AFL Digital Best Practices: West Coast Eagles Launch a Social Media Battle

Social Media, if done well, is a uniter. It brings fan bases closer to players or teams, and it unites them around a common goal. But could you unite all fan bases across all social networks around a singular competitive focus?

Until I checked out the West Coast Eagles, I'd not seen anyone head this direction. Prepare to be bedazzled.

The voyage begins on the West Coast Eagles Facebook wall (linked here). As you'll note in the post below, they are asking fans for help in joining the battle against Collingwood. What does this mean? Intrigued, I clicked in...



This took me here, to the information about the official online battle between West Coast and Collingwood. You need to check this out, but here's the highlights:

1. Fans are asked for help in pre and post-game Facebook Likes to the West Coast posts.
2. Fans are asked to subscribe to the Eagles' YouTube channel.
3. Fans are asked to use #goeagles when posting to Twitter.

All united in a cause of proving the Eagles fans want it more than their opposition, the Pies.

How could this be better? What are the stakes? I love the idea of uniting fans against the opposition. It makes you feel a part of something, and it makes the season a collection of matchups, not a marathon of "stuff." But there needs to be something more. If the team wins, it ramps up the standings. What does it mean if the fan base wins? Could it mean more access to the team? (A special fan pep rally, for example?) My take is that the club has the engine in place, they just need to find the right way to reward fans for doing exactly what they have asked for... thus creating a collection of mini-games within the season and, most importantly, a hyped fan base.

One more to go!

Come back tomorrow as we conclude of our tour of AFL Digital Best Practices! As always, you can follow me on Twitter (I'm @pawlow34) or on Facebook (Digital Hoops Blast).

Thanks!

Andy