The Super Bowl, athletes, and social media: 5 lessons for PR pros

Whether you’re hosting a Super Bowl bash or curling up on the couch to watch the Patriots, the Giants, or the highly publicized Volkswagen commercial, social media will certainly be abuzz with Super Bowl fever.

As many of us are professional and personal users of social media, we can learn from athletes and teams using the same channels. What are they doing to get results, and how can we do the same?

Be engaged and active

Athletes and teams using social media successfully are constantly adding and updating content. They talk about upcoming games, chat with other athletes, promote special events or banter with rivals. Their goals may differ, but successful users are continuously linking, updating, following and talking.

Do the unexpected

When NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal announced his retirement from basketball, he didn’t follow the norm and hold a press conference. Instead, he posted a 15-second video to Tout, thanking his fans and informing them he was stepping down from the game.