This week, I had a discussion with an executive recruiter who attended the National Sports Forum in Baltimore earlier this week.  This person told me the hot topic of the conference was all about Social Media. The review of the presentations were mixed but the information obviously generated a buzz.  It was the hot topic.

Here is the challenge.  Many sports team owners and executives come from the “old school.”  In baseball terms, this is the pre-Moneyball era.  They operate like they always have.   Annual events like the traditional Select-A-Seat have not changed with the times.  They try communicating the same way and market just like they always have.  The sports world remains well behind progressive companies outside of sports that are using social media for listening, testing, engaging and providing a more transparent operation for fans, sponsors and media.

All this new age stuff folks, takes work.  Call it an investment if you will.

Here is the comment I have heard more than once from a sports executive — If we cannot show a measurable ROI, then management is not interested.  Worse yet, there is just silence from the top down when the subject comes up.  Not every team can will a Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cup or NBA championship every year, but I will tell you nearly every team will go through some sort of crisis sooner than later.  This is just one example why every sports team and organization needs to be trained and staffed for this here-to-stay communication method.  Don’t believe me? Facebook just announced on its sixth anniversary that it has passed more than 400 MILLION USERS. No typo there. 400 MILLION

The question in terms of social media is, will the team, organization or league have invested enough resources to help them get through the troubled waters.

Let’s take Toyota, which is currently having its reputation tested with multiple recalls.  I wanted to know what the company was doing to listen, quiet the storm and deliver key messages.

Here is what I have seen in the last few days:

1) Big media TV interviews starting on February 1, 2010 in places like the Today Show.

2) Full Page Ads in The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times.

3) A strategic button for recall information on the home page of company’s web site

4) Video and messaging points from the company on the media section of the company web site.

5) President and CEO Jim Lentz apologizing for problems in all media outlets.

These are the tactics I would certainly expect during a time of potential upheaval.

What it also did was to jump out in front on the social media front and in a coordinated effort, Toyota also launched an information and engagement campaign in various outlets including Facebook and YouTube.

On February 1, the same day he appeared on the Today show, this video on the Toyota Facebook page also appeared.

The well-time coordinated plan helped Toyota reach people in many different areas.  In the online social media world, they remembered to do the following, quickly.

1) Provide updated information

2) Answer questions

3) Deal directly with the consider

Here’s a photo of Toyota’s You Tube Channel

The next stop stop was Facebook fan page for Toyota’s Prius.  With nearly 50,000 “fans” they have a decent base to work with people interested in the product

Here are a few of the comments since the photo might be hard to read (you can clickon it to see the site directly)

Kevin Anderson “I’m very satisfied with my 2007 Prius. I hope all goes well with the recall and that future generations of the vehicle will be better for it.”

Sarah Smock “As a 17 year old girl most don’t expect me in this car but I love my Prius, It is perfect for my lifestyle!”

Celine Lopez “These recalls happen with ALL cars. I think the American media is beating this into the ground just so they can get people to buy crappy American cars.”

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True, not every comment is going to be positive, but three of the first four were and more importantly, Toyota has engaged its consumers.  I found them not just shoving promotional materials and messages down their throat.  That add value to the conversation and this has won trust and loyalty from their consumers.

Are you listening team executives?

Stop posting only the latest ticket program, news release or community project to your fans.  Start and add value to conversations.  Listen and respond to people that care about your product.  Before your team gets recalled by its fans.  It is not too late.

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Additional Background.

This is a longer post than most, but an important one I hope you re-tweet, email or post for others to read.

Here are two additonal things Toyota did which was smart.

They also attacked the online community with a Digg Q&A session

and they hoped for the some goodwill with the 15,000 plus people that follow them on Twitter.

There are many reasons for using social media.  Helping generate conversation from those loyal to you and your product or team is just one reason.