Once just a national phenomenon, March Madness today is also an online sensation. As with so many major live events today, enthusiasts, as well as casual followers, not only watch on television, but also tune in on their laptops, cell phones, tablets, and other devices.
Millions of eyeballs nationwide are bouncing back and forth from screen to screen throughout a game. They watch the action on the court and react to great plays or bad calls with the stroke of a keyboard, while scanning the Internet-based social arena to see the reactions of other fans. Facebook and Twitter add a dimension to the traditional TV broadcast that you can’t get anywhere else.
Sometimes a little-heard-of underdog – like Butler College – makes it to the Championship Match. For the second season, the Butler Bulldogs gave America one of the most exhilarating joyrides in college basketball history. PR and marketing firms, similar to our Long Island public relations agency, have come up with numerous creative ways to keep fans engaged in this Cinderella story through social media.
For example, Butler’s adorable English bulldog mascot – Blue 2 – has become something of a celebrity and his social media status has grown. He tweets and has almost 5,000 followers and has his own Facebook page. And Butler fans who couldn’t travel to Houston had a media pass to follow their team’s every move, with players tweeting and posting messages to their followers.