Minor League Baseball’s Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Phillies’ AAA affiliate, are one of the first pro teams with their own iPhone app. The IronPigs are offering their app for free for a limited time to celebrate the app’s launch earlier this month.

The IronPigs app allows fans to listen to live game audio, purchase tickets, read stats and headlines and even check up on the latest weather. I emailed IronPigs General Manager Kurt Landes to get his thoughts on the app, the IronPigs’ social media presence and what he views as the future of smart phone apps in the sports industry.

When did the IronPigs decide to develop their own iPhone app? Was this something fans had asked about?

We initially gauged the feasibility of doing an iPhone app only 2-3 months ago.  Once we received a recommendation and realized we could launch an iPhone app within a relatively short period of time we decided to go for it.  Our fans are always looking for new, exciting and interactive ways to associate themsleves with our team and our organization.  Knowing how iPhones are so prevalent, it was a smart promotional effort choosing to put ourselves in the actual hands and pockets of our fans.

The IronPigs maintain a strong presence on social media sites and host the 2010 Triple-A All-Star Game at Coca-Cola Park on July 14. How have fans reacted to the team’s social media presence, especially as it relates to the All-Star Game and other events at the stadium?

We have made it a priority to tap all social media outlets in an effort to interact with our fans on a more consistent basis.  We have hundreds of fans that each day interact with different IronPigs social media sites including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in addition to our brand-new app.  We have had an unbelievably positive reaction to our App, with over 1,300 downloads in just three days, extremely positive customer reviews and top 25 rankings in the sports category of the App Store on iTunes.  Social media is a significant tool within our overall marketing campaign and we make sure it’s incorporated into all of our stadium and fan promotions.  Specific to the All-Star Game, we introduced ticket sales to the event by creating a viral personalized video to our fan base that created a huge buzz and led to the game and related events selling out six months beforehand.

While fans can purchase tickets through the iPhone app, the app currently takes fans through the website purchase page via the app. Is a dedicated purchase page something the organization may add in the future?

Our online ticketing system is TIcketReturn and they do not currently have a software development kit that supports the iPhone.  Yes, we are hopeful to have a dedicated purchase screen as soon as that feature is available to us from TicketReturn.  We also would like to offer  the opportunity for fans to display their seating bar code(s) on their phone rather than on individual hard tickets to gain access to the ballpark in the future.

What are some of your future plans with the team’s iPhone app? Do you think we will see more official team iPhone/iPad and Android apps in the future?

There is great potential for future versions and upgrades of the current App.  It will continually become more interactive as more technologies are introduced.  In the next week, we will debut an interactive game to go along with our in-park “The Great Pork Race” at Coca-Cola Park. And yes, we are hopeful to launch Android, Blackberry and iPad counterparts soon.

What do you view as the biggest challenge that sports teams face with regards to social media? How do you address that challenge?

Staying on the cusp of all of the new mediums and technologies can be a difficult task but by dedicating our efforts to a few of the more popular sites (Facebook, Twitter) we have been able to have a number of positive responses.  Overall, we’ve always taken the initiative that we want to be the first to offer our fans any number of new technologies as they occur.  For us, it’s not just about providing the service and convenience, it’s also about having our fans understand and be excited that we continually invest in new ways to “wow” them and when we do, it’s done in a first-class manner.  Sports teams need to continually understand there are so many ways to interact with fans now.  It’s not enough to just have a web site and print pocket schedules anymore.

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Key points:

• The IronPigs’ app has been downloaded over 1,300 times in just three days
• An official app is a new way to “wow” your fans and extend your brand
  
• Ticketless entry to games is on the horizon

The IronPigs are not the only MiLB team with their own iPhone app. The Charleston RiverDogs, Fort Myers Miracle, Hudson Valley Renegades and St. Paul Saints are all owned by the Goldklang Group and have official apps available for $1.99 in the App Store. The Richmond Flying Squirrels also have a free iPhone app from developer Critical Technologies Group.

If your local team had an official app, would you download it? What are some of the features you’d want in your team’s official app? Are team apps the next big thing?

Everyday sports teams find new ways to engage their fans on Twitter. For many smaller teams, especially those in the minor leagues, Twitter is an easy way to grow your brand beyond your immediate geographic area. To that end, many Minor League Baseball (MiLB) teams and personnel have taken to using Twitter to reach fans.

Our “Teams & Leagues” directory already contains over 100 MiLB teams on Twitter. One thing I’ve heard consistently from people working in baseball is that they’d like to have a way to reach others in their industry via Twitter.

Today we’re launching the MiLB on Twitter directory here at Sportsin140.com. Our goal is to make it easy for all MiLB personnel on Twitter to find each other. Think about it: if your team is doing well in ticket sales but struggling in sponsorship sales, sometimes you can turn things around just by implementing a suggestion from a colleague from another team.

Twitter is all about sharing information. Professionals that work in the minors already exchange information. This directory is designed to help facilitate that exchange of information in a new way, via Twitter. If you’re already using Twitter, why not let it “work for you?”

This directory is opt-in only. If you work in the industry and would like to be added, please do so by leaving a comment here or by @ replying to @Sportsin140.com on Twitter. Thank you!

2010 Minor League Baseball Personnel on Twitter

Onalee Carson – Director of Media Relations, Eugene Emeralds
Eric Edelstein – General Manager, Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Josh Feinberg – Regional Sales Manager, Lakewood BlueClaws
Jeff Holtke – Director of Media Relations & Client Services, Akron Aeros
Kenny Houser – Director of Group Sales, Iowa Cubs
Jamie Jarrett – Assistant GM, Daytona Cubs
Kelly Kerkvliet – Creative Services & Brand Manager, Boise Hawks
Patrick McMaster – Assistant GM, Charlotte Stone Crabs
Gregg Miller – VP of Business Development, Round Rock Express
Jason Mott – Ticket Sales Manager, Memphis Redbirds
Chris Rufle – Account Executive, Long Island Ducks (Ind.)
Patrick Spence – Box Office Manager, Asheville Tourists
Nathan Steinmetz – Manager of Online Marketing & Ticket Sales, Toledo Mud Hens
Janelle Stevens – Stadium Operations, Iowa Cubs
Marty Teller – Manager of Corporate Partnerships, Trenton Thunder

Recently I named the Reno Aces the #1 Minor League Baseball team on Twitter. As a followup to that #1 ranking, I asked Brett McGinness, the Aces’ Director of Marketing, if he would be willing to do an interview about the team’s use of Twitter this season.

When did the Reno Aces decide to use Twitter in their online marketing efforts?

It wasn’t part of any specific planned strategy, really.  I was at one of the Reno Tweet-Ups, happened to have my laptop with me, and five minutes later @Aceball was online.

You’ve posted everything from game updates to job opportunities on your Twitter feed. How does the organization approach Twitter? Is it something the team intends to use more and more as the season progresses?

We communicate with most of our fans through website postings, press releases, and the like.  Twitter is great in that we have a method of communication that can take care of the smaller stories… the job postings, the merchandise offerings and the two-out RBI doubles.  We’re going to be using it in different ways in the coming weeks and months as we find out what works and what doesn’t and how many messages are appropriate before we start “spamming” our list.

How have your organization’s overall marketing efforts changed this season given that you are a new team in a new city?

Reno has never seen this type of baseball before—level of play, quality of the stadium, and quality of the front office.  Much of our early communication has been focused on describing ways that we’re different from anything they’ve seen;  the front-office staff is experienced, our ballpark is more than wooden bleachers and cinder-block concession stands, and our players might be in Reno one day, and on SportsCenter’s highlight reel the next.

Most of the Minor League teams on Twitter are AAA level, why do you think that’s the case? Do you think we will continue to see MiLB teams joining Twitter this season?

I think Triple-A is a great proving ground for on-field talent and off-field ideas.  The front office staff is big enough to be proactive and look for the next big idea, but we’re also a little less risk-averse than a staid, restrained Major League organization. I think as Twitter becomes more mainstream, and organizations see how easy it is to use, we’ll see MLB teams as well as MiLB teams begin to add their own Twitter accounts.

What are the biggest advantages and disadvantages that Twitter offers to your organization that a more traditional marketing avenue does not? How do you use the advantages and compensate for the disadvantages?

One of the best things about Twitter is that we know our followers have sought us out and want our messaging. Even with customer e-mail lists, there’s always the possibility that a handful of our fans would rather just buy our tickets, see the games and keep us out of their inboxes.  Additionally, our followers can read our messages quickly, get the gist of it and decide almost instantly if it interests them or not.  If we send a message that doesn’t speak to a particular follower—say, a job posting—they’re less annoyed than if we had sent that same message to them in an e-mail.

Also, the culture of Twitter (and the culture we’ve tried to establish with our @Aceball account) is that we’re having a two-way conversation with our fans. If I receive a mass email from a ballclub, I don’t think of it as something I can respond to. On the other hand, if I receive a Tweet from that same ballclub, I’m more compelled to say something back.

Our follower list is growing, but we’re still less than 1,000 total followers, and only part of that list consists of fans in the immediate vicinity.  If the general public begins to adopt Twitter as part of their communications diet, alongside e-mails, text messages, and the like, we’ll be able to see a significant impact from each Tweet.

Recently the Arizona Diamondbacks (@AZDBLineupCard) and New York Yankees (@YesNetwork) have taken to posting the day’s lineup via Twitter. Do you think this is something the Aces will do this season? Why or why not?

Early on, our organization decided to go against the MiLB grain by promoting individual players.  For example, we are one of only a handful of Minor League teams with players’ names on our home jerseys.  Posting the game lineups is something we haven’t done yet, but fits into this concept of getting our fans to be more familiar with our players.

Recently many sports franchises have gained publicity by offering exclusive ticket sales and giveaways via Twitter. Is this something your organization will do this season?

We’re hosting a Tweetup at the end of May, and structured it like a group ticket sale with the standard group discount.  We haven’t done anything too terribly exclusive beyond that, but as our follower list grows, it’s definitely something to consider.

Are there any plans to use Twitter to interact with fans at the stadium during games? For example, having fans text their choice for a trivia question to the team’s @Aceball Twitter account for prizes?

The greatest thing about the Reno Twitter community is that everyone seems to be one or two degrees separated from everyone else—we’re not just communicating with faceless accounts, we’re communicating with people we know.  Along these lines, I’ve managed to meet up with several @Aceball followers during the games, in order to attach faces to these names, and let them know that the Aces are interested in knowing more about our fans.  The fans I’ve met in person at the games have in turn been some of our most active re-Tweeters, which only helps expand our reach.

Prize contests and similar stunts are getting more and more feasible.  At one recent game, I counted no less than 30 fans Tweeting about being at the game.  That was an extremely surprising number for me.

During our second road trip, we held a “Twager” (Twitter wager) with @FresnoGrizzlies on the outcome of the Aces-Grizzlies series in Fresno that weekend.  Whichever team lost the bet on the field, the team’s Twitter account would re-Tweet all of the winner’s Tweets two days later.  On our end, it generated a lot of buzz and quite a few new followers, and the Fresno folks have had similar results.  Because it was a four-game series, I think we were both pulling for a series win but also hoping we wouldn’t wind up with a series split.  With all the hype surrounding the bet, we didn’t want it to be inconclusive.  We’re now working with them on ways to get our followers to be more involved in the process… we’ve been brainstorming ever since.

We recently named you the #1 MiLB team on Twitter. What are some of your organization’s social marketing goals this season?

The Northern Nevada community is a very tight-knit community.  Residents here are rabid supporters of sports teams, from Little League on up to the University of Nevada.  We knew we needed this new team to feel like part of the fabric as quickly as possible.  Being part of the very active Twitter community here has been a big help.

Do you think we will continue to see athletes and pro sports teams on Twitter? Why or why not?

I think sports teams will embrace this more so than athletes, and I hope most of them will use it the right way… using it to chat with fans, rather than just deliver marketing messages.  So far, most athletes have been using it the right way, allowing fans to see the human side of their heroes.  On the other hand, the more missteps we see (like Charlie Villanueva and Brian Wilson), the more we’ll see their clubs attempt to regulate player accounts.

If you’re at all interested in the business of sports or in becoming a sports agent, you would do well to follow the sports agents on Twitter and learn as much as you can from them.

Drew Rosenhaus is one of the biggest sports agents in the business. Although his Twitter account is relatively new, he tweets on a regular basis and reading those tweets offer a glimpse into the busy world of a successful sports agent.

Mark Slough is President and CEO of Merge Sports & Entertainment, his own athlete representation firm. Slough’s clients include NFL standouts like the Patriots’ Sammy Morris.

Evan Morgenstein is President and CEO of PMG Sports, a company that represents many Olympians including Mark Spitz, Nastia Liukin and Amanda Beard.

Darren Heitner is a “must follow” for anyone interested in learning about the athlete representation business. Darren started his own representation firm, Dynasty Athlete Representation, and authors SportsAgentBlog.com, a blog about the sports representation business and sports industry in general. Sports agents Jason Belzer and Bryan Swalley also represent clients for Dynasty Representation.

While these sports agents maintain their own individual Twitter accounts, some agencies maintain Twitter accounts to publicize information about their clients. One such agency is Gaylord Sports, which has used its Twitter account to publicize new signings and client transactions.

Updates - Several retired NHL players have become NHL agents for Octagon Hockey in Minnesota including Ben Hankinson and Chris McAlpine. Allan Walsh is also an Octagon hockey agent and is based in Los Angeles.

Drew Carr is a sports agent based in Orlando, Florida, who specializes in golf and motor sports clients. James Heintz is a football agent based in St. Louis. Richard Vester is an NFL agent based in Florida.

My first guest post, about sports marketing on Twitter, is now live on The Business of Sports website. Please check it out!