Matthew's Blog

With a break in the racing this past weekend and my mind still on Nascar, I decided to do a little investigation and analysis on how all of the drivers in the Sprint Cup Series handle their social media images.  Almost every driver has a website so I didn’t spend much time investigating this established channel.  What I wanted to see in more detail was how the drivers are using Facebook and/or Twitter AND to see if they had any strategy to cross promote.  Here are my findings and conclusions:

+ Every driver except for a handful have a strong Facebook presence.  I’ll get into those details in a bit.  Most drivers have at least a Fan Page on Facebook and some even have personal accounts that fans can friend.  There is no question that the drivers see the value of Facebook and use this to both connect to their fans and hear from them.  Many are also using this as a channel for additional eCommerce activities which makes sense.

- As of this date, the drivers that either have a weak or non-existent Facebook presence are:  Elliot Sadler, Clint Bowyer, Travis Kvapil, Mike Bliss, Regan Smith, Paul Menard and Marcos Ambrose.  Sorry to call you out on it but you really need to get in gear here.  Although I fail to see why anyone would NOT have at least a fan page on Facebook, I do excuse Marcos Ambrose given his nationality (maybe it’s an American thing?).  The rest of the drivers without any Facebook presence really are a bit of a mystery.  You cannot blame age (heck even Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon have pages), you cannot blame nationality (all are americans), you cannot blame experience (they span from new to well seasoned) so who is dropping the ball (tire?) here.    My guess is their PR people either haven’t seen the light or maybe, just maybe are working so hard at a super strategy that they yet to “go public” with it.  If I have to put money on this, I’m going with the former.

+ Not surprising is most drivers have a Twitter presence although, as a rule, these accounts definitely lagged behind their Facebook presence in maturity, coverage and use.  Unfortunately, this group does have some repeat offenders with the Facebook miss-list above AND it includes a few drivers that make you go hum…..  It was no surprise that the activity (posts and followers) and maturity of their Twitter accounts were clearly below that of their Facebook accounts – these guys are drivers not marketers.  Some accounts were the bare bones while some had a bit more style applied to them – do a search on them and you’ll see what I mean.  One thing to be aware of is the number of fake accounts out there.  Some are well named while others require a review of the post to determine they are just some well meaning fan or two.

So now into the meat of this post.  Who are the key winners from Nascar and how they are using Social Media.  Here goes:

For Facebook, these drivers get it and have a active following:

Ryan Newman – over 20,000 fans

Mark Martin – over 22,000 fans

Brian Vickers – over 30,000 fans

Kasey Kahne – over 35,000 fans (wonder why?)

Jeff Gordon – over 60,000 fans

Tony Stewart – over 82,000 fans

Carl Edwards – over 90,000 fans

Dale Earnhardt Jr – over 135,000 fans

However the clear winner in the Facebook Fan Contest is none other than Jimmie Johnson with OVER 459,000 FANS!!!  Yes, that’s right 459,000+ fans!!!

Moving over to Twitter, as stated above this was much less represented however there are some drivers who clearly “get it”:

David Ragan – over 4,500 followers however only 80 Tweets

Dale Earnhardt Jr – over 16,500 followers

Jamie McMurry – over 17,000 followers and 500+ Tweets

Tony Stewart – over 21,000 followers however ONLY 12 Tweets!!?!?!?

Kasey Kahne – over 28,000 followers with a reasonable 300+ Tweets

The clear winner at this point is: Kevin Harvick – over 34,000 followers and OVER 1,000 Tweets!!

The above have been the single platform winners but this story would be remiss if I didn’t point out the cross platform winner who is Kyle Busch.  No other social media presence showed any real cross marketing activity or strategy EXCEPT for Kyles.  There are multiple cross references between his accounts that promote this activity on Twitter from his Facebook Fan Page and vice versa.  He has over 13,500 fans on Facebook and over 17,000 followers on Twitter with a respectable 890+ Tweets.  Well done Kyle!!!  Way to embrace technology to connect to your fan base.

I might, just might be warming up to you now!!!!

We’re getting ready for our annual trip to Daytona Beach this weekend for the kick-off of the 2010 Nascar season.

This year will be even more spectacular than previous years for the following reaons:

1)  Through a former co-worker, we now have VIP driver introductions on Saturday.  This should be awesome and will result in tons of up close driver pictures.  Stay tuned for an update after the race weekend.

2)  We have now accumulated close to 6 feet of snow here in the northeast and the bright Daytona sun will be a welcome diversion for 4 days.  I hope most of the snow melts while we are away!!!

3)  Rule changes – probably the biggest change this year is the Restrictor Plate size increase to make the cars more responsive.  I’m all in favor of creating more competition while not compromising driver safety so I hope this helps!

Will he be a 5 time champ??? Stay tuned......

4)  Jimmy Johnson – Will he be able to achieve his 5th Championship?  Are he and Chadd so dominant that nothing will stop them in 2010?  How will this help/hurt the rest of the Hendricks cars?  My prediction for Jimmy is he will have a good year but will not get his 5th this year.

Last year with Hendrick?

5)  Speaking of the rest of the Hendricks cars – I think this is the last year for Junior.  He must produce this year or I suspect his contract will be in jeopardy and more importantly, his fan base will continue to erode.  I wish   I  had more confidence in Junior however I think he will have a so-so year at best and give his fans some moments of hope along with a ton of disappointments.  I truly hope to be wrong on this.

6)  Joey Logano – will his star continue to rise or will he fall into the sophomore slump hit him?  I certainly hope its the former because he will be one of the future stars of  the series.  As long as he remains focused, I think he’ll have a great year.  With Greg Zipadelli and the rest of Joe Gibbs behind him, it’s his year to make it or break it.

7)  Tony Stewart – I think he will continue to be a threat for the championship and bring/keep some of the excitement in the series.  I predict an easy top 10 final placement and possibly a top 5 or the championship!!!

Kyle Busch - Daytona 2009 Intro

8)  Kyle Busch – I’m not sure what my prediction is for Kyle this year.  Given his disappointing season last year after coming off a rocket of a year in 2008 I just don’t know.  Did he learn from 2009 or was that the beginning of a trend?  He has the skills and equipment to do well so what held him back?  As of right now, I will predict a mid-field finish for him.  I may be wrong…..

9)  Last but not least is Danica Patrick.  There is certainly a ton of “buzz” about her entering the Nationwide Series.  Will she rise to the top and gain the respect of the established players or will she be a shooting star that flashes in front of our eyes?  I like the diversity and the additional interest that Danica brings to the series and hope she does well.  The Nationwide race this weekend will be pivotal for the tone she sets this year.

Either way, I hope with the rule changes, the new drivers and an improving economy this year recaptures some of the excitement and intensity that has been missing from the series the past few years.

Maybe it’s time to re-think the race for the chase?  Stay tuned…….