Last week, after the New York Knicks wrapped up a troublesome 37-45 season and landed in the unenviable position of watching the playoffs from the sidelines, the team’s front office wasted no time in cleaning house. Within days, it was announced that Head Coach Mike Woodson had been fired, along with his entire coaching staff.
So, how does the PR team of a major sports organization announce a substantial managerial shake up? When it comes to social media, they start with as few words as possible. Here’s how it looked on Twitter:
NBA New York Knicks Official Twitter Account
April 21-Phil Jackson announced today that the team’s coaching staff have been relieved of their duties, effective immediately.
Keep it simple and stick to the facts. In addition to the straight-forward social media message, a brief press release reiterated the decision to “relieve” the coaching staff of their duties, adding statistics from the three seasons Woodson was with the team. Finishing with the declaration that the search for a new coaching staff was now underway, the release stayed simple and direct.
Then, it was the sports writers’ turn. Building off of the release, ESPN added quotes from a disappointed shooting guard, CBS2 included information on player injuries which had contributed to the lackluster season, and one New York Times sports writer opined that the Knicks move was just another spin of the ever revolving door at the Madison Square Garden Company.
But what about the fans?
From here, the Knicks PR Team made the smart decision to pass the ball. The focus turned toward feeding and populating the conversation, while letting fans and followers fill in the commentary. Following Monday’s announcement, the topic seemed paused on the team’s Twitter feed until Wednesday’s press conference featuring club owner Phil Jackson. Between Wednesday and Thursday, more than a dozen related tweets were sent out, mostly linking to videos clips from the press conference. By breaking Jackson’s conference into these mini-highlights, there were repeated opportunities to engage followers; almost every tweet elicited comments, as did the videos themselves. With over 900,000 Twitter followers, plus those reached via retweets, this was one widespread conversation. (Interestingly, most fans supported Jackson’s decision, perhaps still smarting from the season’s premature end.)
As PR professionals, it is important we know when to hold the ball and when to pass; when to target and direct a specific message, and when to give a topic a gentle nudge and let it ripple from there as it should. At Kovak-Likly, we work with our clients to find the pulse of their target audience and strategize accordingly. We offer expert guidance surrounding which approach is best for the intended audience, for the product itself, for the timing involved…always utilizing the best moves from our playbook.
If you are working on a PR strategy for your product or business, the good news is that there are plenty of interactive channels through which you can actively engage your current and target customers. The other good news is that we are here to help you choose the path and the vehicle to best maximize them. Give us a call, we’re ready to get the game started.
-BML
