With it being NBA Finals season once again, Twitter wants to remind marketers that it remains a leading platform for real-time interaction, with sports getting particularly significant attention from Twitter users. True enough, coming directly from Twitter itself, sports discussion via Tweet has grown significantly over the past 2 years, featuring a 28% increase in sports Tweets and 29% higher impressions of those mentions.

Let’s Talk Sports

It does make sense – Twitter is (or was) the home of real-time updates, which is why it’s also difficult for many users to just up and quit. More recent changes have frustrated quite a number of people, but according to Chief Twit Elon Musk, the app continues to see ‘record-high’ engagement, with Musk recently noting that Twitter reached a new milestone of 8 billion user minutes a day.

Twitter also mentions that sports fans represent 42% of its audience, which is more than any other social platform. On top of that, Twitter notes that brands that tap into sports discussions have a good chance of driving direct business outcomes.

“Brands on Twitter make the sports conversation richer. Relevance and creativity can really get people talking. In a recent Twitter survey into shopper behavior, three in four people said that conversations about products on Twitter resulted in them making a purchase.”

These are some interesting engagement stats, which could pique your interest in connecting with specific audiences with your promotions. To do this, Twitter recommends running Twitter Takeover ads or using Twitter Amplify to run pre-roll video promotions against official, brand-safe content from publishers.

Twitter also notes that brands can use lookalikes and event targeting to reach users discussing specific events, which, of course, they will do, as that means more revenue for Twitter. However, even if you aren’t looking to use paid promotions, you could still look to tap into the discussion around sports events, by using relevant Hashtags and joining the evolving conversation.

The Wrap

Oreo did exactly that back in 2013, with its ‘Dunk in the Dark’ Tweet, which coincided with a blackout during the Super Bowl. It wasn’t something that was otherworldly by any means, but it was the reaction time that set it apart – as seen here, this single Tweet gained significant traction, securing a heap of brand exposure. The right message at the right time can prove pivotal. With that being said, the above-mentioned engagement stats are worth noting for your planning.

Sources

https://bit.ly/3AdW1Hu