By: Noah Frank

So yes, the
title of this post is obviously a play on the upcoming Academy Awards and the
favorite in the Best Picture category. But did you know that the Grizzlies have
been at the forefront of the social media push in Minor League Baseball? Thanks
to you, our great fans, we have become one of the leaders in followers, as it
were, and we’re continuing our push to lead the way in social media.

A few weeks
ago I was scanning through our social media sites and realized that the
Grizzlies Official Twitter Account was within a few dozen people of cracking
5,000 followers. As I browsed the rest of the Pacific Coast League teams’
accounts, I found that we were 

leading the pack (albeit narrowly), but had the
best chance of cracking the milestone mark first. It was one of those
opportunities that I didn’t want to waste, or let slip by.

I converged
with our marketing department and we secured two tickets to our Hot Stove Gala
to give away to one of our followers. While that was a nice incentive for one
winner, I wanted the chance to reward all of our followers for the community
they have become. So, we worked with our tickets department to create an
awesome Opening Weekend Package full of special perks, unique to this offer.
Plus, we got a great price exclusively for our Twitter following.

We rolled
out a press release exclusively through Twitter, directing people back to our
website for the special ticket offer. The idea of using Twitter as the
exclusive platform for a press release was intriguing, as it was something that
we had never done before, and that I hadn’t heard of others doing either. Sure,
people often will include a link to a release that has been put out to the
public, but a Twitter exclusive?

We pushed
the message out on a Friday morning, attempting to reach the plateau before the
weekend. We crept along much of the day, inching closer and closer, then caught
fire and skyrocketed past the 5,000 mark. Thanks to some publicity, both local
and national, we pushed through and have possibly ignited a friendly social
media competition with our 

neighbors to the north up in Reno. The Aces have the
second largest Twitter following in the league and are the only team ahead of
us in Facebook followers as of the writing of this post.

While we’re
thrilled to be the first to reach the 5K followers mark on Twitter, we still
have a push to make to hit the 15,000 fans mark on Facebook (and catch Reno).
So, we’ll be rolling out a number of Facebook-only offers in the weeks leading
up to Opening Day. If you aren’t already a “fan” on Facebook, make sure you
“like” us and spread the word to all your friends.

This is your
chance to have a dialogue with us about how to make the Grizzlies the best
organization for Fresno. This is your team, after all. Tell us what kinds of
offers you want to have us put out there, what will help you better enjoy your
Grizzlies experience.

Oh, by the
way, there are just 41 days left until Opening Day. Get excited!