The Fans.

Look no further than the CFL where players are consistently engaging their supporters through Twitter, Facebook, Ustream and now Keek. In a league that stresses accessibility and authenticity, social media has becomes the perfect conduit to link fans with the athletes who play the game. Even the odd coach and owner have joined the conversation.

Originally, I was considering a list of the Top-10 most socially active CFL players, but that would do an injustice to the more than 150 players who are taking the time each day to be social. It shouldn’t be a contest of who is more social than the next – it’s not like we go out to a bar and rate the people around us on how good they are at talking to other people.

I will, however, share some of my favourite examples of how CFL players are using social media for the betterment of their own personal brands and how they are expanding the reach of the entire CFL to a whole new group of fans.

Without further ado, here are the examples (in no particular order):

ROB MURPHY (@BIGMURPH56): Anyone with a Twitter description that says, “I play football… I get fined… both on and off the field…. Its kinda my thing…Views here are no reflection of the CFL or the Argos…. BE AFRAID!!!” is probably worth following. Big Murph used to have a reputation as public enemy number one for his play on the field, but perception of him has changed thanks to his engagement on Twitter. He is now a fan favourite – just look at the outpouring of support when he got hurt – and he has quickly vaulted himself to the top of the list of one of the players in the league fans would most like to meet.

STEVIE BAGGS (@steviebaggsjr): Stevie uses his Twitter feed to provide inspiration, support his charity and promote his work in the community. His feed shows a side to him that one would not necessarily pick up on if they only watched his play on the field.

CARY KOCH (@TheOriginalKoch): Koch may be the only current CFL player on Instagram (Update: Byron Parker is also on Instagram). What is Instagram? It is a photo sharing app available only on iPhone (Android launching soon) where you can upload photos and put cool effects on them. Koch is a master at displaying unique scenes in his day-to-day life and makes him a must-follow if you are on Instagram (or a reason to join if you if you are not already on there).

TAD KORNEGAY & NIK LEWIS (@Thadito & @nikel18): The OG’s of Twitter. Tad joined Twitter in March 2009 while Nik joined in April of 2009. They were two of the first CFL players to start engaging with fans online and also the first two players to attend a Grey Cup TweetUp. Their ongoing Twitter-feud during the 2009 season was legendary and kept fans entertained for months. Tad continues to burn up the Twittersphere – especially now that ‘Tading’ has emerged as the latest trend, replacing ‘planking’ and ‘Tebowing’. Nik’s engagement with fans has ranged from trivia questions on his high school football positions to contests for game tickets.

RANDY CHEVRIER (@CHEVYSnaptime): Randy’s use of Twitter to promote breast cancer awareness during October was legendary. He changed his Twitter handle to @CHEVYwearsPINK and encouraged fans to add ‘PINK’ to their names as well to help promote awareness. Randy also ran the Chevy Pink Power contest via YouTube to help spread the message further. This was one of the best uses of social media to promote a cause that I have seen.

CHAD OWENS (@ChadOwens2): Elusive on the football field, Chad was all over the 2011 Grey Cup Festival in Vancouver. If you were lucky enough to catch up with him you would have been rewarded with a custom Chad Owens T-Shirt. He used Twitter to give fans clues to where he was hanging out and fans had to come find him. He also ran contests – like this one seen here at the Grey Cup TweetUp – encouraging fans to complete tasks for prizes.

ROB MAVER (@rmaver6): Maver reached a whole new fan demographic with his love for the hit TV series The Bachelor / The Bachelorette. There were few better sources online than Maver to help follow and understand the saga of Kasey & Vienna. Here’s to hoping all that time on the couch watching The Bachelor will lead to a speedy recovery on his injured knee and get him back on the field in 2012.

GEROY SIMON (@geroysimon): One of the most controversial – and only – measures of social influence is Klout. Geroy’s current Klout score is a respectable 57, but the day he set the Twittersphere on fire with comments regarding Tim Tebow, he may as well have been the most influential person in the football world. He was re-tweeted hundreds of times and sparked debate that lasted for days. It is the open and honest opinions on Twitter from guys like Geroy that make following athletes so entertaining.

JOHN HASHEM (@JohnHashem5T): John Hashem may be the best player on Twitter you have never heard of (he plays O-Line for the Montreal Alouettes). With only 206 followers, you should help add to his follower count ASAP. Hashem is quite possibly the funniest CFL player on Twitter and he can often be found taking shots at his teammates or showing a lighter side of life inside the world of the Alouettes. He is also a Software Developer for iQmetrix and threatened to hack our website if we didn’t include him in our list.

DANTE MARSH (@dantemarsh): While Twitter takes fans inside the lives of professional athletes, a new Canadian service, Keek, allows you to provide even more context with micro videos. Dante Marsh has taken advantage of this service and has posted nearly 30 behind-the-scenes videos for fans to enjoy.

TAYLOR ROBERTSON (@TR65): If you are a fan of NASCAR you’ll be hard pressed to find better insights online from anyone other than Argos’ offensive guard Taylor Robertson. Taylor plays the nice guy to his evil teammate Rob Murphy on Twitter. Like Rob, Taylor is great at conversing with fans. His subjects range from life in general to football to NASCAR to his Life on the Line foundation.

JON CORNISH (@jonnycornish): Probably the least likely of all CFL players online to talk about sports, the standout running back is more likely to be tweeting about evolution or climate change or congratulating Vladimir Putin for, “receiving nearly 100% of the votes of 99.5% of eligible voters in Russia.” You never know what you are going to get from Cornish and that’s what makes following him interesting and exciting.

TRAVIS LULAY (@TravisLulay): The real strength for Lulay is his Facebook page where he and his team produce interesting content and unique promotions. Facebook is a tough nut to crack given the high level of competition among bands and athletes, but Lulay does a great job providing access to his fans.

While those represent some great examples of athletes using social media, here are some other players you should follow on twitter for an interesting look behind the scenes (in alphabetical order):

Who do you like to follow on social media? Which players do the best job of interacting with fans? Let us know your list in the comments section below or drop us a line on Twitter @CFL or Facebook.com/CFL.