So, the hysteria is finally behind us. LeBron James made his “Decision” on ESPN in front of a national TV audience Thursday night. In one bold stroke, he crushed the spirits of Cleveland Cavalier fans and lifted those of the Miami Heat. (Disclaimer: Considering that the AmericanAirlines Arena where the Miami Heat plays is only 400 yards from the Wax offices, we’re a little biased in our leanings toward his selection of the Heat as his new team.)
But, all fan allegiance aside, the amazing development – from a social media perspective – is the power of Twitter in all of this. LeBron James opened a Twitter account at 3:15pm on Tuesday the 6th under the moniker of @KingJames and with the following announcement:
“Hello World, the Real King James is in the Building “Finally”. My Brother @oneandonlycp3 gas’d me up to jump on board so I’m here. Haaaa”
Incredibly, by 9:00 Thursday – just minutes before his big announcement – @KingJames had over 350,000 followers on Twitter. That’s every sports beat writer in America and at least a fair representation of the fan base from the cities he was choosing from. In checking back, at the posting of this blog, he’s now up to over 406,000 followers and growing. Incredibly, this following has been built on a total of five Tweets by KingJames with really nothing substantial to say.
Thus the moral of the story: Content is still king (no pun intended)! KingJames may have garnered 400,000 followers in his first few days on Twitter but savvy fans won’t be returning or signing up to follow LeBron if he continues to have nothing relevant or interesting to share. Just a little something to keep in mind when developing your own social media program…
