Activ8Social

So the King has entered the Twitter building! I’m sure somewhere in San Francisco there was a company toast at Twitter HQ, but is the decision by LeBron James and his LRMR marketing team (headed up by Maverick Carter) to hop on the social media tool the right timing? More importantly, is LeBron’s marketing team really prepared to handle all of his online PR during “The Decision” tonight on ESPN?

The details behind this digital move are fuzzy.  Will LeBron answer questions in real-time via Twitter during the 1 hour long ESPN special? Probably not. Will he simply answer a few carefully vetted questions post TV announcement? If the LRMR team really wanted to push the social media envelope, they could integrate Twitter live on the TV screen during the announcement. Of course, that’s way too risky considering the polarizing nature of “The Decision” (and not my recommendation).

“LOOSE BALL!!!”…

Activ8Social is proud to announce the launch of “#LooseBall” – an experiential social media scavenger hunt featuring Boston Celtics All-Star point guard, Rajon Rondo. Red Bull, one of Rondo’s sponsors, will be providing contest prizes, which include 18 basketballs and t-shirts autographed by Rondo (in honor of the Celtic’s run for a record 18th NBA Title) as well as a pair of tickets to Game 4 of the 2010 NBA Finals for one lucky winner.

Let’s get one thing straight upfront—social media is not as easy as “if you build it, they will come” for any athlete, team, league, or sponsor looking to establish or enhance brand equity.  Social media marketing is no different than traditional off-line marketing in that it requires a well thought out strategy, devoted resources, and a budget targeted at a reaching a measurable goal for the individual or organization.

With that said, social media’s major advantages—the cost-to-creativity ratio and the ability to expand reach via an engaged audience (key word here is “engaged” but I’ll explain more)—make this form of marketing so powerful that most athletes looking to enhance their salaries with fat endorsement checks should be asking their agency, management team, or friends and family why social media isn’t a part of their overall marketing strategy.

Jimmy “J-Roll” Rollins has always been known for his blazing speed and affinity for two-baggers.  On Tuesday, April 13th, Rollins will look to add homerun king to an already impressive baseball resume.

While his Philadelphia Phillies teammates are resting after their Citizens Bank Park home opener against the Washington Nationals, Rollins will spend his afternoon launching baseballs in excess of 550 feet over a closed-down Philadelphia highway in an attempt to break a Guinness World Record.

Who’s the top athlete on Facebook? Is it an international phenom like Cristiano Ronaldo or Roger Federer with millions of fans? Or maybe an engaging personality like Shaun White or Steve Nash with creative, authentic content?

That’s a question Activ8Social set out to answer early in the new year and in the process, we decided to rank the Top 30 professional athlete Facebook Pages as of February 2010. Top caliber athletes from all over the world and from a variety of sports made the grade. Read our full blog entry for more details.

Activ8Social wants to give a special shout out to Rajon Rondo, starting PG of the Boston Celtics, for taking the time to make a trip overseas and meet with injured US troops from Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. Rondo and his family visited Ramstein Air Base in Germany before training camp.

On his popular Facebook page, Rondo told fans “It was a humbling experience and i was just glad to be there for support and see the smiles on everyones face. Truly thankful.”