BNP Paribas Open Expands Social Media On, Off The Court
Hundreds of thousands of fans have made their way to Indian Wells, Calif., for the world-class BNP Paribas Open.
What about fans who coulldn’t make it?
This year, the organizers at the BNP Paribas Open increased their social network presence in an effort to reach more tennis fans.
“This extends the reach of the tournament. We’ve got people interacting with us on Facebook and Twitter from Hungary and Australia and Asia and all over the world,” said tournament social media manager Pete Holtermann. “It’s such a global sport. This is a great way to reach out to the global fan base.”
Holtermann leads the constant updating of the tournament’s pages with pictures, videos and important information.
The social media frenzy goes beyond the administrative offices. The top tennis players in the world are becoming well-acquainted with the same websites, some more reluctantly than others.
“I was never really ever against or never for social networks, but right now, there’s no choice,” said Novak Djokovic, ranked as the No.-3 player in the world.
Many of the players’ sites allow fans to see what their favorite star’s life is like off the court.
“It’s fun and certainly more personal than sitting in the stands and watching them play tennis,” said Holtermann. “You can get a little sense of their personality and hear how they’re shopping or eating or what else they’re watching, It just makes it a connection.”
Many fans appreciate the connection and find great joy in knowing a little bit more about their favorites.
“They kind of use it like any normal kid would,” said tennis fan Ben Carlson. “Andy Murray puts pictures up probably every other day doing stuff as random as sitting on the couch. Nadal, half of his posts are in Spanish, half of them are in English, so it’s kind of confusing. And Federer, half of his pictures are of his children.”
As much as the fans enjoy it, the players also enjoy showing another side to the public.
“I like Twitter and updating my Facebook page, and I do it quite often now. More with some unusual, non-tennis things, something funny,” said Djokovic.
The BNP Paribas Open’s ability to handle and use the social medial phenomenon to its advantage is helping the growth of tennis.
“The expectation is there, now that you have all this technology available to them,” said Holtermann. “In addition to Facebook and Twitter, there’s now a mobile website for BNP Paribas Open, things that just make it more accessible to the fans. It’s really helping to grow the sports because there’s just so many options for people to interact and engage with what your product is.”
