Social media interaction heats up during the NBA playoffs as fans look to track the success and failures of their team as they push toward the championship. Unmetric, the leading social benchmarking company, today releases its NBA Playoffs report, detailing the social media efforts of the top 16 NBA teams participating in the 2012 playoffs to better understand the interaction between the top performing teams and their fans.
With this NBA Playoffs report, Unmetric identifies which teams are doing the best job at gaining new fans, keeping them updated, and carrying on conversations via social media.
The report relies on the Unmetric Score, a measurement unique to Unmetricโs platform, designed to take benchmark algorithms to the next level. The score is a scientific blend of 24 qualitative and quantitative social media metrics, weighted and balanced to produce a single benchmarkable number.
According to the Unmetric Scores, the LA Lakers rank as the highest social media franchise, followed closely by the Miami Heat. Not surprising, considering the Lakers have over 15 million social media connections, and the Heat reigns supreme when it comes to engagement and conversation percentage. But that doesnโt mean they dominate in every category; looking at a break down of some of the other measured categories, the LA Clippers have done the most to boost their social media presence over the last season.
Additionally, while the Memphis Grizzlies have the lowest combined Unmetric score, the report concludes that the Boston Celtics have done the worst job at conversing with fans on social media. The team replies to zero percent of its tweets, and has the lowest percentage of conversations with fans.
The report also delves into the specific content that teams post on Facebook and Twitter. Most frequently teams focus on player news, followed by post-game news and franchise news. Dallas leads the pack, rarely talking about anything other than themselves and their achievements.
As it relates to Facebook and Twitter, hereโs a break down of the metrics worth noting:
– Top 5 Teams Combined Unmetric Score
1. LA Lakers โ 140
2. Miami Heat โ 130
3. Boston Celtics โ 119
4. LA Clippers โ 114
5. Chicago Bulls โ 108
– Top 5 Teams โ Total Number of Connections (Facebook likes + Twitter followers)
1. LA Lakers โ 15,462,526
2. Boston Celtics โ 6,877,726
3. Chicago Bulls โ 6,375,326
4. Miami Heat โ 6,001,010
5. New York Knicks โ 2,793,684
– Fastest Growing Teams on Facebook
1. LA Clippers โ 121%
2. Chicago Bulls โ 43%
3. OKC Thunder โ 37%
4. NY Knicks โ 29%
5. Miami Heat & Orlando Magic โ 24%
– Slowest Growing Teams on Facebook
1. Utah Jazz โ 12%
2. Boston Celtics โ 13%
3. Dallas Mavericks โ 15%
4. San Antonio Spurs โ 16%
5. LA Lakers โ 17%
– 5 Fastest Growing Teams on Twitter
1. OKC Thunder โ 106%
2. LA Clippers โ 104%
3. Philadelphia 76ers โ 83%
4. Indiana Pacers โ 82%
5. Atlanta Hawks โ 69%
– Slowest Growing Teams on Twitter
1. Orlando Magic โ 1.7%
2. LA Lakers โ 11%
3. Dallas Mavericks โ 40%
4. Boston Celtics โ 54%
5. Denver Nuggets โ 55%
– Highest Conversation % (Percentage of fans that are interacting with the page via Likes, Comments and Shares)
1. Miami Heat & LA Clippers โ 7.7
2. OKC Thunder โ 4.0
3. Indiana Pacers โ 3.9
4. San Antonio Spurs & Utah Jazz โ 3.3
– Lowest Conversation % (Percentage of fans that are interacting with the page via Likes, Comments and Shares)
1. Boston Celtics โ 1.2
2. Dallas Mavericks โ 1.9
3. Atlanta Hawks & Orlando Magic โ 2
4. LA Lakers โ 2.1
– Highest Engagement (Calculation of Likes, Comments, Shares and Impressions that each FB post receives)
1. Miami Heat โ 77
2. Indiana Pacers โ 56
3. LA Lakers โ 51
4. NY Knicks โ 37
5. Chicago Bulls โ 35
– Lowest Engagement (Calculation of Likes, Comments, Shares and Impressions that each FB post receives)
1. Atlanta Hawks โ 8
2. Orlando Magic โ 10
3. Dallas Mavericks โ 11
4. Memphis Grizzlies โ 12
5. Boston Celtics โ 15
– Fastest Average Reply Time on Twitter
1. Denver Nuggets โ :05
2. Chicago Bulls โ :06
3. LA Clippers โ :07
4. Dallas Mavericks โ :08
5. San Antonio Spurs โ :10
– Slowest Average Reply Time on Twitter
1. Boston Celtics โ :00 (no replies)
2. Indiana Pacers โ 3:18
3. Orlando Magic โ 2:52
4. Oklahoma City Thunder โ 2:39
5. Atlanta Hawks โ 2:02
โThe NBA playoffs are a prime example of the American competitive spirit, not just for the teams and players, but also for the fans. The Unmetric NBA Playoffs report provides a first look at social media benchmarks and reveals how in the face of competition, brands adapt varying techniques to reach out to their fans and followers,โ says Unmetric CEO, Lux Narayan.
โThereโs always a Kobe vs. LeBron story, or the fans who claim they root for the underdog. This report looks deep inside the social media efforts of all these participants to truly understand the interaction between champions and fans.โ
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. Heโs also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, MSN and Fox Sports
A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and heโs a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too
