Using Twitter to engage the NASCAR Nation

Using Twitter to engage the NASCAR Nation June 18, 2009 Shawn Morton (@sMoRTy71) Nationwide Insurance (@Nationwide)

Quick intro
Currently lead the social media team at Nationwide Insurance
Responsible for social media strategy across all lines of business as well as education and advocacy of social media tools internally
Relocated to Columbus in July 2008 after spending 9 years leading web product development teams at CNET
I was married by an Elvis impersonator on Beale Street in Memphis
I’ve got 4 kids whose first, middle and last names all start with “M”
I have forgotten more about ’80s hair metal than most people will ever know
@sMoRTy71 on Twitter
Using Twitter to engage the NASCAR Nation Shawn Morton | Nationwide Insurance

The NASCAR Nation
75,000,000 NASCAR fans in the U.S.
NASCAR is the #1 spectator sports in the U.S.
Fans have same overall demographic makeup as the general U.S. population
Fans are loyal to the sport and sponsors (46% buy from sponsors of NASCAR)
More Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport
Fans have a higher income than the general population in the $50-$100K range
Fans supplement TV coverage with the Web

Nationwide & NASCAR In 2007, we entered into a 7-year sponsorship of the second-tier NASCAR series that was formerly known as the Busch Series. Through 2014, we are the official auto, life and home insurance provider for NASCAR as well as the lead sponsor of the NASCAR Nationwide Series. We have some very aggressive goals for acquiring new customers from our relationship with NASCAR. Using Twitter to engage the NASCAR Nation Shawn Morton | Nationwide Insurance

How do we reach fans? Using Twitter to engage the NASCAR Nation Shawn Morton | Nationwide Insurance

What about social media? Using Twitter to engage the NASCAR Nation Shawn Morton | Nationwide Insurance

NASCAR on Twitter
Large and active NASCAR fan community on Twitter
Drivers, racing teams, tracks and journalists are participating on Twitter
Posting over 3,000 NASCAR tweets per day on non-race days
Posting 5,000-10,000+ NASCAR tweets per day on race days
#NASCAR, #Nationwide and #NNS are the popular NASCAR hashtags

Our approach
Constraints:
No budget
Strict limitations on content imposed by NASCAR & Turner
Objectives:
Primary: See if we can engage fans on Twitter
Secondary: Drive more traffic to nationwide.com/series
Approach:
Focus on behind the scenes, exclusive content
Use existing staff with existing tools
Use popular #hashtags, driver names and race locations
Include the community; ask for requests
Use existing @Nationwide account rather than spin off a @NationwideNNS one
Do a pilot at one race to gauge reaction

Pilot on Nashville on 4/10
Prior to race, we had just under 200 followers on Twitter for @Nationwide
Announced plan to cover the Nashville race and gained over 100 new followers
Gained 150 new followers during the race weekend
Got handful of requests for photos and were able to fulfill them

We’ve tweeted 9 races so far Using Twitter to engage the NASCAR Nation Shawn Morton | Nationwide Insurance
Nashville on 4/10
Phoenix on 4/17
Talladega on 4/23
Richmond on 5/1
Darlington on 5/8
Charlotte on 5/23
Dover on 5/30
Nashville on 6/6
Kentucky on 6/13

Overall results Using Twitter to engage the NASCAR Nation Shawn Morton | Nationwide Insurance
+750 followers added since 4/10
Increased engagement with NASCAR fans
Increased visibility in Twitter community (@replies, RTs, #followfriday)
Increased traffic to nationwide/series
Increased quotes from nationwide/series
Allowed Nationwide associates to develop new skills
Cost = $0

Lessons learned Using Twitter to engage the NASCAR Nation Shawn Morton | Nationwide Insurance
You can get users to engage with an insurance company on Twitter
You must provide compelling content if you want anyone to care
You need to include the community and be ready to engage with them
You can distribute social media duties throughout your organization

Questions? Using Twitter to engage the NASCAR Nation Shawn Morton | Nationwide Insurance

Using Twitter to engage the NASCAR Nation

by Columbus Chamber on Jan 10, 2010

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