Battling two lengthy losing streaks, the Cubs and Indians have taken to social media to get their fans riled up in this legendary showdown of America’s past time.Â
The 2016 World Series is a big one, with millions watching for the victor in this historical series. The Cleveland Indians haven’t won a championship since 1948, while the allegedly ‘cursed’ Chicago Cubs haven’t won since 1908.
At the time, their famous Wrigley Field stadium, opened in 1914, didn’t exist yet. In fact, the Cubs haven’t even appeared in a World Series since 1945. The United States, and the world, has changed drastically in the 108 years since the Cubs’ last victory.
And one of those changes, of course, is social media.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat. Sports have far transcended beyond the television screen. For fans, social media is a way to show their unique fervor, get inside scoops, and connect with their fellow fans.
Let’s take a look at Facebook. With an increased emphasis on Live video and virtual reality this year, Facebook has brought fans up close and personal.
If we analyze the Cubs and the Indians Facebook pages from the start of the season (April 3rd) to the first World Series Game (October 25th), we can see the excitement mounting.
This graph, from NewsWhip Analytics, shows just how wildly Facebook’s sports fans reacted when both teams made it into the World Series (labelled in yellow).
Taking a closer look at the numbers, we can see the Chicago Cubs are leading the Cleveland Indians quite heavily, but we can also bear in mind each teams’Â following on Facebook. The Cubs have 3.1 million followers on Facebook; the Indians have 1.3 million.
However, even proportions in mind, the Cubs have a tremendous lead, with about 7.6 interactions per fan, compared to the Indians’ 5.4 interactions per fan in this timeframe.
Let’s dive into the best practices from each team.
Home Runs on Facebook
The top 10 posts of the Cubs thus far breakdown across five photos, four videos, and one external link post. For the Indians, their top ten posts comprised evenly of photos and videos.
There are some similarities across the teams. Both teams saw their engagement wins tied to their actual wins on their journey to the World Series.
[fb_pe url=”https://www.facebook.com/Cubs/photos/a.445727730658.236308.30530605658/10154412601520659/?type=3″ bottom=”30″]
Both teams also had engagement boosts around their star players, Jake Arrieta, Miguel Montero, and Javy Baez for the Chicago Cubs.
Meanwhile the Cleveland Indians had Zach McAllister in their second most engaging post. However, four of the top posts were of ‘Hammy’, the Cleveland Indians’ beloved sportscaster, calling some of the epic plays and shots.
[fb_pe url=”https://www.facebook.com/Indians/videos/10154658259074521/” bottom=”30″]
Hammy, or Tom Hamilton, has been on the Indians’ broadcast team since 1990. He’s become virtually a mascot, beloved enough to even have his own bobblehead.Â
Two of the Cleveland Indians’ top ten posts were locker room videos of the team celebrating their victories.  Those two videos were also the only Facebook Live videos of either teams’ top ten.Â
[fb_pe url=”https://www.facebook.com/Indians/videos/10154657984344521/” bottom=”30″]
The up close and personal videos let fans experience the thrill of the win right with their favorite player. (It’s authentic enough that the team’s social media managers felt the need to apologize for any foul language).
#FlyTheW and #RallyTogether
Much of the teams’ success on social comes from their fans’ genuine enthusiasm. Both the Cubs and the Indians have a story to tell at this year’s World Series. Whether the content comes from a publisher, agency, or brand, storytelling is key for social media engagement.
Especially for sports, social media nurtures the nostalgia and decades-long loyalty fans have to their team. Fans can expound upon their memories and have micro-experiences on social with their fellow enthusiasts.
Just take a look at some of the comments.
The hashtags that the teams use on their social media posts further bolster that feeling of togetherness, as fans can click them to see the content that their compatriots are creating. This can make fans feel inspired to share their own tributes, aka, the often engaging User Generated Content.Â
Instagram Hits It Out of the Park
On Instagram, the top trends remain in place. Victories do overwhelming well as fans flock to the channel to celebrate. Instagram also lends itself to a more casual approach, as evidenced by the most commented Cubs’ post in our time range.
Instagram also fosters a seamless sense of community, through the easy use of hashtags and tagging players in captions, so that users can click over to see what their fellow fans are posting with the hashtag, or what their favorite athletes are doing on the channel.
There’s a stronger use of emoji in Instagram’s top ten posts for each team, along with use of popular slang. Out of the top ten for both teams, only two of their top ten posts were videos, while the other eight were photo posts.
Love Your Heroes
Speaking of tagging players on Instagram, more players now are encouraged to use their personal social media accounts to reach fans. This fosters a closer connection between fan and athlete, humanizing a player beyond just their batting average.
Along with the aforementioned Instagram, platforms like Twitter and Snapchat have proven great avenues for real-time access to these players.
National League Champions!!! pic.twitter.com/NeQI7KevNj
— Anthony Rizzo (@ARizzo44) October 23, 2016
Fans can learn more about their favorite players, again tying into that important storytelling element. Players for both teams share thoughts about the game, their teammates, and their personal lives on social media. This transforms them into a fully dimensional person for fans to follow, and engage around more.
Take Us Out to the Ballgame
Win or lose, this is a World Series to watch. Publishers and brands alike, both local and national, can find the storytelling threads to capitalize on and join the conversation.
For all our tips for baseball and social media publishing, check out our whitepaper: NewsWhip’s Guide to Baseball & Sports Publishing. Or, to start discovering the biggest sports stories relevant to you, take a look at NewsWhip Spike for real-time Content Intelligence.
