Tuesday night, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White officially crossed the 1 million follower threshold on Twitter. But how? And with what strategy? More importantly, so what?
Although social networks have millions of users, in some cases hundreds of millions of users, there are actually less than 220 individuals or brands on Twitter who have ever passed the 1 million follower mark. And of those brands and individuals, few if any are Presidents of organizations–not to mention sports organizations.
Even fewer have the degree of two-way communication that Dana has with his followers. Communication that includes breaking news and rewarding followers in a personal way with everything from event tickets to autographed items. Communication that entails responding to followers–even if that means being blunt.
And that’s where strategy steps in. Through Twitter, Dana uniquely humanizes the UFC brand. Sure, a million followers are great but what’s the bigger picture? Dana White and the UFC brand now have a combined, tight-knit community of 1.3 million followers that not only disseminates news, but often dictates trending topics. The UFC’s social media efforts demonstrate that they listen to fans, engage with fans and deliver valuable information where, when and how fans want to receive it. The entire organization understands the value of this new form of communication. That’s pretty powerful.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Dana White does soo much for the fans.. No other sport does what he does. He treats us like family.. Cant wait to meet him.. I think your amazing too Ms. @digitalroyalty THANK YOU for always keeping us up to date.. Thank You for allowing me to follow you;)
Coming from a fan that has met Dana on multiple occasions, received free tickets from him for UFC events including 103 in Dallas and 107 in Memphis. Let me say this. Dana is good. He is good for the sport, he is good for the company, and he is good for sports in general. If other owners, managers & coaches would get more involved with fans like he does, sports can grow with the fans. The fans can help shape the sport, not the sport shape the fan. That’s why sports die out. They won’t evolve with what fans want to see. Dana listens. I have had some very good conversations with Dana just standing in a mall. It’s amazing how humble he is. He talks to anyone like their his friend. It amazes me that in his position he still cares about the fans. This is what makes UFC. This is what will make MMA.
Thanks for your feedback, Vidd and Ruby. We couldn’t agree more. Ruby, you’ll likely meet Dana White someday as he’s made himself very accessible to fans. Vidd, it’s great you’ve witnessed the power of UFC social media first-hand and we’re glad to hear you’ve had the chance to interact with the brand on a very personal level. ~ Amy