Introduction
Roadrunner Sports was founded by Michael Gottfredson in 1983. The organization is located in California with various retail stores in San Diego, Washington, Georgia, and Virginia. The organization is involved in charity work through activities such as offering sponsorships and donations to the needy.
The organization has embraced the role of information technology in ensuring the delivery of quality and efficient services. Social networks such as Facebook and Tweeter have come in handy when interacting with their stakeholders. Their customers rate them favorably in the use of social/digital platforms.
In this paper, the writer explores how Roadrunner Sports uses social/digital media to help build offline communities and brand awareness. Furthermore, the writer explores how they use Facebook and Tweeter, the frequency and type of content they post and the consistency in tone and brand across all the media channels.
The writer notes that the Roadrunners are avid users of Facebook and Twitter platforms. This is seen by the frequency of posts and “like” comments posted by the fans. Also, the way they post their messages, video and photos seem to vary across the social media channels.
Discussion
Building Offline Communities and Brand Awareness
On their website, Roadrunner Sports has posted photos and videos; however, these postings find their way on social media. Thus, offline followers can follow these postings on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Similarly, the organization built brand awareness through detailed specifications on products activities such as;
- conducting promotions,
- offering discounts to encourage more purchases.
In some of their tweets and posts, they have fans commenting on their products besides rating them for their services. This turns out as an opportunity for marketing, selling, customer service, and feedback.
Roadrunner sports and Facebook groups
According to the writer, Roadrunner Sports does make use of social/digital media, with their estimation or usage ranging from around 80% or more. In all their retail stores they were found to be using social media that is Facebook and Twitter.
Frequency of posting content
The type of content posted as the writer observed, mainly revolved around the marketing of products newly launched, news about upcoming events and promotions such as the opening of a new store, discount offers. They also post photos of their products and events daily on pages like Instagram and “youradventurerun.com” run videos and photos of the day. Also, events are availed as well. The posting of contents is made daily with frequent responses to the comments made by the fans on an hourly basis both on Twitter and Facebook fan pages.
Nature of Posts on Fan pages
Roadrunner sports across their Facebook groups and fan pages seem to post the same content across all their stores on promotions and discounts, some photos of new products on offer and videos of events. On instagram.com the photos of events and products posted daily can also be found on some of their Facebook pages. On Twitter, brand promotion, advertising, and marketing are well articulated.
Overall twitter activity
On twitter the Roadrunner sports page content overall activity was estimated to be around 90 percent as they made their post every once in a while that is, in less than an hour they posted something; relating to either an event or promotion, responses to comments by the followers.
Roadrunners favorite tweets
The writer observed that there were no favorite tweets that could be pointed out. But with the common tweets noted, they only relate to marketing and customer service. Hashtags are rarely used to rating them to less than one percent.
Percentages of Using Tweets
In a time span of within 24 hours around 40% or more of their tweets are based on customer service, 25% of their events and product promotions, while there are very minimal percentage of strategic partnerships, and on anything random that either has nothing to do with customer service, events or their product promotions is to about 15% or less, and they have even availed online catalogs.
Consistency in tone and brand across all the social media channels
There is consistency in the tone and brand across all the social media as in all their pages and groups you are able to tell the brand of products they are dealing with from the photos posted and the tweets made, for instance on twitter the mention of Adidas a brand name.
Cross-pollinating with links to other platforms
According to the writer, Roadrunner sports conduct cross-pollinating of links to other platforms, for instance, on Twitter, there is a tweet informing followers that they were opening three new stores and offered a link directing them to their website. They have also made tweets with links directing their followers to the page in their roadrunner’s site with the new products they seek.
But most of the links are not t linked to the social media, but, rather to their main website the Roadrunner sports (“youradventurerun.com”). However, there is a tweet with a link to their Facebook page. This shows that the organizations use social media platforms more effectively ensuring their brand is visible across various social media outlets.
Conclusion
Roadrunner sports have embraced information technology using social/digital media in their company maximally almost in every other activity they conduct in customer service, promotions, and information on events, the online catalogs, marketing and also the online shopping.
They make sure to have their fans and followers informed on the latest information by posting on their groups/fan page information on every move they make as often as they can, whether it is information concerning the opening of a new store or the launching of a new product.
They are making maximum use of social media with the creation of offline communities created through pages and or sites like youradventurerun.com. With their use of technology (social/digital media) they also get to give back to society through their donations and helping out the handicapped children.
There is also the fact that due to the consistency in the tone and brand of products their fans/followers from the different locations where their retail stores are available to get to access the same content in terms of their services and products, due to the content being posted in their pages which is almost similar.
With the cross-pollination of links to other platforms, they make it easier for fans and followers to access information on their products with the links provided. It can, therefore, be concluded that roadrunner Sports use social/digital media in their company fully. They are technologically savvy.