Brands

On Twitter, World Wrestling Entertainment Is a True Champion

This post is part of the Twitter for Brands Series, which features winning strategies from the top brand pages on Twitter and provides tips on how to emulate their successes.

World Wrestling Entertainment is a powerhouse not only in the ring, but on Twitter as well.

The social media destination for fans of WWE has over 1.8 million followers on its main account, and is one of the top-100 most followed brands on the site.

Joseph Puopolo of TechCrunch writes, “Any entertainment brand that fails to interact with its fans is missing a huge opportunity. Especially in sports, it is really up to the brand or league to provide a proper outlet to hype and get their fans excited about upcoming events or games. The WWE, while an unconventional example, is easily leading the pack of this strategy to drive interest in their product and interact with their fan base.”

Let’s take a look at how WWE keeps its fans engaged and its following strong on Twitter.

Allowing fans to vote

When any brand allows its fans to have a voice and a say in the future of the company, it’s going to make the fans feel empowered and like they matter. For WWE, letting fans in on the action and giving them a vote is commonplace. The brand does it through RAWactive, its voting and interactive system on various social networks.

During a broadcast of WWE Raw in September, fans voted, via Twitter, for two wrestlers to hug it out instead of fight. Dathen Boccabella of Bleacher Report writes, “With RAWactive results like these  and even a Chicago crowd chanting ‘hug it out’  it seems that the WWE does actually know how to give the audience what the majority of them want.”

In addition to voting, WWE entices viewers by offering them a chance to be heard in a different way.

“As a part of the RAWactive experience, you can cast votes and impact the show by tweeting speciifc hashtags,” states its website. “For example, during Raw, we might ask you to tweet #cagematch, #streetfight or #2outof3falls to determine the stipulation of a match. We may also solicit your opinions about the action, and display the best comments on-screen during the show! Just keep it to 140 characters or less, and your voice will be heard!”

Encouraging fan participation can only strengthen brand loyalty, which the WWE clearly seems to understand.

Personalized accounts of the stars

The WWE’s main account following is huge, but it doesn’t even factor in the number of followers of the individual superstars. There’s John Cena, who has more than 2.8 million followers, Daniel Bryan, who has 444,354 followers, and Zack Ryder, who boasts over 884,000 followers, among countless others.

One of the biggest draws of Twitter is that it lets people directly interact with their favorite celebrities (or their favorite celebrities’ PR staff). Either way, Twitter users obviously appreciate the privilege, and follow celebrities in droves. There’s a reason that the top eight most followed accounts on Twitter belong to celebrities.

Whether WWE viewers choose to follow Cena for his updates on his health condition, or Ryder on his adventures on Long Island, the brand knows its fans are interested in the people behind the superstar personalities. Creating an account for every single star is smart and works in the brand’s favor.

Promoting Twitter during matches

Puopolo points out that WWE is constantly promoting Twitter and its handles on any given broadcast. The emphasis on Twitter during matches has led to trending topics worldwide, as well as high follower counts.

Puopolo writes, “Whenever a wrestler heads to the ring, their Twitter handle is prominently featured next to their name on the screen graphics. [WWE’s] strategy is obvious and effective, providing a method to allow their show to be more interactive and leverage casual fans to tune in more regularly especially when something eventful is on the screen. Throughout the show, it is quite common to hear announcers talking about whether something is trending worldwide.”

Cross promotion is one of the key ways to build a following. WWE has millions of viewers tuning in each match, so it’s easy to see why it takes that opportunity each broadcast to push its Twitter accounts.

The WWE’s Twitter works for a number of reasons: It is interactive, personal, empowering, and engaging.

Get better at your job right now.

Read our monthly newsletter to master content marketing. It’s made for marketers, creators, and everyone in between.

Trending stories