The UFC: Social marketing gurus
Are you on Twitter? Facebook? And do you follow MMA on those sites? If so, you're not alone. According to USA Today and the Chicago Sun-Times, the UFC is only outpaced by the NBA in its social-marketing savvy.
This means that the UFC and the individual fighters are available to fans on a level unlike many other sports. If you send Dana White a question or complaint on Twitter, you have a good shot at getting a response. (Possibly, a profanity-laced response.) Take a picture with a fighter, and your picture may end up on the UFC Facebook.
There are drawbacks to that level of access, however. Shane Carwin, a fighter who often responds to fans and media on Twitter, was criticized when he pulled back on media before his fight with Brock Lesnar.
Still, the UFC is a pioneer in making their fighters available via Twitter and Facebook. At its fighter summit last fall, the UFC encouraged fighters to get on Twitter and start reaching out to fans. For a holiday gift, fighters on the Zuffa roster were given Flip Cams so that they could start using the cameras to send out quick pictures and videos on Twitter.
The efforts have clearly paid off, because though it has far smaller revenues than the NFL and MLB, the UFC was quick to understand the power of social media. This will only help it catch up with the big boys of sports in time.
Speaking of social media fun, follow Cagewriter on Facebook and Cofield and me on Twitter.
