Now I’ve always thought the White Sox did an awesome job on social media. Not only do they provide the typical ballgame recap, but also engage with fans through just about every social media platform possible. Personally, I love their Vine video pregame lineups!
Being such a huge @whitesox social media fan, you can imagine how excited I was for Sox Social Day #2 during Monday night’s match up against the Boston Red Sox. But the real highlight of this night was the grand opening of the #SoxSocial Lounge at U.S. Cellular Field!
This social-media-inspired lounge is located inside the ballpark around section 154 (down the left field line). There’s free wifi, charging stations for your phone, TVs streaming the game and White Sox/MLB social media content, and plenty of comfy seating to just relax.
And to my surprise, there was a special guest visiting the #SoxSocial Lounge for photo ops: Instagram’s doggy celebrity @Manny_the_frenchie. Manny is the world’s most followed French Bulldog with nearly 175,000 followers on Instagram. Star power right there.
In addition to the opening of #SoxSocial Lounge, @whitesox ran some awesome Instagram contests during the game. One was a ballpark scavenger hunt where @whitesox would post an Instagram picture of a particular location in the ballpark, and the first three people to get there won prizes. The other Instagram contest asked fans to take a picture of themselves in their seats with the hashtag #BringMeMyFood. @WhiteSox would then select Instagram pictures, and deliver them free ballpark food.
Overall, I loved it. The experience, the ambiance, the interface—all of it! And I wasn’t alone, as I met many distinguished Chicago sports and lifestyle bloggers who had come to the game specifically to check out the lounge. I was in social media nerd heaven, and participating made me feel even more a part of the game than I usually am (which usually includes yelling at Adam Dunn).
And when you think of it, this #SoxSocial Lounge is the first of its kind in Major League Baseball. Connecting fans with the team on and off the field – how come no one ever thought of this before? I’d be interested to see if other MLB teams pick up on the White Sox social success and start building their own social lounges. That would be awesome if you could communicate between ballparks. Share stats. Talk some smack. . .
So maybe you missed last night. No worries! The #SoxSocial Lounge will still be around, and there are four more “Social Media Nights” scheduled this season: June 28, July 24, Aug. 6 and Sept. 16
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